RUGBY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1533, 31 August 1912, Page 12

RUGBY.

• ' .'-9 t —. ■ , GONE—NOT FORGOTTEN. "OFF-SIDE MAC." DOMINION'S BEST FORWARD. , [Br Gyko.l ' Canght by the glittersome luro of Sydney,' "Off-side Mac"— possibly the greatest forward who ever pushed himself- into a jersey in New Zealand—has, liko Kingsley's "Three Fishers," gone sailing out into the Golden West. Ho leaves a good position on (.The Dominion- staff to take up another on the commercial staff of .the "Daily Telegraph," and- tho . wasp-waistod s'.s.. Moeraki now bears Caesar and'his fortunes. For ho ■was tho Caesar of the fields that know liim in tlio days when players wero slayers.- He was chief player, and (as some have it) by no "means a tenth-rate slayer. . .Memories of great things—whether playing or slaying—havo a way of 'growing brighter, and, as they recede back into time, they seem to "low like lit cathedral windows through the grey walls of tho commonplace, which, as overyono knows, ' i 3 always the nnstimulnting Present, and never the illustrious Past. Looking at such records and clippings as I have by ine as I write, I see that "Mac" first won.- his representative cap' for Wairarapa against Wellington in ISSi), and played for Ins native Canton in 1890, 1891, and 1892, that ho ■ was a Wellington rep. up till '1898, a-meniber of the first All- Black team that went to Australia in 1893, went to Australia again in 1891, that once he scored,six tries in. a match, and on another occasioa.banged on 11 points for his side in fivo minutes, and so on. Aro these tho memories which tip the lamps of Recollecticn with the crimson flame? Not quite. One's attention rather fixes on a clipping in an old Sydney paper, which states: Al Kenzie's play all through had evoked tho ire of tho -crowd, and, at the conclusion of tho match lie was'escorted off the field by tho police to save possible maltreatment." What a waste of .effort! "Long Mac" had such a playful way with crowds that ono figures that lie might : have walked through a host of Arabs, and, certainly, ho'did, .oil one occasion, stalk immune through 1000 infuriated Scotch. .That was in'Dunedin in 1897, tho year in which the celebrated "Butcher's team" laid tho South Island low. Players and Slayors. , Old stagers will, no doubt, recall that terrific match at the C'arisbrook'ground, Dunedin,.' when Wellington and Otago Hew at each other like two packs •of ■bull-dogs, and nearly everybody on both bides was hurt. ' ■ ■ It was the culmination of an, ill-feeling which had been growing for years. There is no harm in mentioning it now, for the ancient wounds, have long been healed, and both provinces laugh some whenever it is recalled. Tho Otago Rugby Union had struck tho first note of bitterness by standing out of the New Zealand' Union some years previously, and, during tho next three years, the provincial hatreds-, liad .grown.! like a big {snowball. ■ ......... — ... In 1897 came "Mao" with his celebrated team to settle matters vi et armis. The match was ..pandemonium, \ Donnybrook, Omdurman, and the.Battle.'of ..the;Boyne all rolled into one, rind eyeiy player bled for his distressful i>r'.Jvince:;th'at day—hot from intentionally-inflicted , wouhds,- but from tho sayago ardour'of the play. 'At. tho finish jthb o ,otagd, crowdthemselyeiffiiMtee,.' aiul/tlien they darkly .roun'dfVthe '.Welliiijftpn - inert- S-TBeu latter fM: "tti.'jfernl?line; of,.battle,' to get'safeiyt'oit'the.gro'dnd. - , Tho roar;,-.that 'went up in, the. press of was quite as fierce" as •: Someone wrote to.,"a"'W6llifigt6ii";iKipeiv stating that "it was all the whine-of-'a beaten, province. Otago had run all' to back play, and could not face Wellington's dash and vigorous forward play. " lo this soino Otago "giitartie".replied,:-r, . ,'A'nd I ups to exclaim ;-That;-fur ways that are dark . .'for tricks that. are vain, ' .'■ *yho 'Wellingtoneo is peculiar.' . the* centre goes smash' IfAnd. jtha,,.;(rings they.go.lame,.. , . . . <"-Tisithe "Wellington dash"— 3'hei'great, "forward game"— . ••.Which tlio same-1-am free to maintain. His Wildest Night. \ Through all these enmities, both on and off the field, :thore stalked the long, saturnine figure of "Mac"—captain anil protagonist. - Tho Dunedin crowd had fully resolved that,-if he emerged in the street that knight, ..he should not survive. It was, 1 in theso general stresses, deemed expedient that ono man should die, and iherei.is no need to mention what one. He; came out after the dinner in frodk icoat,' bell-topper,' and mohoole, and 4000 fell, back to right - and left to givo adequate room for the intended onfall. The 'victim" seemed'to be the least disturbed of all. To -tho 'storm of- jeersGie. lifted Ma top-hat, and, bowing Tight; and left, marched down George Street,- like-Lord.-Robertsi.enteriug. '■.Pretoria,.."! ' i.'' ■- ' The. crowd .realised that'-it. was futile to contend with a genius like that. -The ; fact really i 3 that "Mao" saw the .■whole thing as a screaming joke. At the dinner after the matoh "Jimmy" Duncan rose.(with two black eyes) to proposo tho health'.'.of .tho Wellington team, coupled .with jthe name of Mr. M'Kenzie." There probably.".has never been a finer sport than ""Jimmy.'" He took and gave the gruel on the field as it came, but, talking about it afterwards (in tho sense of making' ;.C9mplaint) was not his way. He stated.j.that lie "couldn't understand all this • here -talk about rough play." "I seen wrong with .it, . he continued, "I think tho giimo was' played like—like—" . . And then James , stuck for the next iword, . "Mac" supplied it.' "Like brothers, Jimmy! Brothers!" he said," and tho, walls of the hotel shook frith' Jho laughter that.followed. , . jNot-Slayer, But Player. , _ "Off-side, Mac" is now known in private Jife'as Mr,' W. M'Kenzie—press writer, .with'a Tather fine touch, and energetic business man. Ho is tho eldest of fivo brothers, all over 6ft. in height—"Ted," "Jock/*: "Bert," and Norman. All have represented Wairarapa. "Bert" wa3 captain of: the Wairarapa team which iocentlj;,defeated Taranaki, Norman was captain of the Hawke's Bay team this sea/ son, and "Ted" is tho well-known North Island referee. To tho'younger generation of footballers it necessary to add that it must-not be concluded, from what has been 'said before, that "Mac" was a nonscientific forward. Ho was, in fact, tho embodiment of football science, and, indeed, either of the two teams—Wellington and Otago. which met in 1897—would easily have routed an All Black team to-day. Of 'these old da'ys^and : whether the. Rugby, game, is dying or not—"Mac" cannot be persuaded to talk, so it only remains to stato what were tho features of his piay. He could, of course, gallop all the time from kick-off to no-side (which is more than the moderns can do), and his height and immense strength niado him facile princeps on the line-out.' Ho was the originator of the "No. 1 game," which has been incorrectly attributed to Ellison, Imt he admits that ho learned most of Hio scientific side of football from tho freat Poneke player, as well ns from Cingo and "Tabby" Wynjmrd. He was jJso tho first man to demonstrate that (in big footb'ill) the wing-three-quarter on tlio defending side should nover be drawn into tlio attacking centre when the latter has beaten his man. fliero aro still, however, various views on this. Perhaps his most brilliant manoeuvre was his way of sailing down on the opposing backs under a 40-yards punt, but, as tii»t; is now a lost art in Rushy it seem* idle to follow it tin. Still "taking one thing with another," us the immortal police sergean 1 . wivs in "Pinafore." one wonders if we shall ever look upon his like again. ' Oi.c fears not-