RUGBY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1545, 14 September 1912, Page 12

RUGBY.

'■ ■ [Br ABISTOBTCOe.I Merely Bank Gossip, "En" Pyle,' ex-Oriental player; is iu the;Christennrch Hospital. Tho caso in one 'Of operation on an arm damaged at football; ••■■■,■■■.■. '. Amusement is hardly the word to deBcribo the feeling with which one views the statement that "the All Blacks sowed the 'seed of .Rugby in America." Rugby -was "extensively played on tho Pacific sido of the States twenty years ago—but perished. The present movement is merely an attempt to bring about a resurrection. Accordiug to American prints relnting to that time, the prime'eause of the downfall of Rugby was the "multiplicity of tile rules and tho slow .pace which wearied the public." ■ The foregoing paragraph seems to be very like what .'Aristobulus" has been Baying for four years—the rules, tho slowness, and the weird way of much of our current officialdom. All that has got to go. If it doesn't, Rugby must. Canterbury players intend to bring be.fore;, the Canterbury Rugby Union the .allegation that they have been "unjustly criticised" in tho Christchurch newspapers; Supposing, however, that . they merely confined-their energies to endea■vou'ring to play football. They are far back at present. • The Scottish, from Otago, play Wellington to-day. Usually, when they de-, part from Dunedin, the last ungrammatical admonition handed out to them is: , "Whatever e(se y* do, bo sure'n beat WelVton!" The clash, therefore/should bo\wofth looking at.' '■ ' AH.sports will -sympathise, with the Wellington Rugby' Union over their disastrous luck in weather this season. One lather hopes that the public will give their support byj attending in full force at Athletic- Park : to-day. - The expenses which hftt& by the 'union "are' not altogether a joke, and one very good gate would' bo a right pleasant thing to eee. ■• ■ ' ■ ■■■'. ■'■ \ ., .. Like every reformer, "Aristotulus" has to face mud. Sayeth one prominent Rugby Union official: "He makes a' great: song . of.jevory accident in Rugby,., but says nothing", nbout the brutality in .tho league.'";;! Z ■ . v Strange to say, the question of brutality in football j(Eugby or League)" is ' the one thing which has never been raised in U'me Dominion. All that has been dons by tlio other Wellington journals. The real question is the important one—tho undoubted deterioration of the play. The "rnUing" is an incidental. The welltrained • ancient of the early 'nineties never felt it. Tho much-boomed modern of 1912 lies.down on the slightest pretext —mainly/ to have a rest. Letter on the Non-Invitation to England. The correspondence on' the non-invita-. tion of a'New Zealand .team. (originally opened somo months ago by Sir. G. B. Bacchus, , of Manukau, and continued Ly ''Tamate Patene" and others), advances another stage':— ■ ~. ( Sir,—'The non-invitation of a New Zealand team Home has hit hard— there is no doubt of that. It is the , cold shoulder with n vengeance. I read "Tamate PatenoV letter last week, and realised what, a vast subject it 'opened. "Tamate Pateno" says: "The-New Zealand, methods at . Home were those that won the day, ond Jot the galled jade (England) ■wince. >■ If thero are evidences of robustness! in our methods, it is a sign of that rude health, we all like to see in a baby boy or a babv nation, etc." JustjjspP'B'trt, at'tn.e''-_Same time, " therefis'aicSSin Enjljslrfreflnement , and : asi-not without. its charav-its-utility, nnd its element of grandeur. .. Whioh, then, is Tight? The colonial "robustness," or fjlie English "form"? I admit that it is a rather big subject. It 6eems like, axgiiing: Which is the ; more correct—lcffi-handedness or ' a taste for onions,' science or Socialism, or"a dozen other cognate subjects ivlrjch callow, yqutl'S in debating societies love to war about?

To cut my point short: You see, on ' the one hand, thie ineffable English ' "form," and. on the other side, the uncompromising colonial "biff and bang." The question is not exactly . whjch is correct in the main, but which is'the best thing in football. —I" am, etc., .LIVEDIN BOTH COUNTRIES. , . Wellington,' September 9. A Good Man Lost. The members of the Management Committee of the Wellington Rugby Union will assemble naxfc ireek to hold a tangi which all good friends of Rugby will regret has to take place. The occasion is the departure from Wellington of one of H-iigbyVtroest and best friends, Mr. Charles Atkinson;' For many years Mr. Atkinson was secretary of tho' Athletic Club, and in the last 'few seasons ;ho has been of great service to the game as a roferee. Now, promotion in the*firm of R'Oss and Glendining has como his way, and he is 'moving on to Christchurich. As Dr. M'Arthhl', S.M., remarks when. B solicitor says that ho will be out of town on a cortain day: "Christchnrch's Rain, Mr. So-and-£fo., but 'Wellington's loss. ■■ * * ■■"'.■'' Mr. Atkinson has made for himself the reputation of being the best.referee in tho city, and in the last two seasons he has turned out occasionally for Athletic nnd played well. Because We Are Poor. Wednesday .nights , meeting of thfe Management Committee of tho Wellington Rugby Union was very mild and brief.-.The only, topic of interest was the (jate '.charge ;for the* Cup 'final between Athletic, and Petone on September 21. ' It is' customary to''change sixpence at the outside gate for ordinary Cup ■matches, but a charge of Is. has on occasions beon made'for finals. ' At Wednesday's maeting, Mr. D. Weir moved that the charge*, for'next Saturday's final should bo sixpence. Mn Weir's Teason was that tho union had charged Is. for the semi-final between Oriental nnd Athletic, and, therefore, could not charge for two "finals" in one season. Mr: J. Burns seconded tho motion of Mr. Weir, with whose irka ho agreed. The only other member of the committeo . who Upheld this view was Mr. E. Little. Messrs. E. 0. Hale? (the chairman), W. Hardhafli,' W. Hornig, C. Atkinson, and 'A. Kitto voted against the sixp.mny proposal,'and carried si shilling amendment. Mr. Hales stated his-■ view:—"My opinion •Iβ that-in our present financial positioa'it is-not'indicting any hardship on tho<j>ublic to charge one shilling." The True Position, . A section of the public may be inclined to grumble about the charge, but not if they think tho position out first. Suppose that there are 5000 fairly regular patrons'.'of Wellington Rugby in Wellington. These 5000 are in a sense the proprietors of the concern, known ns the Wellington Rugby Union, which runs tho ftfFnir.i-of' the game in Wellington. Wo (thn ■ 5000)'!. went tho game to continue so that we* may see a match every Saturday if to! feel so inclined. We cannot have our wish met unless wb finance it. The* committee n-hicli runs the concern foi*us finds tho finances in such a ' plight that it says that money is badly ■needed., If money i? required tor the purpose of maintaining continuity in , providing us with P-it.nrd.ly entortainment.'>h'fl should subscribo the money? ,We should; . * . v ', .. Only to Help Ourselves, ' So, jrhen tt'e pay tho extra sixpence nt the turnstile, let us realise that we nrn only doing something to help our?elvp=*. It is no'hardship. If a man will not Rive nn extra ■sixiif.'iieo niiCß-n season to help to keep up thi f chain of bis own week-end fun—it is customary, by the wny, to hero insert the phrase, "For the sake of tho game," but having forgotten the words we have had to rMi.il it-he -should bo cart Into a plafn whnr« table tennis mm hiigntollf? 'prevail.