FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 25, 23 June 1909, Page 10

FOOTBALL.

RUGBY. • Auckland. THE Rugby foot'bill match s were played on .Saturday in perfect weather. The senior games did not attract much attention, chief interest being shown in the junior contest between t‘he Ponsonby and Marist Bros, teams. In the senior grade City beat Grafton by 29 points to nil, Parnell defeated Newton by 30 points to three, and University showed improved form, beating North Shore, on the latter’s ground, after an exciting match, by 16 points to 11. The junior match proved as exciting as anticipated—neither team had been defeated this season —and finally resulted in a win for Ponsonby by 5 points to 3. Other grade matches resulted as follows:—Grafton defeated City by 11 points to 6; Newtoi. •won from University by default, and s’arnell won from North Shore by 19 points to 3. Christchur-ch. The senior football matches on Saturday resulted as follows:—Old Boys beat I.intwood by 9 points to nil, Merivale beat Albion by 9 points to 7. Sydenham beat Canterbury College by 3 points to nil. Wellington. Toneke (14) beat Oriental CO); retone (14) beat St. James (13); Athletic (6) beat Victoria College (5); Melrose (18) beat Southern 43); Old Boys (9) beat Wellington (3). Dunedin. The Rugby football matches were continued on Saturday in fine weather, the grounds being in fairly good order. The results are as follows:—University beat lUnion by 11 points to 3, Alhambra beat Southern by 11 points to 3. Kaikorai beat (Dunedin by 3 points to nil, Taieri Rovers beat Pirates by 3G points to 6, ZingariSRichmond drew with Port Chalmers, 3 joints each. ASSOCIATION. Division Championships. Chief interest was shown in the senior game between Corinthian and Ponsonby. dt was generally expected that Ponsonby Would give the champions a warm time, and this expectation was justified, for (Ponsonby were leading for a considerable of the second spell. Corinthian, however, again showed their wonderful reserve, and won by 3 goals to 2. Other first division results were: Y.M.C.A. 4 goals, W.Y.M.I. 2; Caledonian 3, North Shore 1. Huntly brought up a strong team to play against Gordon in a friendly game. The country team won by 8 to *iL NORTHERN UNION GAME. The “All Blacks” (the team of New Zealanders playing under Northern Union rules) defeated Newcastle by six points to three on June 16. There was no scoring in the first half. Carlaw and Xisle obtained tries in the second half. The New Zealand Northern Union Rugby football team met Queensland at Brisbane on June 19th. During the first spell the visitors scored 18 points to their opponents' 5. The local men showed greatly improved form in the second half, and ran up an additional 20 points. The visitors, however, always had something in hand, and increased their score to 40 points. The game thus ended: New Zealand, 40; Queensland, 25. The Man in Front. VALUE OF FORWARD PLAY. (By W. CUNNINGHAM.) [W. Cunningham, whose ability as a ■crum “engineer” has been one of the great factors in the success of the Auckland fcrwards, has something to say of the

work of the sermnmer, and offers a word of adviee to the youngsters.] The man in the front of the game—it is he who wins or loses the battle. Look back on the record of the Auckland team. For the last ten years they have been premiers of New Zealand, with but one exception. Their victories have not been due to having better men; but to better combination, and to better scrummaging and general forward play. In one department Auckland is always superior, that is scrum wcfrk. Until a couple of seasons age, the backs were given all the credit for jvimvng the games, but later the forwards were given the kudos, and rightly so, 1 claim. Last year we had striking proof of this, when Auckland beat Wellington and Taranaki. Both these teams had better back divisions than Auckland, but the Auckland forwards over-ran their forwards and backs. I maintain that a forward can make a back, but a back cannot* make a forward, therefore I c'aim that the forward division is of more importance than the back division. When the “ All Blacks ” were in England, one heard nothing but praise for the backs, but the backs knew well wherein the strength of the team lay. The scrummers invariably got possession of the ball in the scrum. We packed seven men to their eight in every match, and were never once pushed.

I still believe that our 2.3.2. serum formation is the best. In the first place it allows a clear exit for the ball, and in the second place it makes a more compact body. Watch a 3.2.3. formation scrum; where does it wobble and bend? In the centre of course. Then watch a 2.3.2. scrum. It may be pushed back, but it will go bodily or not at all. Gwynn Nichols, the Welsh international, wrote: “In cultivating our style of back play ■we have had to rely on thg co-operation of our forwards, who in their turn, study the ways and means of best serving their backs. So it is that we have raised the art of heeling to a high standard of excellence. The New Zea'anders have worked this art out to an even greater nicety than we have. Australia plays the old 3.2.3. scrum, and N.Z. can beat them when the ball is fairly put in. The rule says the ball must be “ put in past the feet of the scrum with the shortest front.” In 1907 in Sydney this was not done, the consequence was the ball was never in the scrum, as the loose lead, or outside man in the 3.2.3. serum hooked it before it reached the centre of the scrum. With such men as “ Bubs ” Tyler (Auckland) or “Ginger” Casey (Otago), or “ Fut ” Brady (Auckland), in the front row, I have not seen any three men who would get the ball. In England I played in the front row on a few eceasions (very few, mind you), and Tyler told me I was about the worst hooker he had ever seen. I believe him, too. The front row man requires to be a short, powerful man, and to be very clever with is feet. Hence my failure!

The “ lock ” or centre man must be a powerful man, with very strong arms to lock the front row tightly, and must be very careful not to interfere with the action of their legs. Uusually the heaviest and slowest man is put in this position. I suppose that is why I have filled the position so long. The side supports and back row men should be the fastest and cleverest men in the forwards, as their duties are to break away from the scrum and join in a passing movement with the backs, and to do their share of tackling and rush stopping. The Scotch forward team Of 1905 was the cleverest at dribbling I have ever seen; next to them the Irish pack of the same year. Dribbling seems to be a lost art in New Zealand football. How disastrous to a back team is a good pack of dribblers; many a good back has been sorely put to it when facing three or four forwards coming along with the ball at toe. W. J, Stead was the best man I’ve seen at rush stopping. He would gather the ball and start on the attack in almost the same action. Freddy (Roberts was another fearless rush stopper, so also was Dick McGregor. I remember my first game of football. I played balf-back (just think of

it), and what a useless body I thought forwards were. I used to think all the wasters in the team were stowed away in the forwards, just to get rid of them, as it were. But now I realise that a forward is of great importance, and requires to be as clever as a back to be of much use to the side. Much has been written and said concerning the wing forward. The average winger is accused of being nothing more than an offside obstructionist. Now a good winger docs not play offside any more than a half-back playing a keen game. Watch Gillett or Gallaher playing wing forward. Are they mere Zjostlers and offsiders? Certainly not. They are clever, scientific, and brainy players, who rarely get penalised for offside play. In England and Wales our •'"•♦g forward was criticised for his unfair tactics; still every team we met played a wing, but styled him a halfback. He put the bail in the scrum, threw it in from line out, and charged our half-baek when in possession of the ball, so where lay the difference between their half-back and our wing-forward, I’d like to know? Some people contend that the winger makes the game slow. I say the winger makes the game faster, for the reason that he compels the halfbaek to pass immediately he gets the ball, and therefore opens aip the game. The finest wing I know is George Gillett. He starts no end of passing rushes, and is always in the thick of the forward work. I think the Auckland players train too hard during the season. Playing a match every Saturday, and training twice a week for twelve or thirteen weeks, is too much. I think when a man is in form, once a week training, and playing a match every Saturday, should be sufficient. I doubt if half of the forwards playing to-day could pack a scrum properly. They know how to get into a scrum themselves, but could not place the rest of the men in position. The veteran Jimmy Duncan did not know how to place the men correctly. The Auckland scrum is packed at present the same as in 1899. Jack Swindley showed me how to pack n serum, and in 1899 I packed Auckland’s scrums, and ever since they have parked the same way. New Zealand also packs the same way. While training on board the s.s. Rimutaka on the vojage Home, Dave Gallaher told me off to look after the scrum, and to see that the men were in right position. 1 shall never forget the match in Paris, where two or three of the French forwards would stand out of the scrum to see how our men packed; then would dive into the scrum, in the same way as our men were packed—as they thought. During that match I did something which annoyed one of the Frenchies, and he started on to me in French. I did not know but what he wasn’t going to dig up Napoleon, and drive me right out of France, I could not understand one word he said. So, to defend myself, I let fly in “good old Maori,” and I’ll swear he did not know what I was saying (I forget now whether I knew myself); however, he quit first, so I declared myself the winner.

One important feature in present day football which is not practised is placekicking. Often the result of a match relies on the place-kick. Think of Dufty—how he piled on the points the season he played for Auckland! The best placekicker I ever saw was S. Darragh, of Tauranga. One word as to professionalism. I think the laws are too stringent. I think any player, when on tour and losing wages, should be paid equal to what he is losing through lost time from his employment. I do not hold with a man.earning his living by playing football; still I don’t consider it fair that he should be a loser through touring as one of the Rugby Union’s representatives. I think many a promising player Is ruined through playing too long as a junior. Most players nowadays play for two or three years while ’at school; then when they leave school commence playing in one of the lower grades, year by year advancing by a grade. By the time such a player reaches the Senior Grade, ail the best football has been taken out of him; he may last a couple or three years; but soon cracks up. I never played junior in my life, and I have been playing representative football for the last ten years. I consider if a boy has had at least two years’ spell after leaving school before playing in any of the lower grades, he would last much longer when he reaches ths Senior Grade.