WELLINGTON CHATTER.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XVI, Issue 911, 22 August 1907, Page 13

WELLINGTON CHATTER.

My Wellington correspondent writes: — Hitherto the footballing public in the Empire City have looked upon the match with Auckland as the match of the year, and for months beforehand practically nothing else has been talked about when a football theme is started. This season, however, a change has come o’er the scene, and the interest in the annual fixture has been, up to the present, as flat as a pancake. And the reason for this lethargy is not far to seek. It is all summed up in one statement—the departure of the professional team on its tour of the Northern Counties of England.

Both provinces have had some very severe losses from a representative standpoint, and as far as we are concerned in Wellington, the forward division has been knocked all to pieces Of the team that played against Auckland last year, Callum, Gilchrist, Wright Cross and Byrne have all gone, and the only one of the five that was at all doubtful of his place in this year’s team was Callum. The two front-rankers and the whole of the middle row gone will indicate how severe the loss is.

On the other hand, Auckland has also suffered considerably -from the same cause, and the fact that neither team will be fully representative of the football in both cities has tended to weaken the interest in next Saturday’s game. Another factor that has worried the quidnuncs here is that the local selection committee is the weakest triumvirate that has filled that position for years, and many feel that there is not enough ability amongst them to make the best of the material available. I confess to a feeling this way, and was not surprised to find -that when the team made its appearance last Saturday to find it not as strong a one as I think could have been got together. The fifteen chosen to uphold the honour of Wellington on this occasion is: —Fullback, G. Spencer; threequarters, J. Ryan, F. Mitchinson, and P. Anderson; five-eighths, P. Cleary and W. J. Wallace; half, F. Roberts; wingforward, A. King; forwards, W. Reedy and T. Jordan (front row), J. Spencer, D. Rush (lock), and W. Alexander (second row), and D. Calcinai and A. Wilson (back row).

J. Ryan is the best five-eighth playing in Wellington, both in attack and defence, yet every time he has been selected this year he has been placed on the wing-threequarter. And it is in the five-eighths that Wellington is particularly weak this year. The selectors have acknowledged tnis by playing Wallace there. I have the greatest admiration for the Poneke “ All Black,” but as a five-eighth he is not comparable to Wallace as a wing-threequarter. The transposition of these two players would make the team a more solid one from my way of thinking. Again, Anderson is a centre-three-quarter, and has not played on the wing at any time during the season. Twohill has been showing excellent try-getting form this season from the position for which Anderson has been selected, and here again the selectors have not shown the least common sense.

If they wanted to experiment they could have played Roberts five-eighth, replacing the “ All Black” at half by Green, the young Petone player, who has been showing excellent form during the season. Shortly, then, a far better back team than the one selected would have been: —Fullback, Spencer; threequarters, Twohill, Mitchinson, and Wallace; five-eighths, Roberts and Ryan; half, Green. Coming to the forwards, King, on the wing, gets down on to the opposing backs in quick time, but is inclined to start off too soon, with the result that he is penalised a lot. Wells, the ex-North Shore man, is better than he is in this place, but he has a tendency to play the man as often as he plays the ball. The pack itself is a team of ’bus horses pure and simple, there being

but few amongst the seven who show any dash at all in the loose. The only two who are likely to trouble . the Auckland backs to any degree are Wilson and J. Spencer. The former has the same blood in his veins as had Peter Jackson, the coloured fistic champion of our youthful days, and shows similar dogged persistency to what that, worthy did when opposite his opponents in the ring. Spencer is the best forward in Wellington, in my opinion, though many ever that he has reached the veteran stage. Reedy and Jordan, the hookers, are both as slow as they are made, and on on the fat side. Neither are good enough for a game of this description. Heenan and Hamilton, both young players, could have replaced them with advantage, and on their present season’s form should have.

Jordan has been playing as long as I can remember, and as this is the first time he has won a representative cap, further comment is needless. Rush is worth his place, and I am not prepared to admit that Wright, the professional player, is even a better lock.

W. Alexander is not playing as well as he did when he won his cap before, and he is about on a par with Reedy and Jordan —not enough dash in his play. Calcinai is a forward with a lot of possibilities in the loose, but he is inclined to over-train, and gets stale before the season comes to a close.

All said and done, then, I think the Selection Committee have failed to make the most of the material at their disposal. But enough; what we can expect is that the players who have been honoured with the confidence of the committee will do the best that is in them, and it will not be their fault if victory does not rest with Wellington. I have no doubt you will excuse me if I express a hope that the match will result that iway, but, be that as it may, my wish is that the best crowd may win, and that the game may be as enjoyable as many of those that have preceded it. A statement has been made that Edgar Wylie, the manager of the New Zealand team, has aged more than ten years as the result of the trip to Australia. These managerial experiences are never eager to be repeated by those taking part in them, as footballers are kittle cattle to look after. I have had two such experiences myself, and do not want any more. Recently there has been an enquiry in Wellington for a copy of the latest rules of the game as issued by the English R.U. As the result of those enquiries it has been discovered that there is only one such copy in the Australasian colonies, and it is held by the secretary of the New Zealand Referees’ Association, on loan from an Auckland referee. Who after this will dare to say that the English Rugby Union is not eager to keep in touch with its affiliated bodies in this part of the world ?

I don’t know how your representatives found the grounds in Australia, but the Wellington men are unanimous in the opinion that they never found them so hard before, being like flint in many places. The cricketers may like Bulli soil on the Sydney Cricket Ground, but the New Zealand footbaners are not swearing by it. Wallace also tells me that the Sydney forwards put more devil into their play than in previous matches, bringing it in all the time. They also found them eager to play the man, whether he had the ball or not.

Petone won the junior championship last Saturday, defeating Melrose in the final match by 18 points to 3.