FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 864, 9 July 1910, Page 13

FOOTBALL.

RUGBY. BEFORE THE WHISTLE BLOWS. A BROKEN: BULB.

(Bjf AnißTOßUi.ua.)

Towards the close of the Park matches last ,Saturday, there was comment among occupants of.the grandstand upon the fact that large numbers, hurrying in tho direction ol' the main gates, were allowed to pass' in 'front of the crowded pavilion before cither game was actually finished. The annoyance caused to the spectators watching the games from the lower rows in the stand has frequently been pointed out to the Rugby Union, with the result that a rule was made that the front of the stand must be kept clear until tho final whistles have sounded.

Visitors, knowing of this rule, were surprised and annoyed at last Saturday's procession. And how did it come about? The trespass was commenced by a lady and gentleman' known to the union officials, who unwisely allowed them to pass with no other challenge than the respectful dofliug of hats. This was quite sufficient precedent for the numerous other onlookers who desired to leave early, and the Rugby Union sentries, having, failed in their duty to the great body of their best-paving guests, stood helplessly by while thoughtless people streamed by in their scores. It is to be hoped that, during those moments of inconvenience for the hundreds seated in the stand, the Rugby Union members learned the needed lesson. The Mana of Oriental. Having a bye to-day, the Oriental men should not neglect their training, if they are to maintain their strong position in the second round. How often it happens that a team, flushed with honour at hardly-fought victory, sits down to admire itself and breaks up completely when next it meets an ordinarily weaker team which has been busy preparing for the combination that has "done things"! A bright and hearty set of forwards, supported by well-framed backs, overwhelmed Poneke last Saturday. The de 7 feat which came upon the champions of a season ago was not wholly duo to "hard luck," that very familiar excuse whenever the mighty fall.

The Poneke Defeat. Undoubtedly, however, several good chances of scoring,. 6n the part of the Poneke backs, were spoiled at the last moment by clumsy,' over-anxious handling of the ball. When Oriental had scored only three points (from a penalty kick), the unreliability of certain' of the Poneke braves stood out vividly against the general background of the play. Walsh played a smart and effective game, against which the frequent- failures of Sinclair (centre) stood out in bold contrast. "As the spell progressed, Prendeville made an attempt to score in the corner, having been assisted by Walsh into a favourable position. He was just too slow. Before ■ the spell ended, Slater, who, was in his best form, essayed a long goal from tho field, the ball almost reaching the cross-bar. ; '

The Poneke lucklessness or tiredness— or whatever it was—pursued then in the second half, , for Sinclair, Elliott, and Prendeville "in turn dropped in the estimation. of, tho spectators, who saw openings that might have been followed up to bright- endings. Prendeville had a particularly good opportunity of scoring. Hunter and Dennehy mado for the line vigorously , iii the concluding stages of the combat; lint their individual efforts were no more successful than those of the backs. A lot. of the solid work 011 Poneke side was done by Leahy. The enemy's score had risen gaily to 21 .before Poneke roused for the final bo.ut. It was then that Elliott raced over in" the corner; 'tempering the Red defeat in, some slight degree. . ..

Kinvig Kicks Well. Four goals out of . five shots is a very fair performance, and this was Kinvig's accomplishment last Saturday. Considering tho soft state of the ground, Kinvig'eurprised even those who'have "developed'confidence in- him. As-a powerful line-kick and a goal-getter, Kinvig will no doubt be watched by the selectors.

Pyle ;is another back .who has become a power in the Oriental team, and Matlieson and Sturrock maintain something like form. Chant, 'the full-back, was caught once holding the ball when lie should have got ;his kick in without embarking on a dodgy run that involved risks which the side was not justified in taking.

St. James and Old Boys. The victory of St. James over Old Boys at the Park last Saturday did not cqmo as a great surprise, notwithstanding the fact that Old Boys gave Oriental a sound drubbing on the previous battle day. Prom the spectators' point of View, the game was hardly ideal, because apart from a few passing movements on the part of' St. James's backs, there'was little combination in either There were occasional flashes of individual cleverness, and Dawson was most prominently before the onlookers. His speed of foot singled him out as a dangerous man, and St. Jnmes' tacklers were .most attentive to him. Thompson, at half, was responsible for-some good defensive work'. St. James' fifteen' presented a trained appearance, but not a brilliant one. However, their tactics were strenuous, and they deserved their win. Bradley and 'the brothers Crewcs were the mainstay of the back division, which was weakened in the second half by the retirement of Thomas, through injury.

Athletic in Scoring Mood. 51. Poolo, who played right-wing 'threequarter for' Athletic last Saturday, was quite worth his pl'acc in the team. Ho made two or three good runs during the match, and his tackling on several occasions was good.

Evensori played his usual souud game, and his line-kicking was very effective. He had several kicks at, goal, but only sent the ball over the bar on one occasion. M'Kenzic, at five-eighths, and A. Cunningham, at full-back, .were both in good form, but it was an off-day for S. Wilson.

Among tho Athletic forwards, W. Wilson, Rapson, J. Cunningham, Murphy, and Murray were conspicuous throughout. Murray and Eapson were both in scoring moods, and the former was unlucky not to have two tries to his credit'.

Of the Wellington backs, A. Hill, was' the on),v. player that came within an ace of senior form. Sellar6 did some good work, but his play was patchy. Lambert spoiled a certain score in tho second spell by cutting into a passing rush when lie had no right to and knocking on ail easy pass.

Turner stood out by himself in the Wellington forward division. He was always at the head of the rushes, and was in such fine condition that towards the end of the match he was perhaps playing the best game oil the ground. Mu'nro, who injured both, his ankles early in the season, has not recovered sufficiently to do himself justice.

Tho New Point in Rugby. M'Kellar's return to club football should make some considerable difference to the. .Wellington team. Certain it is that they were very weak on Saturday last, and Athletic might easily . have scored, more points against thcin than they did. It was pleasing to note that while, the Wellington team seemed to have no plans for adapting themselves to the more open game which follows the "5 yards throw out," their opponent* made the most of the situation, and the scruminers frequently "mixed it" with bright little passing rushes.

S'righioning the Game. Tho rule compelling that tho ball must be thrown out 5 yards on the line-out is going to do more for Rugby than a lot. of the other rules put together. Tlie majority of the footballers and football enthusiasts in 1.1.1 u Dominion do not want to see Rugby give way to any other game. It. in the one in which they and their friends took part, the one they all love to talk about, and the ono above all in which New'Zcnlanders have excelled. But it is the general: cry now that club Rugby has in a measure deteriorated, • due. no doubt to the fact that with tho increase

of clubs the great players do not happen to be in the same teams, and so though we may still sec great individual efforts in club games wo seldom see the play which used to result from a combination of the schemes of the Rugby giants of old, who spoilt thicr spare moments In training ami''formulating-plans for the following week. In these circumstances it follows that any rule that will tend to. brighten club play will be welcomed by tho spectators. The new rule about the throw-in is going to make the game a great deal faster. The days of tho old btillocking scrummcr are numbered. In his place will come the dashing forward, who will have to e:;ert himself from start to finish, who will use his hands as much ns his feet, and who will employ a larger proportion of braiii6 and a smaller proportion of brute strength. Team to Play America. This evening the selectors will pick the team to represent Wellington against the American University team on Saturday next. Tho New Zealand Scrum, Mr. V. Meredith was a splendid wic!: when ho played in Wellington eight or nine years ago, and he has been a representative selector since. But there is room for different opinions on every question, and his suggestion that the three-two-three scrum should be given a trial in Now Zealand is not likely to be generally accepted. Mr. "Jimmy" Duncan suggested that the "three-two-three" formation should be tried against EedellSivright's team some years ago, but tho idea was . ruled out, and as is well-known the New' Zealand scrum won tho day.. If the recent team of "All Blacks" failed to get the. ball in Australia,, there is no great .cause for wonder, because Ridland was really the only man among the forwards who had any claim to being a first-class hooker. The team iv.ns picked without any apparent regard for this department, and included no men of the 'stamp of Dodd, Watkins, M'Minn, and Tyler (North Islanders), or Hughes, Myers, Casey, and M"Nie (South Islanders).

It is liardly to lso expected tliufc men will All the positions of hookers satisfactorily if tliey are not specially trained and it would be absurd to suggest that because 11 "lock" is unable to ''hook when lie is picked to play in the front rank that the two-three-two scrum is a failure. No, the New Zealand forwards are as brainy a lot as any the writer knows, and if the seven men scrum had been less effective than the other they would have become apprised of the fact sometime during the past quarter of a century before Mr. Meredith was seized with tho idea.

Of course, the three-twoHhree scrum will admit of the men breaking up quicker, but against this it must be argued that the seven men scrum is pushing to a smaller proportionate space than the eight men scrum. Hence its efforts •being more closely concentrated .are more effective.' Finally the two-three-two scrum is in voguo throughout the Dominion. Why should it be altered simply because our representatives ' tour .Australia once in two years, and England three times in-1910,years?

Victoria College and Hutt. Of course it will, be said that' Victoria College wero pitted against .a weak team last Saturday, and that, in consequence, it was not difficult to start the back machinery; nevertheless, the talent is there, and maybe it can be brought into action in a hard match as well as an easy one. Ryan, Stainton, Phillips, Curtayne. and Fairs wero a splendid combination of backs. ' Their passing was ueatl their defence sound, and they altogether gave a clever display. The Collego forwards worked well together, their following up and tackling being particularly keen, and they backs well. Hutt, although decisively beaten, played up well, but their-efforts wero poor;compared with the game put;. up ,:by Uhem against Poneke. , Young,- who replaced Harnett at'full-back, seemed to be a little nervous. He surprised everybody by .'-going in for flying, kicks. TContley. was the best back on tho Hutt side. His defence was clever, and he made one or two splendid runs. Cpdby was, not up to usual'form,'' his kicking being 'faulty. Tho tackling of the Hutt backs was very weak' 'ail' through; ' Tailnahill, Turner, Hodgeman, and Higginbotham did .somo good work, particularly Hedgeman, whose redeeming feature is' tackling.

"A Blot on Rugby." ■ "Under the. heading ."A Blot on Rugby," :the' Sydney.. "Telegraph" refers, in the following terms to the continued practice of playing wing-forwards:—

Last season there was every reason to believe that the Rugby spectator had scon the last of'that blot on the . game—the wing-forward; but it is' to be regretted that he is with us once again. The visiting New; Zealanders have brought him aioiig in all his majesty and -might, to ■ the obvious detriment of good spectacular play. The justification for the existence of such a performer is that he is useful to his side in getting in among the opposing backs, and preventing the startingof the bouts of passing which are the' delight of tho onlooker, and tlis beginning of the discomfiture of opponents. If ho were always kept within bounds the wingforward might bo tolerated; but there i.s tho evergreen argument to be urged against him—he more often than not "gets in among 'em," this being the fac-etious manner in which his inroads in the backs-is 1 described, when ho is glaringly off-side. It needs no expert to say that his presence is not in the best interests of" the game, and the sooner ,the. practice is abolished the better will it be for all concerned. The reference to NewZealand is in no way intended to discredit the present team, for they have over and over again proven themselves to be a thoroughly sportsmanlike lot of fellows. The system has grown up in that country, and tho evils of. it arc not psrhaps regarded as being so'pronounced as they appear to bo in a country where tho -wing-forward-has long since gone through the hands of the undertaker. If the suggestion to keep men from advancing beyond an imaginary line drawn through tho centre of the scrum ■ were adopted, much o£ tho causc for complaint would be removed.

American Methods. . , Mr. R. M'Duff, the well-known Auckland and Thames representative forward, who has been studying in Chicago, told :<n Auckland reporter tho other day that tho llugby game has gained a foothold in California, where the American game is forbidden. America will, sooner or later, becoiue'a big factor in the Rugby world, said Mr. M*J)ufr.. The Americans, when they take up anything, go into it wholeheartedly, and spare neither time nor expense, in setting as near perfection as possible, for. they state in their own vernacular that they want to be the "whole .cheese." Their training methods arcvery scientific and up-to-date, and everything that is possible to be doiie is dons to get tho men in perfer.i. condition. ".The present touring team," added Mr. M'Duff, "has only taken up tho game recently, but they can be depended upon to make the most- of their visit, and will readily pick up the finer points which they are suro to turn to good advantage, as probabtj team.", visiting America in after years will find out."

The Sydney "Referee" remarks that tho forward play of the American Universities' team is already very fine, and predicts that, when the backs attain the same standard in combination, tho side will be 100 per cent, more dangerous in try-getting.

The Maori Team. When tho Maori team was welcomed, al Newcastle, the captain, Takarangi. gave an emphatic denial to the statement pus. lislied in a. Sydney paper that, upon their return to New Zealand, they intended to play the Northern Union game. It was, ho added, their 0110 desire to see the Kugby Union game flourish both in Australia and Now Zealand.

Mr. W. T. l'arata, of the Maoris' team 011 tour, has been a very tactful and modest, manager. He has at' all times voiced the "snort for sport's sake," and, with Takanngi, tho captain, has helped to make tho Maoris r. very popular team. The tour (comments the Sydney "Kcfereo") has been highly successful in

"Gates" at Auckland. The gato takings in Auckland club matches this season have been very satisfactory, over .6201) being taken for tho first round, the sum being exclusive of the i! 120 received . at the gates 011. the occasion of tho - Auckland-Thames -repre.

eentative match. The "Herald" reports that the union's finances are in a yery sound position this year.

A Point for Captains,

In the Rugby Union game the policy of tailing a l'orv.-ard out of the pack to replace an injured back who has left the field is jarely successful. Tho Sydney "Referee" recollects several instances of its weakening influences, tho most notable being in the second match between New South Wales and the Rev. 51. Mullineux s British team in ISO!!. Trior to tho loss_ of W. Galloway (scrum halfback) New South Wales had played strongly, shown tho better football, iind led in the scores. A forward was taken out of the [Kiel;, when Galloway left the field, this disorganised tho scruinmagers, and England won.

Thoughts on Forward Play. Praise has been showered upon tho All Black forwards during their Australian tour. 11l a recent article Mr. G. E. Murnin, who captained a New South Wales team against l the origiual All Blacks, says of New Zealand forwards:—"Now Zealand has revolutionised forward play, A few years agoa heavy, builocking scrummage was all that was wanted, but they have perfected their methods to sueli a- degree that one imminent critic in England styled the All Blacks 'All Backs.' Ouc of the greatest charms of their play is the absolute abandon with which they go into it—no thought of anything but the ball and its destination —ami it. is here that their wonderful physique stands to them, for seldom is one seen limping or injured during a game. They play it hard right through, and may appear rough, but it is their usual way; theyask 110 quarter, and thev give none. See them break through with the ball at their feet! They come tearing along as one man, and it takes something. extraordinary to stop them. Then someone picks up, and a passing rush is started; the passes arc short and quick, and ivo have them in one of their most dangerous attacking positions." These remarks do not apply universalis' 1 c ° urss - 'To speak thus of the Poneke forwards, for instance, who lost the match against Oriental last Saturday, would be to gravely misrepresent a pacA which is apt to rely upon the phantom reputation to win their matches.

Another Authority on Forwards, The Australian captain, S. A. Middleton, was one of the stannchest of the forwards in "Tho Wallabies." That team, it will be remembered, defeated England at Blackheath, and scored two tries to two tries by Wales at Cardiff, a penalty.goal V-a:;:ir them. In chatting over sonio of the recent football with liini a few days back. "Cvnic" of tho Sydney "Referee" asked Sir. Middletan if he considered the present New Zealand forwards equal to those of the Welsh International pack .which met the Wallabies. It will interest footballers generally, and New Zealand particularly, to learn that ho thinks the All Blacks of 1910 not 'only superior to the Welshmen, but the most powerful forward team ho has ever played against. lie adds that they are not only giants with a big proportion of tall nien, but very fast, possessing remarkable strength, the vitality and cleverness of backs, and a perfect knowledge of every detail in the game, as well as _ti well-defined system of play, with Maori signal words, used bv H. K. Francis to control and guide their movements.

The Australian players are very proud of haying beaten this team, in view of the (lisi'untion bv which tho Kuobv Union was deprived of the services of so many players it had, in a sense, nurtured and brought iiito representative football.