PROPOSAL FOR MERGER

Chronicle (Levin), 24 April 1946, Page 4

PROPOSAL FOR MERGER

HOROWHENUA AND MANAWATU RUGBY UNIONS

WILL BENEFIT FLAYERS, SAYS MANAWATU "Thp only way we can get our young players into big football is by faising the stpnjard of our representatives * teams so that we ean issue challenges to other majQr uhioas- If we were iinked with Horowhenua "\^ve could probably get somewhere, " declareJ Mf.- F; O; SkQglund ht a meeting of the management committee of the Manawatu Rugby Football Union in Palmerston North last evening. " The eqpiniittee was Jiseussing what; proposals its representatives should put before the Horowhenua Rugby Union, when they wait upon that b°4y in fkq near future. The Manawatp Ijnion if} anxiqus fp epme tQ spmp arrangement whereby it can draw upon the Horowhenua Uniou's representative players, Mr. B. Palmer said he did not want to" go to Horowhenua and discuss ap amhlgamation of the two union s sueh as existed manv years ago, when the body was known as the Manawhenua Union. If Horowhenua would agree to come in as a sub-union, he would be in favour of that.

The president (Mr. A, M. Ongley) said that he would be loafb tQ aitempt reviving the previous arrangement of % eombined union. If Horowhenua became a sub-union the ofhcials would lose their representation on the New Zealand Union, but this loss wouk] be mpre tliaji compensated for by the benelit to thq players. The point at issue was realiy' whether the officials would be prepareq to niake this sacrilice for the players, 'Frdm ' Manawatu 's point mf view,'such> ■ .an arrangement would mean only that i| could draw on- Horowhenua 's players, Horowhenua would eontinue tQ- C.Qhdvh't its own affairs. Strong support for the revival o'f the- " eombined pnion came from iUr. Skoglund, wliQ said that he had initiated the pyesent piatter. Tracing what he felf to be the- cause of the failure of the Manawhenua Union, he said it was the failure of the s'electors to piek the best possible tenm. They had picked seven from one and eight from the other. Mr. Ongley : They were f orced to, It was part of the cpnstitution. Mr. Skoglund said he thought the ojd union could be reconstituted and the rqles redrafted to show niqrp cqmmonsense. In a conversation, Mr. Harry Jacobs, who was very well known in Rugby cireles iii Horowhenua, had said that he could not see any future for young players in that territory while Horowhenua remained a separate union. "While this position exists, said IHr-. Skoglund, "Horowhenua will losp its, better players to the bigger eentres like Wellington, and I would prefer tq see them come this way." Union members were trustees fpr thq players, he said, and it was their job tq see that the very • best arrangementa were made for the i5fayfers.; : ■ \ .

He fpr oue vyoaldTOt go to= Horo-; whenua,- and, with" a pistpl to theirheads, fell them they/had fo "become a sub-union. He thought the faults which had led to the disruption of the Manawhenua Union could be elimjpated th another attempt to form a eombined union. Other members spoke in support of Horowhenua becoming a sub-union, and it was decided that the members of thq deputation, should discuss the wliole nmtter fully with the Horpwhenua Unipn when t]ie meeting took place.