RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1075, 14 March 1911, Page 7

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

" RUGBY UNION DESERTIONS. i!>- Tck'crauh-l'icss •1«.„.|,,||,i 1 .'.,-„.. r ,j| lt " n •' t •,;• , " Sydney, March 13. Owing to the large numbers of footballers going over to. the. League, the Rugby ■Union is in a weak position, and j« unable to offer clubs assistance it is probable the number of clubs will be considerably decreased. VICTORIA COLLEGE CLUB. ; The- committee of-the Victoria Collego i'ootball Club state in their eighth annual report that the season of 1910 was undoubtedly the. most successful in the history of the club since it entered senior football. The record of the first fifteen though by no means u brilliant one, easily surpasses that of any previous year. The prospects for the coming season are decidedly bright, and the club should bo well represented in the New Zealand University team, to visit Sydney. The club membership stood at 70, showing an increase of 20, as compared with the previous year, and it was once more found possible to enter four teams for the Rugby Union competitions, viz., one senior,' ono junior, one third, and ono fourth class | team. The want of enthusiasm shown in \ training is still a disappointing feature, so far as the majority of members are '< concerned, and this, despite the fact that j both a capacious gymnasium, and the con- , vemontly-situatod Kclburne I>ark: havo < been at tho dub's disposal throughout the ) year. This disinclination to train, tho ] committee remarks, has been a source of complaint for yean, and has been the subject ot comment in every report submitted to the annual meeting 'of Hi© club since its inception. The seniors, as men- ■ Honed above, havo done exceptionally •, well, compared with previous seasons. , Tho juniors, despite a n°ver-ending series of promotion to fill gaps in the ranks of , the senior team, nevertheless contrived to ' give a good account of themselves, and o won half the matches played. The third } and fourth teams have both had heavy \ odds to contend against, and considering / the way in which they were drawn on, f Saturday after Saturday, did remarkably / well, especially in the case of tho former. ( This'shortage of players is a serious dis- t advantage to the club, nnd it is to be ( hoped that all old members will do their y best towards inducing the new members f to turn out in force in 1311. The record of the various teams is as j follows:—Seniors, played 12, won 3. lost 8, n drawn 0, points for 81, points against 88; juniors, played 11, won 5, lost 5, drawn 1, points for 102, points against, 106 thirds, played 11, won 5, lost G, drawn 0, points for 72, poinls against 112; fourths played 11, won 3, lost 8. drawn 0, points for"7l, points against 170: totals, played 15, won 17, lost 27, drawn 1, points for 229, points S against 515. b The annual game with Canterbury Col- Ti lege was played this year in Wellington, o :n the Athletic Park. Neither Collego was li represented by its own team, and an unin- c tcresting game, the greater part of which e< was played in heavy rain, resulted in a G rictory for Canterbury by 5 to 3.' A st earn representing Victoria College also S net the travelling Lincoln College team, E it lliramar, and a close game was the m

, result, the score bring 6 to 3 in our favi our. i An attempt wa* made during (lie visit ! of tliu American football team to arrange n match between a New Zealand University loam and the visitors, and application was made accoriliiiarlv to the New Zealand , liugby Union, but tho hitler's reply was i that it could not see its way lo grant any matches, either to (lie University or ■ to its colleges, owing to the shortness of the tour. The view taken by the New /.calami Union, due probably to undue anxiety as to the financial success of.l ho lour, to Hid sacrifice of all oilier inlerests, is much to be regretted, in view of the fact that the Americans were nil University graduates or undergraduates, and were siren' no opportunity of meeting representatives of the Xcw Zealand University. Two of the seniors, Hynn and Curtnvne, represented the district,' Ryan in the "A" team, and Curtayne in the "B" team. Tho balance-sheet of the club slnAvs a credit of .£l2 lis. Od. In conclusion, the committee once more urges members and intending members to lose no time in commencing training operations, especially in view of the fact that a >few Zealand University team is to be sent across to Sydney about July, in which Victoria College hopes to bo well

represented. The annual meeting of. the club is to be hold at the gymnasium to-morrow evening at 8 p.m. ASSOCIATION. ROVERS ANNUAL MEETING. . At the Trocadero Hotel last evening the Rovers Association Football Club held its annual meeting, Mr. Jas. B. Pat'on presiding.. . In his opening remarks, the chairman congratulated the club on the nature of the balance-sheet and report for the- year. He also stated that he was 'very pleased t6 see so many members present, this being the first occasion on which such a number had attended. The annual report and balance-sheet, which were adopted, stated that in the Brown Shield matches representative honours were gained.by Messrs. W. Gibson and H. Bradbury. The committee regretted, that they were unable to' place a second division team in the field, owing to the fact that most of the members who had played during the previous season had left Wellington, but they wcro making special efforts this season to enter a team in this contest. To Messrs. A. J. Abbott, P. D.' Leslie, A. J. Fernie, C. Oodber, H. L. Godber, T. Shields, E. Bolton, (tad A. Quayle the committee's thanks were extended for donations. There was a credit balance of £5 17s. Cd. The election of officers resulted as follows:—Patron, Mr. A. J. Abbott; president, Mr. C. Gcdber; vice-presidents, Me-srs. H. L. Godber, A. L. Herdman, M.P., T. Shields, E. Bolton, A. Quavle, A. J. Pernio, S. G. Ross, G. Pinnock," R. Dwyer; hbn. secretary, Mr. S. W. Martin .(re-elected); assistant secretary, Mr. Gillcspio' (re-elected); hon. treasurer, Mr.' G. E. Martin; Management Committee, Messrs. W. Gibson, E. Bollon, 11. W. White, R.Ormrod, H. Eraser, C. O'Shea, S. Astiu; delegates to W.F.A., Messrs. J. B. Paton, H. L. Gcdber, W. Auid; club captain," Mr. T. E. Reynolds. Mr. Geo. Martin was elected captain of the senior eleven, and Mr. W. Gibson vice-captain. Several new -members were elected. A veto of thanks was passed to Mr. P. D. Leslie, the retiring president, for past services to the club. -\ letter was received from 'the Pcilding A.E.C. asking for a. match at l-'eildir.g at Easter. It was decided that a reolv be sent stating that arrangements for 'the trip would •be discussed at a later meeting. ■ Considerable discussion took place over a letter which was received from the secretary of the W.P.A.. asking the club if it was agreeable that a levy should be made upon senior and second division players for the purpose cf meeting the expense of marking out the playing fields prior to matches taking place on the city reserves. It was finally decided to ' instruct the club's delegates to vote that the capitation of the various clubs in these grades should be raised, and that the W.F.A. bear the expense of marking out. the, grounds. .>■..-, ~ ■,y . -t'-> y- ■ ■■-' ', V .', '.',_:'. -.