RUGBY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1722, 12 April 1913, Page 18

RUGBY.

> THE PROSPECTS OF THE CLUBS. CHANGES IN TEAMS. ; ' [Br ,' AeI3TOEOT,U3.I , " ; The Wellington Rugby Union aro "be- : 'ginning their season as badly as could 1)0 . arranged—by a postponement. Tliey are not to blame in this ease, however, for a battleship all oar Tory own does not • come here .©very Saturday. . But .'.tho union needs every fino Saturday so badly to restore its shattered finances, that . loss of revenue is. a very serious matter; Otherwise tho prospects' for tiro season aro good, most of tho leading teanis lutviug kept up their strength sufficiently to ensuio a good struggle for th6:ohain- . -. piinship. Fino weather is all . tho iinion needs, to bo certain' of.a profit. ■ 1 A preview of tho likely changes in tho senior fifteens in tho championship;may bo interesting.' No important inter- : of players seem to .have occurred. Athletic Club. "■' Athletic 'would seem to have an. excellent chance of repeating their performance of last yeaT. ■ They will be able to put ■ in, the field all' their magnificent forward ' pack of tost season, with the exception of, perhaps,.ono man,.which means that they // will still have virtually a representative serum. ~.■■■''.. . On. their showing in the, seven-a-side tourney, last Saturday it is quite evident that they,-aro;.taking' the gameseriously ns everj jand. probably they.,will be cne ! ibdst-conditioied Side playing., . .'V .' , In tho back division they aro .losing Harry 'Eoberts/ five-eigMs,' who ,is giving up tho game. 1 J. Gosling is away from Wellington on holiday. at ; OTeseat, and - . tliere 1 seems, to b$ ;& -\little - doubt as_ to whether ho' will pla'y br not.' But tliey ■ ■'still have Sim Wilspn: standing by, , and ■ ■ there ate useful juniors looking for pro■motion; so that the'back division will not : ,'.\ be appreciably weakened,. , . . . * • ... ; ~ Tho healthy condition.' of the club is ■ ' shown bv the fact that no outsiders will .be;introduced into' tho,senior'team, flnd tho 'nT'eat LiKijority oE tlio .ruembera oiit liaye worked their way. through tho'. lower ■ . grades in the club. Tliey had tho^ usual largo number of" new members, but they ■ were mpstly, youths who will, be drafted into the lower grade,fifteens. . ■ * •• • 1 The-club'will enter-six teams at least for the sis Saturday competitions, , and there' will also ■ bo ii Wednesday; team. , Petone Club, ; There aro . those who : say that Petone can win -the championship ; outright this season, and if. nothing goes wrong it is at least certain .that they will bo high ■up in tho honours' list at ; the end of it. -v It is . very doubtful.-/whetliejr they will havo the services of "Jim" Kyan, and'if 'they lose him they.will loso the, best_cen'tro three-quarter- in\ club games 'in_ Wei- •! 3ir»g r k>n. They;will also bo short of Iteitly; who is classed by, &ome as; the best front- ■ Tanker plajing here... Ho. is ; ccrtain y, not ■ tho best hooker,. but so stfon.g that it Was , impossible ever to burst the Petone sci'Uni ■ if lio were in .front of it.\ ■. ; ■ ; On the other hand, they have. such, a . number of .yonng ■pjayore.that the, senior :;tcam. must bo'strong. : Some of tho- boys who 'played'in tho junior; .team last,year were quite'fit for promotion. Behind the scruth they will have Danscy, tho Ohigo half of' last season, and a. .very good one. . Another year should : ; hiaye 'i impro.ed Ramsrtm and, M'Kenzie, and thi? must make them about' the best paiif of flye-oighths.m thp.scityw iE. Ryan -.'••■■. aridsDalyjatoo; ;aro; still ■ young, and they shouid'be just a littie .better4han ever.Petone will 'Ip.ut. a I sfcfpng*. side«inv 'the ■ i field,' and, the teilm' thafbeats thSmfwill most likelv take the championship. : Ath.leticTjust fb'cat. them",last,; year, but there ;■'■ .wis'iittle'dfffeiencß iti'.tUe stfShgth"df"tlfi - i; ■' 'The ..club: .wiU;'be represented ill . all - . gredrs.'/.' ' ' Poh3ko Club. 1 . . . The <Ponekc 'Club expect' to put a' firsl /filten iii tho field that nmy be.a. factoi . iii<"~dccidiiijjf the'championship;'' .. althougli - they 'scarcely expect to .win it.,' Bchiii<: tlit,* scram tliey should be a 41ightly':bet ,' /ter. side -than ,tli?y were last 6eason.''" liVt the' I'onvaAls' heels will'.bo Eussel.l. > . tlie smart' littli;- h'alf-h-ack, who played be ■ ~liin:l tlici'Petoiio' junior Jpack last -yoiir The club will also have available Tilyard . . ..Irvine,. ..Morris, ' And . Mitchinson,frdn ...wliioni: a iiseful .ti'io to' initiato an, iitfact . - can be 1 ehoseii.rFor mng. thiree-qtiartel'! they, hajve stills J. Elliott, .of th 6 first flf tueii, arid, S'.' ; Edwards, : a,junior who musl .promoted".-.''..Grace, of.,the. Old; 33oys '■ii r j team, has been elected a.'member of. thi club, but', he has : -not'been' at -tho';gym- . , nusinm.'yet,'aiid it is uncertain whcthei '< h"a ivill play for Ponclic or ,not. : If ho doe; ' , play he' must command a'place in, th< :, ■ first fifteen. ; One of the m'qst, promising forwards t( join tho club . this year, is ICeeney, some : time of tho Southern Club.- Ho is-nol :fit;yet by, any means, but ho should im ' prove ' into' a good forward. Moronoy ..another big. fellow, who ; joined the olul . soiao time .'was.immediately trans •"f. fer'red' ig back-again, and i . . iho.; trains ■ on, lio should, strengthen tin Ped' and' Black . scrum.-Shardlow (ttlc • Utfals, of-Petone, !hayo : been practising a ; the Ppneko gymnasium; and they are -15 ; ported to be likely competitors for placei • .ih> the senior fifteen. , ' ' . In view of the'largo nuipber of player •„ oh whom they, can draw,, the ;selector, will bo able. to insist rigorously on train ini. and at present they propose to: do it The secrefarj-i Mr. B. Magee, has se . cured twelve trophies to. be awarded a .. .thfe end of v .the season/ to the best ' ward and-' the best back'in_ each of thj . , ' fax playing teams'representing the clul in', the. competitions..; ■ Oriental.Club.; ■ ■'', Oricutal may or may not bo a ver; ; ' strong .;sido this year, and tlio doub /vX exists because ."Fred",Roberts,' the onl; "man W;ho can make their attack effective i.s • still undccided as to whether ho wil play-the' game this year..': M'-Leod. am . Kinvig will both bo playiiig agaiilstasfivt : eighths," mid if liobcrts docs not play i: front of theui, .Garrard,''- will bo scruc 'halt-back. '■' '■ 111 tho llirce-quartcr' line will probabl bo--Hale, a very dangordus man whe ', given tho ball within striking' distanci Houlihan, a new, man ■ who, has rcpr< seiited Soutli Canterbury, "and Dingli who; pliiye'd for., Ponckc . occasionally -.las year as„ r fivc-@ghths., '■ M'Girr, is almoi 'certain to be.nill-bnot--'". Of the forwards H. Paton lias retiree • '. Init his'loss will bo well compensated b "'■'tho return of Perry, who will go into th front rank of the. scmitn again., .O.thi ' : new forwards who Avail wear the black ai wliito hoops are Bo?t, wlio was ono 1 tho-best , forwards in the South' Islan - country representatives last year, ar Hloffitt,; erf St. James, ono of the fine -..'.• players-in the City. Wellinaton Club. : The old Wellington .Club, -who'hai ' fallen on such evil days' of lato year ' hopa for better things in season 191 They havo olected 40 now members til year, 'and they intend to enter five tcan in "tho Saturday competitions, two in tl /fourth class, a third, a second, and is said to to some: onthusias in ; tho club ranks, and tho -first fiftc< should 1)0, strengthened, by a few ne players of repute, who have promised play for them. Jt'Gregor, a Manawai Tepresentativo of last year, and Perr > , a North' Otago player, aro both, shapn ' " Harry . Mackay, a bulky forward, wl played for tho team" somo -years ago, w out in tho sovoii-a-sido tournev.last wee ! mid he is going to " play "tho 'seas< tiirou"h. Ho should b«S a very valuat 11' an "for lie must stiffen.tlift black ai Hilif scrum very considerably.- In fa ( h.M'O will be several burly men m t Wellington scrum .tins year. ' •\ really good young player .they ha w .-ui'i'd is FJlilfc, who played for tiie { .mili 11' 3 CI ub last year, and who was al 11 'iuiilnr ipprwentative. -Ho is-propel 1) rivi' : ei"l»llis, but ho would inakaa siica m'ilio -vs-fng-ihrec-qiiarUr- game.' Neai

' "all the players of Inlit season were young, they can be relied upon to improve a littlo this-year. • . Tho only serious loss tho senior fifteen has suffered is in : tho departure from Wellington of Potter, tho promising young forward of,.last ycap. Victoria College Club. Viotoria Collego l.ave •no ambition to win tho championship—they recogniso that this-must' be 'impossible—but they liopo this season to lilako good games with tho teams not, quite, iu the first flight. As.usual the sehioi 1 team will bo changed a good deal. Two llseftil- local men who iiavo thrown in tlteir lot with Collego aro Fawcett, a forward, and Entihg, a-five-eighths, both of:whom plnyed for St. John's Cltib,-and wliro ill tho junior representatives . in: .1912. Beard, a useful Wellington Collego forward, should find a placo in tlia senioi teaiti, and Sim, who played lialf-bdck for AVanganui Collego once, .is reputed to ba a useful man. Brosnan, Who took a.reist last year, is going to wear tho green jersey again this year. Another new man of- vcputo is Bennett, who has represented Minawntu. College will play three.teams. Visit of Australian j Rugby Team, Thanks to past misunderstandings having been' cleared away, delightful feeling of Rugby .reciprocity has ■ been established between New Zealand and New , .Sofith Wales. As thi) result of this. New Zealand is to receive! a long-deferred visit of an Australian Bugby team, this season. The team' is timed i.to leave Sydney for. Auckland on August; 20/alul will play its first match .against Anckland during the last/week in that njonth. The team's itinerary has not yet been fixed up. and as the agreement provides. that three test matches are to bo played during the tour, it will call for somp'littlo discussion. One of the present -ideas; is that an Auckland match and . a New j Zealand match will bo played in the nothern centre, ■after which provincial m£itches_ will bo played in New • Plymouth, ! Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunediii, and on tho return trip through tho Dominion the remaining New Zealand "tests'' will bo played at either Christchui'ch pr'Dunodin and Wellington. ~ ' i . . .'.The spreading 'out of _ the "tests" will mean, a deal of travelling for the Now Zealand teams, altd i'here seems to be 'noalternative . unless the threo games are , played in. quick succession at Auckland, Wellington, and Christckurch. St. Jaines's Club. ;i ~ .The'decline' of Sti James's Club since they just failed to win the championship a couple'of years ago. has been ' rapid. This season, .will be a bad one for them. Their forward ranbi will be sadly weakened by .the defection of Moffitt,. the dashing,* weighty; forward, . who did So much for them two-years ago. He is going .to. play this 'season for Oriental. 1 ■ Two new men will be in their scrum, Berthelseh, from 1 Nelson, and Munns, from Masterton, both big forwards, but as yett practically untried. Poananga, Heketa, and Young will be the only backs of last year's team playing this year." Tho others will be drawn from the junior team of last-season. *' v (