PUKEKOHE AND CUP FINAL.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 657, 9 August 1921, Page 5

PUKEKOHE AND CUP FINAL.

,% (To the Editor.) * : Sir, —Upon perusing your issue of Friday, August 5, I was rather unused at reading the following:— ‘Owing to the inability of several flayers to be able to take paiit >n the Inal between Pukekohe and Onevhero at Tuakau to-morrow, the team Pukekohe has had to be ■e-shuffled. The following will now >e included,” and then follows the , ames of the team. .Now, sir, the hove appears somewhat misleading o those who happen to be in the knew,” and for the enlightenment f those who are ignorant of fcha true sets an explanation “won’t do any arm,” and may, perhaps, be of a ttle assistance to the Pukekohe

Club’s selectors. Football enthusiasts generally are aware that by being defeated at Onewhero on Saturday, July 23, Pukekohe and Onewhero were brought qn even terms for the senior championship, and that a playoff was necessary. However, a meeting of the Franklin Rugby Union was held (the date of which I am not quite sure of) and the Union decided that the match should take place at Tuakau on Saturday, August 6. Upon the Union’s decision, it was, made known that Pukekohe would not play at Tuakau, but were prepared to play on any other ground. On Saturday evening, July 30, a meeting of the senior team was held and it was decided to play the match, sink or swim, and the selectors, Messrs J. Hogan, J. Rae, and E. Ryan, were instructed to select the best team possible and this was accordingly done and five players of the junior team were selected, namely: Mssrs L. Hart, B. Hart, Roy Fulton, R. Perkins, and H. Pleydell, but as Perkins was not available, a senior player, who was se’ected as an emergency, was given a game, while E. Campbell, who was laid low in the match against Bombay at Pukekohe was also included. This meant that C. Noble,, W. Short, E. .Goldsworthy, W.- Reynolds, and J. Brown, who played against Onewhero on July 23, were not included, for reasons best known to the selectors. The selected team was published in the Times on Tuesday last and evidently did not meet with the approval of several of the “thvownouts,” and several supporters. So what was done. A number of the team met for actice on the Thursday night, and those senior players who were present, selected a team over the selectors’ head, hence the little statement that caused some amusement that the" team had to be re-shuffled. Now, six’, the players who were selected by the-club’s selectors were evidently those who were suffering from an “inability” to take part and I can assure you thdt three of them at least were* ready to take their places and one? of them did. The others played against Waikere. Is this a correct attitude for a team to be selected over the club selectors’ head?—l am, etc., DISGUSTED.