RUGBY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 73, Issue 380, 25 September 1930, Page 4

RUGBY

THE SOCIAL FACTOR INTERNATIONAL SPOBT. LESSON OF BRITISH TEAM. The value of sport as a social factor and the tour of the British Rugby team in New Zealand are discussed by Mr P. C. Minns, the All Black and Rhodes Scholar, in an article in the Auckland University College magazine. Mr Minns is at present on his way to Oxford. “One of the most remarkable developments of our time is the world-wide increase of interest in all phases of athletic activity since the closing of the Great War,” he writes. “And nothing is more striking than the meteoric success with which the nations of Continental Europe have sprung, into prominence. The postwar period had scarcely opened before the nations jf Europe, natxns which had previously taken no interest in the sports of English-speaking peoples, anl with no apparent aptitude for them, were already catching something of that passion for outdoor games so deeply imbued in the heart of British youth. It had long been maintained that the temperament of the Continental, and more especially of the Latin races, was ill-suited for participation in sports which demanded grit and doggedness and perfect self-control in him who plays them. But the falsity of this idea has been exposed by these nations in a really striking, and almost alarming degree. Valuable Results. “Yet, however close may be the connection between sport and national welfare, we must not fail to realise that such athletic efficiency is but n means to an end, not an end in itself. Viewed internationally, as a means of promoting social harmony between one nation and another, sport may well be considered as a factor of paramount importance. A country which has, for instance, boon accustomed to asses its merits by the intellectual and athletic efficiency of its people will be less likely to have recourse to arms in the event of international dispute. And friendships formed on the playing field seem to possess a more enduring quality than diplomatic approachments ever will. In the organisation of ininternational concourses such as the Olympic and Empire ames we see a definite step toward this ideal of concord, and even more valuable recruits may be looked for in the future.

“One of the most important results of this friendly rivalry between nation and nation is its salutary effect on a people’s mental outlook. New Zealand has been prone to be too insular—one might say parochial—in its relations with other countries. ‘‘And any influence which tends to broaden our national outlook should receive our earnest attention. Much good should result, for instance, from the visit of the British Rugby team. The outstanding success achieved by our visitors 'has given us opportunity to pause and revise our opinions on the comparative strengths of New Zealand and British Rugby. The visiting fifteen has displayed a clear-cut superiority over most of our teams. It is not in any outstanding physical ability that the ‘success of the British team lies, for the physique of our own representatives is second to none; not in the brilliance of their tactics so much as in their mental attitude toward the game. To them it is primarily a recreation in which they may indulge with all the reckless abandon and nonchalance of schoolboys. Yet for all this apparent sangfroid they can present a defence in times of crisis which is unsurpassed for its sustained and rock-like determination. But once the game is over, all thought of triumph or defeat are banished from their minds, and they will start on a round of golf with the same easy sportsmanship that characterised the contests of yesterday. Colonials Too Serious. The British team has taught us, in short, that we are taking our football too seriously, and therefore less successfully. It is not an exaggeration to say that Rugby has become a national fetish with us, a fetish that has gradually made us lose our sense of proportion and, possibly, our sense of humour. This attitude tends not only to narrow our mental outlook, but is of decidedly detrimental effect in times of emergency. Our teams (and their supporters, one might add) are so keyed up when the great moment arrives that they often fail to do themselves justice. The visit of the British team will have achieved its primary purpose if it induces us to widen our mental outlook and lose that narrow insularity which must inevitably obstruct all efforts toward the promotion of . international concord. It should bring us to appreciate the salutary moral effect which may be exercised by an interchange of sporting visits towards tne furtherance of that deep and sympathetic understanding so essential to the future peace and prosperity of the world.’ J