STORY OF THE LEAGUE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1455, 1 June 1912, Page 12

STORY OF THE LEAGUE.

TOLQ BY G. GILLETT. Seen on his way through' Wellington, George Uillett, the famous All Black player (now organiser for. the League) gave an interviewer the history of the .Northern Union game so far as it has taken hold in New Zealand, and, when he had covered it, he added: "Fight! Of course we shall have a fight to get properly on our legs. Did you ever hear of anything good in your life that didn't begin with, a fight?" Taking a lino through Mr. Gillett's story, it seems that 1901) wns tho year of despair, 1910 the year of faith, 1911 the year of hope, and this year is the year of charity, for Auckland is now prepared to stretch a helping hand to other districts where the League game is battling for a start. The Year of Despair. "We had," says Mr. Gillett, "three clubs in Auckland in 1909—City Hovers, Ponsonby-United, and North Shore Albions. Among tho pioneers in the movement were: W. Wynjjard, a scion of tho famous football family of that name, C. Dunning, W. Tyler, W. Mackrell, and H. Rowe. All of these had been Rugby men. The secretary was E. Watts, and the Leaguo owed a lot to his energy, that year. . "But what a poor year it was! The Leaguers were the ontcasts, the pariahs of Auckland. In fact, some of us thought —I was a Rugby player then—that the whole thing would lizzie out." The Year of Faith. Mr. Gillett then traversed 1910 —the year of faith. No new city clubs were formed, biit tho League tree spread its roots into the country a little, particularly at Rotorua. But it was pre-eminently tho year of faith, and, towards the end of tho season, twenty players subscribed .£lO a piece as the financial basis of a New Zealand tour. This made it possible to play matches in Taranaki, Wellington, Hawke's Bay, and Invercargill. But the "gales" on that tour were discouraging, and, at the finish, every one of the "faithful" looked on his ten-pound note as a dead loss. He y°t nothing back. At the very end of the year tho presence of an English team in Auckland lit the gloom a little, for, although the locals were too -weak •to extend the visitors, the public seemed somewhat impressed by the new order of play. The Year of Hope, "And that," said Mr. Gillett, "had its effect. Two • new teams—Newton Hangers and Eden Ramblers—reported themselves as 'present for duty' at the beginning of 1911. Besides that, the juniors were in the limelight with six teams, and, above all, the standard of play had improved sufficiently to attract the notice of some of us Kugbyites, who had, so far, hardly given the game a thought. I joined, and so did A. H. Francis, F. Morse, and C. Savory (all of Ponsonby), and C. AVinder, of tho Thames. Tho Ponsonby Club has since fallen from top to bottom of tho Rugby championship ladder. "That year we played in Australia, and drew immense crowds. In our first match, on Coronation Day, something between 47,000 and 50,000 people were on the ground. No, not a record! That belongs to the Rugby match of 1907. where 52,000 spectators looked on. But I'm notbothering about that—l'm coming to the finance. "You must understand that the New Zealand League was then in such poor financial plight, that tho New South Wales people thought that the best thing they could do for us was to stretch out a. real hand of help, and this they did financially. After defraying all our expanses (including players' loss of time at 10s. a day) the New Zealand League benefited to the extent of JSI2OO. "And," added Mr. Gillett with some emphasis, "the first thing we did was to refund the £W deposits which had been made by the players of 1910. That used up ;£2OO, but it was the fair and right thins to do, and 1 am pleased to say that it made a very good impression. "Of course, you know all about tho Australasian team that toured England afterwards. Francis, Savory. Woodward, and myself were in it from New Zealand, but I do not want to cover the play over again. I daresay what the public want to hear about is the finances. Well, we nnither gained nor lost. Each man was in receipt of £2 per week, with travelling and hotel expenses, and we finished up square. There were no profits." 1912. The Year of Charity. Mr. Gillott then passed on to speak of the. present year. He staled that there were at present six senior clubs in Auckland, and 31 junior clubs. Some of the latter had gone over from tho Rugby game in a body. Sub leagues hod been formed on the 'goldfields, at the Thames (where Rugby was practically out of favour), and at Lower Wnikato, Te Kuiti, and Hamilton. At tho present time there were over 50 Northern Union clubs in the Auckland province. The Start in Wellington. The interview worked round to the start that hns just been effected in Wellington. What do you think of it asked the interviewer. "It has passed my expectations," said Mr. Gillett, "and I cut; tell you (hat it is likely that astonishing developments are in sight. T do not, however, tare to mako that public at present." And grounds? "Well, with Duppa Street and Petone, ws> will bo fairly well oil'. The projected visits from Nelson and ITawke's Bay aro already known, and, besides these, Thames ig willing to travel south, hiid so is Auckland. The intention of the Leaguo is nlw to have an Australian-New Zealand match played this year in Wellington-some time in "August, 'I think." Tho brickbat of "professionalism will bo thrown at vou. said the interviewer. Have you thought of that? " "Oh,' yes," Raid tho ex-All Block, "of course we have—thought and laughed." And then he added: "Do vou think that in it country with a very limited population, such as New Zealand, anyone could veallv rarn his whole livelihood nt lootball? 1 don't."