THAT RUGBY TRIP

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 276, 20 November 1937, Page 4

THAT RUGBY TRIP

AUSTRALIANS PERTURBED “.WILL N.Z. LET US DOWN?” MATTER VERY UNOFFICIAL I Australians are not taking kindly to I reports relative to New Zealand’s can-1 cellation o£ its Rugby Union tour o£ Australia next season, reports the Syd-| ney Referee. However, the whole matter is very unofficial. The N.S.W. Rugby Union has not yet received a word from the New Zea'land Rugby Union on the subject. Press reports have been the sole means of information. To be frank, N.S.W. officials cannot believe that New Zealand officials would go back on them by cancelling the tour without due negotiation. That is why Mr. Jeff Noseda, secretary of the N.S.W. Rugby Union and Mr. W. W. Hill, the president, are confident that the tour will not be cancelled. They believe that the New Zealanders will be in Australia in due course next year. The special representative of “The Referee” in New Zealand writes of a feeling that is sweeping the Dominion. Public opinion is strong in many quarters against the cancellation of the Australian tour. Many are wondering if the reported cancellation of the j tour is a sign of weakness on the part of the New Zealand riugby Union. “Just how the sending of a couple of dozen players to Australia next season would hamper football in New Zealand is hard to see,” says th» correspondent. “On the contrary, the experience gained by those players and the building up of their football accomplishments would be a fine thing for the game in New Zealand.” Denounced From The Pulpit "Unfortunately,” adds the Referee's New Zealand representative, “the public of New Zealand is having its confidence in the New Zealand Rugby Union shaken. Many deplored the commercial tang that surrounded the Springbok series this year. It was denounced even from the pulpit. The New Zealand Rugby Union was twilled with ‘astute commercialism.’ ” The reported cancellation of the Australian tour and what looks like a breach of faith with Australia, leads to a good deal of criticism of the New Zealand author!. Ls. New Zealanders are wondering it the cancellation was made because of a fear that the All Blacks would not be capable ot holding their own with Australia next year. That can hardly be the case. We may take it that such a spirit has not animated the Dominion Rugby Union. Naturally such a decision, as it Is reported to have made, must give rise to diverse opinions and controversy. If the New Zealand team comes to Australia next year (and ail Australians hope it will), the Dominion might beat the Commonwealth hands down. Australia, on the other hand, might gain the mastery. But whatever the result might be, it is not so terribly important. What really matters is that the teams play good, high-class football, preserving the best spirit of the game, so that during and after the matches, players, officials, and public, can feel pleasure in them.