ATHLETIC SPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1828, 14 August 1913, Page 6

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

RUGBY AFFAIRS. MITCHINSON & THE SELECTOh'S. Jilt. GALLAHMII'S LETTEIt. CcyrraspMiik'nco b'-witng on tho nq)aineluskm ol Mitchiusun in the All-lilack selection, was read nt. tho meeting of tho lommitteo of t'no iVnv Zealand itugby Union last evening. Those present wore: Messrs. M. Galbraith icliairmnn), C. (i. Wilson, K. ,'u. Isaacs, J. 11. Luughton, K Wylie, F. G. W alll.urton, and A. Laurciison. Mr, D. Gallulicr (tho Auckland member ol the AC'w Z-'jalanu Selection Committee) wrote as lcllows:—

"1 am quite at a loss to understand 'Ch'j attitudo taken up by Jlr. V. K. Merefilth, lu tho first place he says that fliers appears to be some question as to whether, jlitcliiusou s liiimo was brought undor tho notice of tho selectors by, him or not i\ow, sir, in rctcrring to the copy of his letter sont by you, 1 wis'h to emphatically ulato that never at any time has Mi'tchins.m s naniio boon mentioned by Air. Meredith, am. certainly no wire from him was tabled when Iho selectors met in Chri;!.church. Surely he had ample time to, acquaint the Selection Committee, with-' •out leaving tho matter till the lasi; min«te, and he must liavo been aware that tho form displayed by Mitchinson in tho Auckland-Wellington match was sufficient to justify his inclusion in any New Zea-' land team. tinder the circumstances, them is no excuse for Mr. Meredith'--action, unless it is pure laziness, for I personally told tho manager of tho team (Mr. Weir) that I could not understand tho omission of his (Mitcliinson's) name ill tho Wellington nominations. If Mr, Meredith was so anxious, Why did he not take tho opportunity of feeing Mr. Mynolt and myself on the Friday evening, as we passed through Welling'ton, instead 'of waiting till tho Saturday night to wire, and then privately. Now, in regard to liamsdon's case, the committee considered the matter 'thoroughly, mid could not seo their way clear to s?nd a man who might bo permanently injured in his first game, and consequently bo of no further uso during tho rest of the tour. Fit and well, thsiu would have been no question as lo his inclusion. In justice to myself and co-selectors, I think that your executive should certainly make known the facts, considering the publicity •that has been given Mr. Meredith's misrepresentation of what actually took place. I do not consider that it would be advisable for ono of tho selectors to outer into a newspaper controversy on thn subject."

TheOtago and Canterbury members of tlvo New Zealand Selection Committee also forwarded letters. It was moved to "receive" tho letters, and this course was adopted without discussion. Reply to Wellington Union. In reply to a letter received from tin Wellington Rugby Union, the following motion was moved by Mr. Wylio: "That tho Wellington Union be informed that this committee appointed as selectors gentlemen whom thev considered best qualified for tho position." Tho motion was carried without discussion. Two Sentences and Wobbling. A letter was delivered to the chairman, by Mr. Talbot (secretary of tho Wellington Rugby Union) regarding ' the recent suspension of two players, named M'Leod and Osborne. The letter stated that tho Wellington Rugby Union were now of opinion that the oil'enees had been met by the sentences already served, and asked tho N.Z.R.U. to agree to a rcso. lution that the suspensions be rescinded.

Mr. Talbot explained tho circumstances. The ofl'cnces, ho said, had not been considered serious, and it had been dccidod by his union thai M'Leod had been.hardly dealt with. Osborne's sentence expires automatically, but MXcod's sentence was likely to spoil his chances of becoming a representative player. A iupiiiber .to ,Mr. Talbot:. Has tho question been reconsidered to-night?

, Mr. Talbot: Yes. ' Ilavo they had fresh evidence?—"l would not like to say that."

"I take it, Mr. Chairman," said another member, "that because one of those men now lias a chance of playing in a representative game, tho union has como to this decision."

The chairman replied to tho effect that ho understood that to bo tho position.

Mr. Laugh ton: 'I think that something must have happened for the union to alter its original decision. They must have obtained some other evidence.

Mr. Wallburton seconded the motion, which'" was curried, Mr. Laurensou voting against it. Tho Team for tho States. A cablegram was received from tho Californitm Union, consenting to tho Now Zealand Union's decision to send two extra players with the selected to tour America. It was announced thatall members of ths team except Gcddis and O'Leary would be able to make th< tour. Mitcliinson's nomination had beer forwarded oil to the selectors. SHIPPING CO.'S MATCH.

The annual match between the local Union Company's start and i'l.3 team selected from other shipping ofliccp in Wellington will take place at Seatoun on Saturday afternoon, August 10. The Terawhiti will convey jilayco-s and friends to the ground. Following tiro the teams:— Union Co-mpa.ny.—S. 11. Pickering, L. W. GiSbjrt J. Young, J. .Simon, J. Comcstry, J. W. Smith, C. S. Smith, A. 11. M'lsaaes, J. Murphy, M'Williams, R. Dodds, J. Barber, P. Mudr.e, 11. Williamson. Emorgoncy, W. A. Smith. Combined Shipping Companies—N. Pownall, Gardiner, M'Lean, Hale, Spillane, Binnie, Tilyard, E. Brown, Focke, Holmes, Dinnic, Hopkirk, Millcox, Wilson, Drake. Last year tlio Union Company's team defeated tkiir opmnnnts by 5 jmints to nil. A dinner will 1m held in tho Oriental Bay Kiosk in the evening'. COLLEGE TOURNEY. Tho Rugby College tournament will ba played in Wellington this year. Tho fixtures are:—August 28, Wangaimi v. Wellington; August 30, Christ's College v. Wanganui; September 1, Christ's College v, Wellington. • GOLF. THE WELLINGTON CLUB. The following players will represent thli Wellington Golf' Club in tho match to lw played against tho Miramar Club at Miramar on Saturday:— A. D. S. Duncan, A. J. Abbott, K. D. Duncan, L. C. Hales, W. E. Reid, C. St. G. Gore, .T. B. MacEwau. A. S. MacShane, \V. 11. Lees, J. Marchbanks R. W. Kirlcby, G. T. Gcorgo.