NEWS AND NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVI, Issue 906, 18 July 1907, Page 13

NEWS AND NOTES.

The gate on Saturday at the Auck-land-Buller match was worth £l6O.

Hawke’s Bay representatives play here on August 10th for the Ranfurly Shield.

The junior reps, play Otahtihu on Saturday next. They will probably leave in a week or two for the Taranaki tour.

A pretty warm Auckland team should be available for the Southern tour next month, despite the fact that nine of our. best men will be en route to England. An Otago contemporary, referring to the coming visit, bids Southern players remember their experiences of 1904.

A match has been arranged at Westport between Buller and Canterbury, the Buller Union guaranteeing a gate of £65 to cover expenses.

Grafton Club is experiencing many vicissitudes this season. Its members have not been a happy family, and teacup storms have been frequent. At present a second club is being formed of senior and junior players. At the same time it is gratifying to find that the committee is looking ahead towards next season, and putting a new concrete floor in the training shed.

The controversy in connection with the expenses of the Buller team, elsewhere referred to, is likely to arouse very considerable interest. The rule of the Ranfurly Shield ’ conditions, dealing with the subject, reads as follows: —“In the event of a challenge match (as distinguished from an ordinary match, declared to be a challenge match) being played, the New Zealand Union shall appoint the referee, and refund to the challenging union, so far as the net proceeds from that particular match will allow, reasonable expenses of transit only, the management committee of the N.Z. Union to be sole judges of what expenses are reasonable.”

George Tyler has been seen for the last time on the football field. Some time back I stated that the City captain intended retiring at the end of the season, but after Saturday’s match the famous front-ranker decided to hang up his jersey for good. Tyler’s retirement will be universally regretted. For the last eight years he has played in rep. football. He is one of the true clean, healthy type of athletes who play for pure love of the game. Men of Tyler’s stamp have made Rugby what, it is in New Zealand to-day. Honoured by the King himself, George Tyler carries with him the admiration and respect of not only every Rugger enthusiast in this wonderful dominion of ours, but will find a place in the annals of British and Australian history of the game.

Writes “ Cynic” in the “ Referee” before Saturday’s match: —“In order that prestige may not rear itself as a mighty ghost and frighten some of the local men into believing the New Zealanders invincible, it is opportune to quote the results of the last four matches of New South Wales against New Zealand, and to supplement it by the remark that New South Wales has thrice defeated New Zealand, viz., in 1893, 1894, and 1897. The results referred to are: 1903 at Sydney, New Zealand won by 12 points (including a penalty goal) to nil; won by 3 points (a penalty goal) to nil; won by 19 to nil; drawn, 8 points all.”