REFEREES' ASSOCIATION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 866, 12 July 1910, Page 7

REFEREES' ASSOCIATION.

'APPOINTMENTS THAT AEE BROKEN, AND WHY. The weekly meeting of the Wellington [Referees' Association was held last .evenling. Mr. D. M'Kenzie presided. A hearty welcome was extended to Messrs. U. M. Robb and F. A. Hemplenmn, who [attended the meeting as the referees of (the Now Zealand Referees' Association. "There seems to be something wrong," commented tho chairinnn, when .-he read a 2etter from Mr: Bro'die, Secretary of the iWellington. College Club, who reported {that for the past three Saturdays no r«tteree had attended to control the , matches (in which- the team was to play. There was another letter, of a similar nature, from tho Wellington Rugby JJnion. The letter' (signed by the secretary), stated, inter alia:— On Saturday last, July 2, the following referees did not take matches to which they were appointed:—Senior, Messrs. J. Francis, A. Thompeon, and F. A. Laws. Junior, Mr. M. Gauntlett. Fourth, Messrs. A. Mol]er and S. Standen. Fifth, Mr. W. Roberts. Wo were aware that in come cases referees are not sure as to whether,.they will bauble to get away or not,. bnt there aro other cases in which .the Appointment Board should be notified to prevent ■the appointment being made. For this coming Saturday, July 9, there jre four referees who have notified, aheir inability to keep their appoint'nents. One can only hope that there jrill be no more." ""Whether it ia Hint the Appointment |Uoard is not in touch with the referees jor whether it is that the referees are not to touch with the Appointment Board, I »o not, know," said Mr. M'XConzie. "I .■think there ie something lax in connecrm. ' e a PP°iutments." .n."■£ cu °i rmi ui - remarked further that the Pvugby Union letter was hardly fair. JUr. Laws had been appointed for tho match at Karori, but, two years ago, he had informed the Apnointmont Board that he was not available for any matoh ia which Melrose took part. That notice .bad been rcnowed this season. On tho •??"?? n i gllt lle acquainted the W.R.A. ■with tho fact that he could not take tho Sγ m , .l ni J °S, tbo ? uesda y »e informed ill. ialbnt. Mr. Gillespio was asked to take the match at Karori, and on the batnrday morning ho informed Mr. Talbot that he could not do su, and that ho could not find a substitute. The chairman and secretary of tho Appointment Board knew that the players woro going out to Karon without a reforee.- A referee, not on the active list, who would have left his business to take tho match, was known to be available, but tho players said: ''We are not going to run after referees. When tho association went as a deputation to the Rugby Union, one of the points raised was that tho W.R.A. should not take away from tho clubs the right of mutual agreement. Clubs always had that right, but it seldom happened that teams would mutually agree on a. referee if the'appointed referee liid not turn up. Reference was made to the other appointments, allegedly neglected, and explanations were tendered in some cases. It was pointed out that none of thu college matches had been allowed to lapse. Mr. E. F. Martin thought that tho secretary of the Appointment Board had a good deal to do with the trouble. The chnirmun moved that tho Rugby Union letter be. sent to the Appointment Board for an explanation. Tho Referees' Association could not furnish an explanation, and the Appointment Board should ba called upon to stato how many matches had fallen through because referees had failed to keep their appointment*. A member: Our letter ought to be addressed to the chairman, 1 think— (laughter)—not to tho secretary. Tho motion was Carried. Mr. Laws m;ido an explanation of his .position in regard to the Karori match.

Continuing, ho said that endeavours had been made- to liavo appointments made by tho W.K.A., and lie toll, flint ;i i.rUis was at hand, because something serious would happen unless the appointment of referees was dono on better lines _ than at present. Few members of the W.K.A. were satisfied with the appointments, and it was noticeable that rclerecs wn« never attended the W.R.A. meetings had good fixtures. Jloriover, ho had heerd a week bet'oro who wiuld take the next match at tho Athletic Park. Thcru seemed In be a mutual agreement in regard to the appointment of some rcicrees, aud it was trident that players ami Hie Kugby Union were having a hnnd in the appointment of refersoi. Some .'lien m-i-mi ;ij> poiated for Rood matches who did not khjW the laws of the game. He h-. i gone ti Ihrco different places to referee, to obligo tho secretiry of 'he Appuintment lioitrd. and he had had "■imii!" throw.i in his.face for it. It was time, ho said, that tho W.K.A. took the mutter In hand. Althoigh nat to etrong or compact as it was a few rears ago, the W.K.A. might still be made a force in football. Mr. Robb referred to the latter part, of the Rugby Union letter, and commented on the scarcity of referees. IMeroeing, he said, was not so attractive as it might be, and the Rugby Union ought to do eomething to make it appeal to capable men. If it would help to allow the W.R..A. to appoint tho referees, the Rugby Union 9hould concede that. The Manawatu Referees' Association no. titled their willingness to play a match with members of the W.R.A., stating that the date would be arranged later. When a question as to interpreting tho rules was raised, it was asked whether the decision of the . Appeal Committee or of the N.Z.R.A. would be accepted. Mr. Robb, speaking unofficially, said that he understood that tho N.Z.R.A. would abide by any ruling of tho appeal coun-

cil. Mr. L. Simpson, referee in last Saturday's senior match, Hutt r. St. .Tames, played at Lower Ilutt, reported trespass by epictatorn 'luring the match. At one time the ball struck a spectator, and the game had to be stopped repeatedly to clear the line. When St. James scored their try, Mr. Daly, a member of the W.R.A.,'came on to the field and questioned tho decision. The referee added that, after the match one of tho Hutt players camo to him in a sportsmanlike manner and voluntarily stated that tho try scored by St. James was a perfectly fair one.

The association resolved to call upon Mr. Daly to_ attend at.the next meeting of the association.

A referee reported that a ttain had objected to one of the line umpires whom he had appointed. Both men, ho said, were menibors of the W.R.A. The chairman referred to the by-laws which provided that members of the W.K.A. should ho appoiuted touch judges, where practicable. In any case the referees' appointments could not be disputed by cither team.

Mr. H. Card read an interesting paper on "T'.irp Spirit of the Game."

A WEST COAST TOURING TEAM. . (liy Telceraph—Press Association.! Westport, July 11. The Rugby Union has a proposal in hand to send a representative team on tour iu August, playing at Nelson, Blenheim, Christclmrch, Greymouth, and, probably Keefton.

TRAMWAY MEN GO NORTH. By yesterday's Main Trunk express tho Wellington Tramways Rugby team left for Auckland, where they will endeavour to wrest the coveted Kolm Shield from the Auckland tramway men. This shield was presented to the. various tramway unions by the late Mr. Adolph Kolm, and is a "handsome trophy. Beforo leaving tho men assembled in their quarters at the tramway offices, and tho manager of the team (Inspector Gillivray) was presented with a gold badge. The following players comprise tho team:—Fullback, B. Wills; three-quarters, Hawkins, Spiers, Phillips; five-eighths, Perkinson, A. Clark; half, Small; forwards, Bowk (captain), Huiuj, lloriarty, C. Sullivau, Marshall, J. Clark, Bramley, and Dumbloton. Emergencies—Alexander and Couper.

QUESTIONABLE SCRUM METHODS.

The Australian "hooker" of the> first two matches, T. Griffon, could: not play in tho last test, owing to the injuries to his head he had.sustained in the other games. J. darken took his place in the pack, and ii. H. Slater took Clarken's place in the front row. Again it was proved- that the eight-pack is superior to tho seven-pack in securing possession (says the "Referee"). However, the New South. Welshmen complain that the New Zealanders put their hands in front of tho hooker's face in order that he could not see the ball when it was put into the scrummage. This and other matters gave rise to foul play in the centre of the scrummage One docs not pretend to fathom this trouble. The New Zealanders have been clearly beaten for possession of the ball in the front row in their important matches in Sydney. It is far preferable to be beaten not. only in that direction, but beaten in the game itself, than to resort to putting ■ the hands in front of tho eyes of men against you. If this kind of thing, is done in the future, the front row of the scrummage in Australia v. New Zealand matches will bo a good placo to give a wide berth. . '