WANGANUI RUGBY UNION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11285, 20 June 1904, Page 6

WANGANUI RUGBY UNION.

INQUIRY INTO THE KAIERAUPIRATE MATCH.

A special meeting of the management committee of the Wanganui Rugby Union was held last Saturday evening in the office of the se*retarj-'(Mr Win. Hall}. Present — Messrs Geo. Spriggens (chair), E. Bannister, A. Gray, A. W. Mountfort, tv Craig, Geo. Peacock, and W. Hall (secr'ettary). The meeting was held for the purpose of holding an inquiry into the rough play alleged in connection > with the Kaie-rau-Pirate match played on the 4th June. Mr T. Slipper, a member of the Management Committee, and one of those who played in the match in question, asked for a ruling as to whether or not he Bhould take part in the committee's deliberations, and he was permitted to withdraw. The majority of those who took part in- the match attended ready to -give evidence it • called inio Ike room. THie captains of ihe Kaierau and Pirate teams- I—Messrs1 — Messrs C. McLean and R. McGregor — were allowed to remain inside to hear the evidence given.

• The chairman stated that it had been arranged that Messrs Hall and Mountfort should conduct the examination of witnesses, the other members of the committee to have the right to ask any questions they saw fit at the conclusion of the examination in ch|efi .. „, r Mr Hall then ■reacj: a communication Teceived from,^tie „jftew Zealand . Rugby Union, enclosing & copy of a Press^ Association' Wire relating to the match;,* a n<T asking what t^he Union intended to do an the matter. "Mr Hall stated that there seemed ,jbo be an" impression abroad that the local Union would have taken no action had it not been for the Press reports. He wanted to correct this idea, he said, as although he was not present at the match himself, he had heard such accounts of it on the Saturday evening from

Messrs Moimtforfc, Sprig-gens, and others

of the Management Committee that he . had made up his mind that an inquiry would have to be held, ' and the other members had agreed with him. Mr Hall said he thought it only fair to the Union that he should say thio, a» they were as eager to put down rough play as anyone. Mr Spriggens said that no doubt it was to be regretted that it was necessary to hold such an inquiry, but it was his intention to investigate the matter even if the Press had not so strongly reported on the match. The Union had been held up to ridicule by -the- Pteaa Association' report, and it • 'was' moj*e h6cessaty now to fake action and inquire into the truth of the charges made.

Mr Gray said that since the last Com.xfiittßC 'meeting' h£' had been informed that' the- Waverlcy Club had expressed the opinion" that he ahould> not have withdrawn the letter he Wrote complaining of -rough play an the part of some of tho players. He had also been accused in the Press of. not having the moral courage to bring his letter forward. He was quite willing, he said, for the letter to be read, and' without that was done and some' definite charges made he failed to see what good effect tlie inquiry could have. The letfcezy which was as ...follows,' was- then road:— "Wangauui, June 6. Mr W. Hall, Secretary "Rugby" Union. D^tfr Sit, — After watching the play of the match on Saturday between -Kaierau and Pirates, I was .rather undecided as to whether I should 'report certain players for rough play,_ or 'lot tlitr matter drop; -'but ■ after' reading, •tho . dn'mVade'r* in the 'Herald,-1 : cannot, help thinking it is time that we took the matter in hand, and settled for all time ■ the brutal play that takes place when %iesp teams meet. I have npt the slightest "'doubt ihi*t,suck play will -'c«voiituallyrfcitt oiu* gates, as only a certain 'section of the public would care to witness such contests. During the second spell I followed the game, watching two players in particular, who seemed to be doing their best" ' 'to lay one another out. The players I allude to wereT. Thompson and G. Morgan, both old offenders. On one occasion after a scrum had broken 4 up,-they were both left etrugglinjr on the ground, .and. 1^ was, l-ahnosfc certain that Morgan sfcruek T-homp-' son. and as Thompson got up, he said, j.'£Where is the referee?' The play at this i stage of the game was very rough, and resulted- in. the loss to.- the Union of -our best forward;" arid a few- more such games would leave 1 ' us without a team at alj. I

should also mention that Mr -L. Craig told jwo'oii.t-hc ground that v H.ogan, of the t Kaierau 's; hauled one of the Pirates out of a scrum by the hair of' his head ;' but I do not know whe'fcher he intends to report him. I would, therefore suggest that you- write the' players^ to attend pur meet-, ing on Friday night; and give an explanation ,'bf theiir conduct to the Union, and- £ until siuch times that the\u.fail, to do so 'tliat thej b^deb^ired frqnV"playiiig.— l .remain, 'jour's 'truly, Alf.- G'i-ay,' Member 'Management Committee." J ' -Tho 'following icpOv£ T . p^epru'eJ by the fsrVfe'i-eef s rVfe'i-ee at the request "of, tli^" secretary, was ffocn read: — "f'beg to xepott that I refereed^.iav. .th.e,;"Kai'erau-Pirates m'atcJi,, played on, the Rec. on Saturday, June 4, when the former were victorious by. 9 points (3- tries) to nil. At your request, I also beg to report that the play of both teams was far' too, vigorous,, and that Iliad occasion to caution T. Thompson (Pirates) for rough play, „and, also, to stop -the play and caution both teams that* there was too t mueh.<>roughneßs, going on,. > but Lsaw <no individual case df rough that would ■warrant me in ordering a- player off the

field.— H. Tilley." * The Committee 1 then called in ' .• H. Tilley, who, acted "as referee in tho In 'question. He stated, in answer .to Mr Hall, that the .ground ijfas in a y.ery.. ' wet " aiid ', slippery state. l'frpni the heavy rain whfcli KacT fallen. So bad was it that it was almost impossible for a in an to keep his feet Wheii attempting to take the , ball. He did not consider it altogether a • rough .game; '' "Thtire was no more feeling

than usual so far as he knew' between the

teams. 1 The game was a tnost important one to both teams, as they were equal for' ; the Cupj, and whoever won would secure a j lead. Therefore,, both teams played ' hard : jtnoi'e vigorous' than -was n'ecessary,'°but at [-the same time "he saw- no Unduly rough [or brutsrl play. Had he done 3 so he Would havta ordered the offender off the field.' Jse' explained' that-hfld'.h'e not been asked 1 'to submit a report he would not have dose so,, as lie saw nothing to "warianjj" 1 him re- , porting 1 " 'on Irough play. He said that he did not sec how Loveridge- or .Holland were lrutt. 1 - Mortis sustaiiied the injury. ,^o his .. leg' by -pure accident, "through slipping, - [.■and ,110 oiie on 'the. opposite^side-^wsas' Co t blame in' the least. Ho 'had. alb'ad' Jeg I : before, he went.\pn th'e^lejd..u Did.nqt, see ".Thompson hurt, , nor -, did -he tpow how - Loveridge was 'hurt ,'the. .second ; he was 'hurt ; twice.;. Ab 'to Mitchell, he !kncw nothing Muilil after .the ''game was -over. Ho cautioned Thpmpson for throwing,'an ojjponent heavily vehq c[id?jiQL .have the ball. irHe sawnVJ Mas showuby any--" one, and he thought a lot of the instances mentioned were the outcome of imgaination. He^saw several players upset men on the line who had not got the ball, and he penalised them for this. The wing forwards were 1 more eager than usual, but h$ saw no roughness. It was, in hia opinion, an ordinarily played game, though not so gentle as most contests. He did not see ' exactly how Quartermaster was injured, but felt sure the mishap was caused by an accident. He saw him go down to stop a rush:- » To Mr Mounifqrt^He ' stopped tlie. ganje to because, two <>i", three iien fell heavily on a line ou,t, and because there was a lot' of unnecessary talking. He did not notice either Hogan or Morgan playing with undue roughness. ■ George Franklyn, who" w'as*one of the line umpires, said the game Fas very hard, but this was due to the state of the ground. He did not notice any' plough play or "scragging" throughout the tame ' which would have warranted the referee mi ordering a man off. He was sure in feis' own mind that the casualties were purely accidental. 'I here was no- foul play, but it was vigorous. Quarterman was injured in stopping a forward, rush, 'whilst Love-

ridge believed one of his , own. wen had 'hurt him, though a' Kaierau player fancied that his head had come in contact with Loveridge and caused the mishap. H any man had been particularly rough he would have noticed it. The game was hard and fast, and the slipj>ery state of the ground and ball were responsible for the accidents. He Saw no foul play, and had it been ,a dry day he did 1 not think there would have been any accidents. To Mr Mountfort.— The game was - not 'gentle: it trap pretty strong. It wss,cp»it©. ?pto.bable ' QiurrieimtiH, l£ fciay have ,*' been;? kiskod, -He 'saw Ti»opispn,,,and an'otßer" .glarihg .at one another, but he did riofc '*khow jvhtit the fdriner" was" really -w|rHe.4' ) f dr.. ' ,' ' »■ ' , • „ ': ' / ' /• • >l. : '?• Bell, the other line umpire, sa|tl fhe ; game was hard, and l;here was "a • great deal of over-eagerness jn stopping rushes, especially by the Pirates. There was no ill-feeling between -the teams on the day in question, though he knew there had' been in the past, but it had blown away. In his opinion both Quarterman and llolland were hurt accidentally. He did not see Thompson get hm-t. He saw no foul play when Thompson asked where the referee was. The play was hard and vigorous, but the players could not be blamed. There was a good deal of feeling between the supporters of the teams. The inquiry had not been talked over by the players. To Mr Craig.— There was a keen spirit of rivalry between the teams. ,To Mr Gray.— He did not remember Mr' Gray calling attention to a piece of rough play between Hogan and ■ McGregor, and did not recollect • saying that "he (McGregor) deserved the deal, because he gave Hogan one before that/ He heard Thompson ask where waa the referee;

A Guscott stated that he sustained the injury to. his shoulder by attempting to ■ colbr a player — TVko — who ducked, with the result that he went over Tcko and fell on his .shoulder. There was nothing unfair /about it, it. was quite accidental. So far as he knew theie was no ill-feeling between the teams, and he did not think the <mnie so rough as the papers made it out to be. The ill-feeling that had existed in previous years had been removed. It wad ah 'absolute lio that lie attempted to go back aftci' being; hurt, and it was untrue tlikt he liad sahl that ho "would not , go 'oft •&'«? field) from those cows.'-', .lit* did riofr'«*i'-«K?Kiiod-tn say .anything, about i j Thompson's play. He had not come there to make a personal attack on anyone. In reply to a further query from Mr Hall, witness stated that he preferred not to cxi press itny -opinion. He would leave .'that 'to the -referon'. 1 ' «He< would have been of the same opinion if tlie inquiry had been held on the nig-lit of the match. I To Mr Bassotl.—' When witness was leuvi ing the ground some oi: tlie spectators who,, thought he had been ordered off made some rcaiutks to which, he replied: "1 am good enough for them." He thought the accidents were not' attributable " to rougii . play, and he considered the game had been played in a friendly spirit.. / The captains of the teams— R. Mc6re"gor and 'C. McLean — then ' both expressed the opinion" that there had been 3510 |ft-feeling b^twre'eir the 'teams.' If there wag Any ill-feolmg it ';was amongst the '/WfffU^Vrs," not tli«- .players'. Mr McGregor' said 'he' did not" think any of his men had been hurt intentionally. There, had been a lot of talk ac to "offside*' play, .'and^he. paut.ioned his men' against this.' Both ; captains thought the. .."Herald" report exaggerated -about the rough play. McGregor said it was not a fact that he 'Jiad beeii dragged out of a scrum by' the hair of -the head. He had very little for anyone, to get hohl of. ; ' **■ Mr Ci'aig explained that he saw someone get pulled out by the hair of the head, blithe 'did not know who' it- was that was pulled put. .George Holland (Pirates) said ho - was accidentally hurt by Brady colliding with' him. He did not think there was any illfeeling./ He did not notice Hogan playing roughly 1 . He saw 110 rowing between ThftMips'on iiii<3 Morgan. 'He believed all t\ie? dactd'?n£k were ptva(y «s.ccwlc'nts\l. k QuftTtermaii (Pirates) was of the same opinion 'as to the casualties being accidentally'calised. His own injury was caused by' trying to stop a dribbling rush, ami he was confident no one tried to hurt him. He had played in- many a rougher game, and he had. seen men hurt in like manner" to the way he was' when the play was much' gentler. The game seemed to be played in the ordinary spirit. He was ,n,ot aware of- any feeling; ,the Kaieraus • played fairly. The greasy condition of •the ground contributed " "to the accidents to a large extent.' He did not think therewas any rough or brutal pJayl and would be tjuito willing to piny sneh. a gamp again.- " ' ' C. Marti3 (Pirates) sfatd he could ' not 'blame anyone for the injury to his knee. Eto one dealt with him, and there was no ill-feeling. There was considerable talking, but he heard no bad names used. ;J. Mitchell (Pirate)' said he sustained his inju,ry by falling to stop a rush. A lot rtf others fell on liim, and in' the scramble, hia hand was brok'o'ii.' Ho blamed, ho one. There' 'was no ill-feeling, and' he was surprised 'to see tlie game described as ,' a tough oho. The slippery ■ state of tke ground 1 was responsible for the,' accidents. |?he Pirates held no meeting prior to the iAatch, 'and ""were, 'not; instructed^ how "to play- ' T. Thomson (Pirates) was then examined. He did not remember .scuffling* with Morgan, or calling out "Where is the referee?" Did not remember throwing CjruqeotjL pr Davis when they jxad not got tW ball/- Jtwas .his duty, to mark Morgan.' .Ha did not renieinber being cau-? Ironed by," the referee,, nor >did he know "wliy ho was cautioned. Ho .did not rememIjer Morgan- istriking ' him. "Witness did n,ot get excited "during a game. He considered i the tors 1 largely to blame for mUe« 'of ' the rough play by "egging" players i on: 'If the "barrackers" would ha-ve enough sense to keep- quiefc,. football' woulct fc* much' better. ' There never had a Jb6Gil hnjp 1 -totwen the "Kaieraus and Pirates. He ' reckoned t the slippery state of the ground accountable for the accidents, as the fjame was not unduly rough.

To Mr Mountfort. — He did not remember the referee warning both teams, nor did he recollect his captain asking him to play steadily. He could not see where the rough play came in. He thought the Press reports went too far altogether. To Mr Hall. — If anyone said he played rough he would call him outside for a few minutes. He did not see Hogan play rough. ;T; Tf c had no idea how he. got hurt. He iji^'aio^ remember, tKrp%tbniiiij,a"nyone. <J. (Kaierau) d|d hbi remember being 'down- and struggling with Thompson! The game was played in an all-right spirit. He never tried to knock Thompson, 4m& had always treated him fairly. The Kaieraus did not go on the field with the intention of injuring any Pirate player. //He was not always on the look-out for 'jThj^npJson. . He failed to remember any fcer&gging. Ho 1 denied being left on the jground.-. . He had no bad feeling against /Thompson, nor did the latter ever try to f get "a dirty one" on to him. He thought I the report- was an unjust one, and the man who made it ought to bo drowned. [ ijEHs tepm was sorry for the accidents. !J To.mr Mountfort.^-He did not remem1 ber catching: any player by the throat. iHo had seen 1 worse games. "There had < never been any ill-feeling between the teams.

J. Hogan (Kairoau) absolutely denied thai: he got hold of any player hy the hair of the head and pulled him , out of the scrum/ He did not remember catching hold of McGregor at all. He did not know of any bad spirit between the players. He would not g;o out to play in aiiy "match if Jtftes ;tf£s itriy\tsUlc> df- de«jtHh£ with' one" j another*; ;^3e;re^cqne4"-lie" could remember measJy ever ythin_g< j\iat \ happened durI irig<|ar^hfttch, and-h'e" did, not 'recollect any tfijdjoe jhnighuesrs ■ bsn'g shojvh by himself Jofe anyone •Jelse.- 1 . Trtie.'gamo, was apparently »l played in \hj&"- best- 'of "spirit. He attriI buted v the reports of rough play in the ] papers to the ignorance of the reporters. ■ Witness thought the casualties had been I jcauße4 ,by, accidents. |!i T#/Mr ; Spriggehs. — He did not 'remember calling Thomppon a "dirty" player jaf ter the match was over. He had said jthat if any player playod "dirty" towards ■him ,he (witness), would have to be pulled *off'h'im. I At this stage, — 11.15 — it was decided to (adjonrn the inquiry until next Friday (evening, when the evidence of members •of the Management Committee and onftookerl Mil be .taken.'