WELLINGTON RUGBY

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 145, 15 March 1939, Page 13

WELLINGTON RUGBY

Small Loss Shown On Last Season UNION’S ANNUAL REPORT The annual report of the Wellington Rugby Football Union states that the past cseasou, on the whole, was tsuccesstul. The standard of play in club matches was better than in the previous season and Unresults of games in the senior grades proi - ml that teams were more evenly malchcu than for some time. In the majority or names the winning margin was small, auu it could not be said at any stage ot the season that the rei-ailt of any game was a foregone conclusion. _ ~ 1. One hundred mid thirty-nine teams took Dint in grade eoinpetitions, a decrease ot two as compared with the previous year. In keeping with the undertaking given to tile - primary schools’ unions, prohibiting boys who played in school games ou r riduy from playing for clubs on baturuajs, tlie seventh grade was eliminated. Hie decrease in entries was therefore more nominal than real. Entries in the secondary schools' competitions were sligutly be low those 'obtaining in 1937. . . The recommendation of the junior advisory committee that matches with bilverstream, St. Patrick’s (town) and Wellington Colleges should count for the third grade (first division) championship was put into operation, with the result that greater keenness and enthusiasm was displayed by clubs entering teams in this grade. . . , One hundred and forty-six house matches were played during the season. The annual fixture Police v. Post and Telegraph Department was again a prominent attraction and the proceeds, amounting to £327/1/6, were distributed to various charitable institutions in the city. The committee desires to pay a special tribute to Constable Hammond, who devoted his annual leave to a campaign for the sale of tickets in aid of the funds.

The representative teams experience-’ a run of varied fortunes and the promise of an advance in the standard of play was not altogether fulfilled. Adverse weather affected gate receipts for club matches, and it was rather disappointing to find that, despite a good start, attendances, particularly in the second round, when normally better returns might be expected, fell away considerably. Perhaps the greatest contributing factor in the decline was the broadcasting of matches played by the New Zealand team in Australia. In an endeavour to meet this phase, mutches 011 charge grounds were played at rtn earlier hour than usual to enable patrons who might desire to do so to reach home, in time for the broadcasts. Though thishelped to some extent, there can be no doubt that, combined with the inclement weather, the broadcasting of important matches elsewhere had a detrimental effect. The ultimate result was that the gate receipts from club matches were only slightly better than in 1937. Returns from representative matches showed an increase, and the return from tlie Hawke's Buy match was the best for any representative fixture since 1930. Conditions for the Auckland game were unfavourable; rain earlier in the day and a waterlogged ground undoubtedly kept many people away, and the returns were not what might reasonably have been expected from this time-honoured fixture. Receipts from the sale of season tickets, as was expected, fell away to a marked degree. The season s operations resulted in a small loss, but the union met ail its commitments and reduced the mortgage overdraft to the Bank of New Zealand by £5OO. The main reasons for the loss were the inclement weather experienced during the second round ot club matches and the unusual number of unfortunately severe accidents which became a charge on the accident fund. Some of the expenditure incurred, as, for example, that on Strand Park, will not recur, and if the same close attention is given to finances as has been given in the past the situation is not such as to give rise to pessimism.

“Your committee feels that delegates can look forward to the coming season with a spirit of optimism,” the report concludes. “It is true that prominent players have retired or have been transferred, but evidence was not wanting last season that the right material was available for a big advance, and the experience gained by the younger players should be valuable to them in the coming season.”