NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume XX, Issue 1112, 3 August 1911, Page 11

NOTES.

Southern football critics are unanimous in their opinion that the New Zealand University team’s tri]) to Sydney, where they played the New South Wales students, is of no good to anyone, but rather the reverse.

The Otago Rugby Union’s senior competition has been won ‘by the University fifteen, while Zingari and Richmond fill the position of runnersup. University had a close call in their match against Southern at Dunedin on Saturday, the game ending in their favour by the narrow margin of 12 points to 11. Throughout the season [University have played clean and heady football, and their success in winning the Otago Rugby Union’s club championship was most popular with patrons of the winter game in Dunedin.

Pountney, one of College Rifles most prominent forwards, will assist the Parnell senior team in their match against City on Saturday.

Eckhold, who was a member of the 1907 New Zealand team, has been playing well behind the pack for Southern in the senior competitions at Dunedin, and it was thought that he would be se'ected as half-back in the Otago representative team. However, J. Sutherland has been chosen to represent Otago in that position in their match against the South Island minor Unions on Saturday. Sutherland, it may be mentioned, donned the jersey for his old club, Alhambra, only three Saturdays back, after a season’s absence from the game, and as he was able to reproduce his old form, his selection as Otago’s half-back followed.

The following team has been selected to represent Canterbury against Marlborough, Nelson, Buller and West Coast to-day (Thursday): Doell, D. Guthrie, Jacobson, Pyle, Burns, Gray, H. Taylor, Murray, Hassell, Burgess (Ashburton), Morgan, Auld, Ward, Morris, and Bain.

An amusing incident is reported from Ashburton in connection with the Canterbury-Ashburton match, on which occasion Don Sandman, familiarly known as “Sandy,” who is at present on the disabled list with a broken bone in his foot, was an ardent foarracker. One of the Canterbury forwards is the brother of a wel’-known member of the Christchurch detective force, and is, by the way, generally very prominent in his football. In this particular match, however, he was rather inclined to take things easy, probably in view of the Sydenham match the following Saturday. At any rate, little was seen of him until near the end of the

game, when it suddenly entered his mind to have a “go.” Kicking the ball through the scrum, he set after it at top speed, when, before he reached it, a loud call from “Sandy” rang across the ground: “Hullo, Bill, got a clue at last.” Bill collapsed, the whistle bew, and the game had to be stopped till he recovered consciousness, while “Sandy” was taken into custody.

The following team has been chosen to represent Otago against the South Island minor Unions on Saturday: — Backs: Scott, Norrie, Bennett, O’Sullivan, Cockroft, Black, Sutherland. Forward's: Casey, Scott (Pirates), Symonds, McDonald (Taieri Rovers), Brown, Graham, Johnson, A. McDonald (Kaikorai).

The football umpire’s lot is not an enviable one in Melbourne, judging by the following paragraph:—Late at night after the North MelbournePreston match, in which North lost several goals on the first quarter for having played with more than the customary number of men in the team, the field umpire, Hume, was brutally assaulted on his way home at North Melbourne. His nose was fractured by his cowardly assailant.

Walshe, the Poneke wing-iorward. who was injured in the Athletic match a few Saturdays back, had a parlous time following his accident (says a Wellington writer). At one stage his medical attendant considered it doubtful whether he would ever ifeain be able to watch a football match, let alone play in one, a knock below the heart having caused that organ to be so slow in its action as to reduce his pulsations to thirtyeight to the minute. I am pleased t® say, however, that Walshe is now making a fine recovery—so much so that he was permitted to witness the recent victory of his team against St. James. Walshe has been playing Senior football now for about fourteen years, and this season was showing form equal to that of his best days.

The amended dates for the Auckland representative team’s proposed southern tour do not improve Otago’s position, which is the same as under the original dates, providing for the match against Otago being played on a Wednesday (says a Dunedin writer). It may be that this is the best Auckland can do, but the opinions expresed by members of the Otago Rugby Union are in the direction of the Otago team on its northern tour next season playing Auckland on a Wednesday. This is not in a spirit of retaliation, but it is argued that if Taranaki plays Otago on a Saturday this year as arranged, Otago is morally bound to give Taranaki a Saturday match on the northern tour next season, and as one of the provinces must accept a Wednesday match that one, in the circumstances, should be Auckland. Before this matters may be arranged providing for both Taranaki and Auckland getting Saturday matches, though, with the limited time at the disposal of the players, one cannot see how it is to be done.