RUGBY ENTERTAINMENT

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 82, 3 October 1931, Page 20

RUGBY ENTERTAINMENT

.At this year's.a,nnual meeting,of the Wellington jlJnion,' a' ' resolution. ;wa«passed -that Wanganui, ,ih view.of.the financial .situation,.- would .nejther,! accept from' other unions, -nor 'give; visits ing teams, entertainment on the'scale that had: previously, been, the rule, and it was decided that official dinners should not be tendered.- According to reports th^t have come from the Biver City, however, the, terms,of the resolution have not! been strictly carried'put, but other unions during the season have had' cause:■■ to consider the question, which is ■Te.cognisedto.'be-onev.caliing; for an . understanding among the.various Junions. ' r , /.-. '■'~',,'.':,'.!•:.'.'..-.:, ■ ■ A'jround-tabie' discussion on the matter took place\W this week V-m the Management Coihmittee of the Wellington' ;trnion,r when .reference was made to .the fact that., at the ; ,dinner tendered the Wellington team at .Auckland, those who wanted alcoholic drink were compelled to obtain it at their own expense. ' In' Wellingtoii, when such dinners have / been,- teniJeried; ;;visiting teams,. the : desired, refreshments hive been. provided at ;the local unionf's . expense. Refreshments are also provided for the, competing teams at tlje eohcluBion of each representative match "at Athletic. Park. , ', . ■ The chairman!of.the. co.nunittee, Mr. J. PrendeVille, stated' that he felt it was a matter Which should be consider' ed at,the annual,meeting of the New Zealand Union, and: some attempt made to. obtain uniformity. ' Another suggestion was that it should be made the subje/5t {of a'circular the, ; affiliated unions. : •■'.'..'■..-. . A remark was passed by a committeeman, that the fact that there was no liquor provided at official dinners tended to. make the functions more' orderly; but several' speakers 'immediately' denied that there had ever been -any cause for complaint in .that Wspect so far as dinners at Wellington were concerned.1.. ~.;.-.. .'.. •', . . '.-.,■ . ..' .-:.: v '.' . ."I1 would like to; say that, in ; my opinion, it is bad policy to send playy ers ..up on the morning of. the match, particularly if travelling by the Limited .express, as the; players do not get any.-rest;on the trip,i and.therefore are notin-a fit condition to.play the same day, "t-s stated Mr. A. J. Griffiths, manager of the^ Wellington, team which visited Auckland recently, in bis repork ,on the trip. Mr. Griffiths'a comment arose from the fact' that, three members of the Wellington team arrived on the Saturday morning. They were sent to bed after breakfast, and were! well massaged before the • match. : A corregpondent ("Old Timer") writes from Lower Hutt regarding references to.South Island praise.'of its own teams. "I will;only state,"- the correspondent writes, "that the trouble with the southern: Bugby footballers has always appeared to me.to be that, they only re-q:-•■red/ a little of wha^ v 'Drop-Kick thinks he sees—self-aaulation-rrir good: natur^a fraternity 'of spirit at smoke concurts." A good deal more is added, but the live of reasoning is difficult to follbwi;.". •Thete, is praise: for the- way Otago;piays the garoo, -aid a reference to' ;old timers'.being able to Say-that Wellington an<l Auckland-"set the standard in the North Island a to the spirit in which the game should bo played."',: . The score- of;4r-points :; to. 3 registered by Otago against Southland recently in the ? ';retufn. rßuiby Jnatch is not the highest that- has been put;, up against Southland. Jn11906, Auckland beat Southland, by 48 ..points to, 12, and in' 1910 -Wellipgi^n ->,tomped: home by- 60 points to mil. 'In 1923,1 at Auckland, in a game which marked the, rise to fame of A. E. Gooke, Auckland won by- 37 points to 3ri Southland beat Otagoby 37 ,to 5. last year, and'Qtago's previous- highest • win. was 3Sj tfrjii^ *.good.miajr yews ago.