FOOTBALL.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1503, 27 July 1912, Page 12

FOOTBALL.

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>Oiir Precarious Finances, ■;.. y> The almost continuous succession of wet ■''.'. making occasional postpone- ., .necessary and reducing 'the at:'i: .''tendances at the Athletic Park nearly al:'i'".;.ways, nmst cause the- committee of the ■/■Wellington Union some alarm as to the ~■'..:probablo state of their'finances at the .'end. of the season. The union must, in .. "'.fact, bo faced with virtual backruptcy. •"•;■;'■'•■At the beginning - of' this season the ,;-.committee mado an appeal to the City '"V. ; vCpuncil to have the rates on the paTk ••(remitted,.-and'-'in support of their claim ':;;i;hey"set out their, financial position in '•*6mo detail. What they showed in effect, '.'•Vas that the union could just about pay '~;-'-/{expenses- i n a good, season. < Let the wea.'rither bo bad, or let the cup tourney lose •J t ' "interest early, and the union must loso > : tmoney. ■ ..' Last year was a. nhenomonal one. The '■Clip contest was not .'decided until the \last match, and.there was: not a single ■: vitrei Saturday iii the whole winter. In j ,;tnat phenomenal season the profits wore ; '"'jxist sufficient to pay-off losses made in V '■ .' 'the preceding season, which was an aver- ":'-; "age one. ~'.■'. • ■, ..!.;,'-This, year the/cup is interesting enough, •!. ,;.;but the-weather has been execrable, and ,'.'■; the union "must be standing to lose .£SOO /or more. They, might possibly save some ■'■'■ of .this 'if thoy could bring the Eanfurly .■,' Shield from Auckland. Otago, Canter- . •-bury, and Taranaki would then play hero ■ ■ .as.challengers, and the. matches might ■attract good crowds. , .'■'■.. On the other hand, the possession of ,; ~ |the shield makes obligatory the accept- . ; - '-''ance of . alleged challengers from unions .;.. .with 'no hopo of winning, ami these fu■:*.i- tile matches, or too many of them, spoil .; : olub football: There are.any number of ":• J. enthusiasts in Auckland now who attri- ■'•. ~but©'the decline in the popularity of sen- '•■ 'ior football. thero, with ■ players and nub- ! ,'iio'to the number of shield matches which,- ■■'. .'have to be'played each year. Altogether .■••'Hjjie outlook in Wellington is not cheer- , ''. ful. ;"' :,..<■

- ."A Weird Question, Look at It How You ..;;-■.. The week'; has. not passed without" a re/Currencq of the swiftly-growing controver-' ■..'sies: League or Eugby? ■ Rugby or .■: : .\ League? . Up in Auckland the' League ■ ''has been "washing linen," and, down in ■ .Canterbury Rugby has at last gathered .'■courage to open tho door and : havo a y\i[ square look, at "the skeleton iu the cup- \' board." ' Rugby, they find, is not what it ' ; t./.jras'. ' - ■ . . .'■;..• ■ ~v'.: But .the shallow optimist still burbles ~' iA tho land. One miter, finds consolation '..Cin the .alleged fact that "figures prove ■■that the adherents of Rugby are now. ; more numerous than ever they were." of wurse, will prove anything. Sir Joseph Ward's speeches used to be .full of theni. They "proved" things all ■ Vthe time,.but not sufficiently for the com,;,jnon sense .of the country. The football ' 'figures no doubt "prove" things' also. But rthey .fail to take cognisance of the un- ■ J'doubted deterioration in :the standard of ' -;I>lay. _- ■ . '.\ ■•' ■■'■ .._ ■ \: " ■■■ ... : '. Looking over the.reports : of "disturbances" during the week, one cannot help wo'ndoring how the discussions, get side.'•'..tracked.l They run' "personal pay.''jnents/' "payments for time lost," "pro-.-fessional bogy," and so forth. No , ' one ■ .-"seems to see the reality in front of every-w-tling.' •■"■ -■' ■. ■ ■ ' .-■.".. .-. -• •i: The Dominion looker back, with some ?i complacency oh what it , stated four yeaw ' : .-ago, viz.i'that the Rugby; as at present I'piayed, could not last: It cannot. , At, (.•■tae time that the statement was' made it ! -vSfas' received with smiles and rage. ■ it is. v'received'more seriously now. ■■ " . ■-.' But wliat to do by way of a cure?. .One thing is to cut down the number '•of.men; oh, the field from 15 to 13, but

"even that, is not so simple as it looks-'-it, would virtually mean secession from, the English Rugby TJhion; And (as Mr. Crombie correctly pointed out at the last meeting of the Now Zen- . land Union) it is the conservatism of England which partially s'aves us. • Give the ■ game up entirely to/a 'parcel'of-colonial' Rugby legislators, and we would soon get the same beautiful chaos which our beautiful -'cdlouial Parliaments of the last 20 years' has landed the Stale, into, both socially'arid economically., , ! ■ . It' is,nil,a;very weird,question, look at it:hbfr yoti-wil].

An triterestJrig . Notq.. ■ > Saye "Full-Back" in' the "Wftness" tTho. invitation of the English Bugby Union, ■ through the New: South Wales Union; for a visit to England of a combined Australasian, team during the South Africans' visit in 1912-13, coming on top of the. allegfed ■ "turning down" of New Hew Zealand in favour of South Africa, is in the light-of a surprise. Probably the English -Union has reconsidered the matter, and in suggesting a. triangular football contest is throwing, a sop to pacify Australia .and 'Now Zealand/ The idea of a combined Australasian team, while favourable to Australia, is unlikely to be_ considered so by New Zealand. The Dominion has gjven graphic demonstration of its right'to bo considered n nation with South Africa and Great Britain on ♦he football field, and the New Zealand TTnion, may consider that on this score •lone it is entitled to a triangular contest, such as suggested, to bo represented in'depeilclent of Australia. Apart from this, there is an aspect of a case probably unknown f» tho-English-authorities which might forbid.New Zealandfrpm combining /with Australia'in, sending, a team Home, .next year, though, for the purpose in'view ■I. do : not .think it , sh;ould--bo considered Thevaspeot I refer;to is,the present relationship of. Australia and New Zealand in respect, of the former's liability over the 'American Universities; team's 'fonr hvo years, ago: A foik weeks ago the New Zealand ".Union refused to" sen 3 a .-New Zealand team to Australia iin-til 'the New South Wales' Union admitted:ifs liability, which it has, so far refused to do. The New Zealand Union, theiefOTo, is unlikely to Tes;ard,.favourably., tho • suggestion to ' combine with'.Australia ia, fending «n Australasian team to England for a triongulaT: contest; in; 1012-13.- '