FOOTBALL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19846, 21 May 1927, Page 5

FOOTBALL

A RUGBY COMMENTARY THE METROPOLITAN TEAM. ENTHUSIASM IN ENGLAND. (Notos by “Taxila. ”) Competition matches in Wanganui have been postponed to-day owing to the race meeting, but many players will take part in practices. Wanganui and Ohl Boys and Technical Old Boys members will be seen in action on the Technical ground this afternoon, when players from all grades will assemble. To Play Taranaki. The team to meet Taranaki on .Tune 3 in the annual match, will be announced by selector ,T. D. Crowley, immediately after the Marton match. Taranaki Topics. Intense enthusiasm is being shown over Rugby contests in Taranaki, and the game there is, as usual, being closely followed by everyone. A successful season is anticipated, in consequence, by Wanganui’s old rivals. Forward play is reported to be high, in standard, and the Stratford pack, including Walters, Kivell and Fryday, seems to have impressed the critics. Thus a New Plymouth writer:—The Stratford pack is probably the best in Taranaki this year. They work collectively and their onslaughts tell a tale as well by their persistency as their weight, wholeheart.edncss and vigour. It is in this phase of the game that Wanganui will have to exert themselves. In Earnest! Wairarapa are determined to leave nothing to chance in their challenge for the Ranfurly Shield on June 3, remarks a Wellington writer. The team will go-into camp on the Solway show grounds on May 30, under the charge of the sole selector (Mr E. McKenzie), and will leave for Napier on June 2. If Cooke and Irvine are fit and well, Wairarapa should give Hawke’s Bay a spirited battle for J.he shield.

Better than Nepia? In view of the forthcoming visit to England of a New South Wales team, public interest ?s being stimulated thoroughly in Sydney and in the many country districts now taking up the Union game. This enthusiasm has had a remarkable effect on a Sydney scribe who has given a comprehensive review on “possibles” for the team. Describing Ross, full-back for many New South Wales’ teams, the writer says: “If the English public went mad over Nepia, what will they do over Ross?” He concludes with the rather sweeping statement that Ross is better than a team of Nepias!

Metropolitan Representatives. • Interest has been stimulated by Mr i A. Takarangi’s selection of players to I represent the Metropolitan Rugby Sub- | Union, published in yesterday’s issue • of the “Chronicle.” The team, appari ently very solid, will play Taihap?Rangitikei combined at Marton on '■ Saturday, May 28. ! A. J. Darby has been chosen for the j position of full-back, and it is expected he will reproduce all his well-known : brilliancy. Several enthusiasts have ■ been impressed by the performances of i Thompson, Kaierau’s custodian, and he •is seen on the reserve list. It w r ill be j remembered that Thompson, on the oc- • easions of securing his series of spec- • tacular “potted” goal was never serii ously troubled by the opposing forewords, and it needs only forwards who I know how to follow up to stop his j kicking boot. i Williams. Wakeling and Vangioni [form the three-quarters, and they have | well-established reputations. Wakeling, perhaps, has not reached best form, for I his play of late has not been parti- ; cularly convincing. However, it. is, as yet, early in the season. | J. Duncan (half) and .Tones and | Fitzgerald (five-eights) are the remaining backs. Duncan is solid and clever, and good performances arc expected from Fitzgerald (a newcomer locally) and Jones. The latter has been showing up well for Marist, and uses his weight to advantage. H. Cox, many times representative for Wanganui, is once again seen as wing-for-ward. His play this season has been somewhat erratic, but he is still able to produce brilliant dashes Cox, who is to captain the team, is undoubtedly a capable wing-forward. L. Fromont, Bennett, Johnston (vicecaptain), G. Lockett, Jackson, Pine and Coulston form the pack, and are unquestionably a good combination. This season there are numerous good forwards in Wanganui, and, no doubt, the selection of the pack was something of a problem. All the players chosen arc well-known but it must be admitted that Bennett’s play to date has not been impressive. In the ruck, Bennett can show leadership, and in the scrum his weight is of great value, but the Pirate player has so far not played up to best form. Bennett is a useful forward, but needs to brighten his work to a considerable extent. Binley is announced as reserve forward. He has shown excellent form, and possibly it was his impressive .fol-lowing-up that caught the selector’s eye.

Enthusiasm at Home. The Union game is bringing more recruits every day in the United Kingdom, and is apparently a firm public favourite. An English correspondent to the “Chronicle” , commenting on the recent England-Scotland match, writes as follows:—“The wonderful appeal which rugger now makes to the public was again demonstrated in the Anglo-Scottish match. Over two thousand people travelled from London, and not a bed was to be got in Edinburgh. Other visitors went to the match from all parts of Scotland, and, when play began, the new ground (Murrayfield) was uncomfortably full, the attendance being over sixty thousand. It was a remarkable spectacle, and yet those who understand the game, and realise the danger of this amazing popularity, shook their heads. Frankly they do not like. Rugby being turned into a spectacle. They insist that it should be kept as a game.” RUGBY POINTERS HINTS FOR PLAYERS (By “Referee.”) Scrummages. One noticed last week that referees still need to bo more firm in seeing that all scrum conditions are complied with. For instance, on quite a number of occasions the ball was kicked out of the scrum from the side on which it was put in, obviously by the action of hooking with the inside foot. This, of course, prevents the ball going past both feet of the player concerned so the ball cannot possibly be said to be fairly in. The rule is good—quite fair to both sides—and referees should insist on its being complied with. Position is Everything. In two games seen last week three “potted” goals were given and in each case the referee concerned was in. the correct position to give a decision. That’s good refereeing and gives confidence to all parties. The Mark. A mark is a fair catch and re-catch-ing the ball after having already touched if. cannot be construed as a fair catch. The rule book states that a fair catch must be a clean catch at the first attempt so that several players last Saturday were lucky in being awarded marks for catches as illustrated. Gamed. back. In one game last week one of our referees gave a five-yard scrum when a player ran the ball back and forced. This whs wrong and the scrum should be at the, snot- from whence the ball was carried back —in this case about two yards from the goal line. Just a little thing perhaps, but there is always a possibility of a “push over the- line”' try in a closeup scrum. A Question.

Last week a player asked a referee when be could play the ball on the ground. This of course shows that players do take, notice when undue publicity is given to any rule. In reply our official stated the case whereby the tackled player is permitted to kick the ball away from him and informed the- players generally that the sooner they got the “playing the ball on he ground” idea out of their heads the better. Even allowing the “tackled" player this privilege is rotten football and is certainly not in the spirit in which we like the game played. The word “immediately” has almost as wide an application with referees as has the advantage rule.

I An Instance. j Illustrating the above rule in the big {match on No. 1 ground the defenders i from a close-up scrum wore pushed 'back over the line. The attacking half i dived through the scrum but. missed the {ball and was promptly penalised, but he might just as easily have scored if he had secured the ball over the line instead of -in front. Players should realise that a scrummage ceases to exist as soon as it is out of the field of play and the goal line is in goal. Clarity at Last. I The New Zealand Union in its wisdom has decided on the issue of an abridged rule book —that is without all the notes and embellishments of the present book—and after a perusal of an advance copy one can visualise a far more general interpretation of the rules which should make for easier refereeing which will be understood by everybody. An Old One. “If a player, in trying to clear, unintentionally kicks the Ball from the field of play into touch-in-goal, it shall be treate das an irregularity not otherwise provided for and a scrummage formed at the spot from whence he kicked.” Ono such incident took place in the big match last week. Forwards, Take Notice! “A back row forward who reaches back with his foot and hooks the ball back into the scrum after it has been heeled out should be penalised for wilfully returning the ball to the scrummage. ’ ’ This is a good addition and should make the scrummage result in a clearcut decision. Not So Conservative After All. One notes with pleasure the English Rugby Union adopting the principle that “A referee should always state the offence for which he awards a penalty kick without waiting to be asked by the players.” We have always done this and practically all New Zealand referees qualify every decision so that it is a rare thing to hear players asking “Why?” In any case we don’t like players asking anything during a game. Free Advice. After seeing four grade games and noticing how some of the players stop and appeal, one is constrained to offer a little advice to the boys and it is this —“Never wait and appeal—keep on playing for all you are worth.”

Often the referee does not see an incident as players may see it or he may be applying the advantage rule and in any case players do better by minding their own business, leaving the fault finding to the referee. It’s his job, whether he does it ■well or not, and rarely does a referee take any notice of such appeals. A Good Sign.

Several teams have asked for a “ rules-talk ’ > to be given to them and as such talks make for an increasing knowledge as well as illustrating to players the referee’s difficulties, it is (hoped that more of these metings mav be held. A Recent Ruling. The undermentioned ruling was given this year by the controlling body at Home and should create quite a number of interesting cases, inasmuch as >we have always abided by our decision in such instances:— “If a referee award a try, but afterwards discover that the touch judge has his flag up for ‘in touch,' the law regarding altering his decision doos not apply, as the ball having previously gone into touch, was mit of play, and nothing which happened afterwards had any bearing on the game. ’ ’ We will have to get used to this decision pretty quickly and will likewise have to get our linesmen to act with more decision and endeavour to avoid such reversals. A Visit. One was glad to have a rules chat with the President of the Taihapc Association and an endeavour is to bo made to have a lecture given up there when any of our members go up to do an interchange match.

INTERNATIONAL BOARD NEW ZEALAND’S STAND. PRACTICALLY AN ULTIMATUM. (Special to “Chronicle.”) WELLINGTON, May 20. The line of action towards the International Board to be taken by the New Zealand Rugby Union was revealed by Mr S. S. Bean (chairman of the Management Committee) today. “We are asking New South Wales and British Columbia to meet us in conference owing to the visit of the New Zealand team to South Africa next year,” said Mr Doan. “At that conference what we consider cur just claims will be discussed. We are not content with the present position and the suggested triennial conference is not acceptable to us. We shall not relax our efforts until an imperial Rugby Board administering all phases of the game within the Empire has been set up. “Unless our requests are granted,’ continued Mr Dean, “if other Dominions are agreeable we may consider the question of establishing a Dominions Rugby Union. In this we know New South Wales will be with us and South Africa is coming our way. There have been great changes here in the past few years. • However, we hope that Admiral Royds, the new president of the English Union, will follow the lead given by Mr James Baxter, his predecessor, who favours New Zealand.’’

’VARSITY TEAM TO-DAY’S BIG MATCH NEW ZEALANDERS TO PLAY SYDNEY, May 20. The members of the New Zealand University football team included in the Combined Universities’ team to [play New South Wales to-morrow are [Webb, Placey, and Freeman in the [three-quarter line ,and Hindenach, Dunn, and Alloy in the forwards.’