FOOTBALL.

Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 424, 24 May 1902, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

THE RANFURLY SHIELD AND A TEAM FOR HOME. |By “ The Whistle.” |

I have boen permitted, by the courtesy of the Secretary of the Poverty Bay Rugby Union (Mr XV. S. McCredie), to glauco through a voluminous budget of reports on business transacted by tho New Zealand Rugby Union, forwarded by tho Secretary of that body to the local union. Tho chief subject of interest to local players will be the conditions of tho Ranfurly Shield, presented by His Excellency the Governor to the New Zealand Union for competition among its affiliated unions, 'i'ho Evening Post says that on the subject of fixing the conditions for tho Shield the delegates tied themselves into mental knots, till their heads ached. All Bort of wild proposals wero submitted, including a motion that the Shield be a kind of America Cup, to bo competed for annually between New Zealand, Queensland, and New South Wales. Eventually, tho Council fixed the following rules for the competition :

1. That, at tho end of the 1902 season, the Management Committee of tho New Zealand Union allot tho Shield to the Union whose representative team it con siders to have tho best record of tho year 2. Such Union to hold it subject to to: right of challenge by any affiliated Union, but not to he called on to play more challenge matches in the season than tho Management Committee of the New Zealand Union considers desirable, provided that any Union meeting the holder of the Shield in the course of its ordinary Union matches shall have tho right to declare beforehand to the Management Committee of tho New Zealand Union and to tho Union bolding the Shield that such match shall also be a challenge match'. 3. All challenge matches shall bo played on the ground of the holder of the Shield for the time being. 4. Any Union desiring to play a challenge match with the holder shall give

notice to the New Zealand Union of such desire not later than the end of August in each year. 5. The New Zealand Union shall have the right to declare which, if any, of the challenge matches shall bo allowed. 6. A challenge match to be played on a

date to bo arranged by the Unions engaged, but, failing such arrangement, the date of playing to bo fixed by the New Zealand Union. No match sh&ll be played after the last Saturday in Sep-

tember. -.jj. In the event of a challenge match (as distinguished from an ordinary match declared to be a challenge match) being played, the New Zealand Union shall appoint the referee, and receive the total net proceeds. There seemed to be a great deal of feel-

ing indulged in over the proposal to send a Rugby representative team Home. When the matter came up before tho New Zealand Union, the discussion un-

fortunately degenerated into a fight on points of order, the merits of the question being relegated to second place. Eventually, the subject was referred back to the various Unions for their expression of opinion on the desirability of sending a team Home in 1903, and the question will. be considered at an early date by the New Zealand Union. During the discussion. Mr Galbraith said the members of the New Zealand team could go Homo as 1 amateurs on the same terms as those on which some members of Messrs Stoddart’s and Mullineux’s teams came to the colonies as amateurs.

Providing the weather conditions are favorable, a really good match should be witnessed on Victoria Domain to-day, when West End and Kaiti-City meet. Both clubs are putting strong fifteens in the field, and every yard of the playing, field is bound to be stubbornly fought over before the issue is decided.

A short time ago the local union decided to admit school children to theii* matches for the modest sum of. two shillings for a season’s ticket. The tickets have been selling well, and boys are rominded that they will not be admitted t'J the ground to-day unless they produq their tickets at the gate. Each lad wh‘ intends to follow up the game shouP secure a ticket. By following .the play of some of the seniors they will -learn bow the game should he played; and by watching others, again, they will see how the game should not be played. The knowledge will serve them in good stead when their turn comes to take their places in the senior ranks.

The Kaikorai Club, which has beet: champion of Otago for many seasons, was crushingly defeated a couple of Saturdays ago by its old rival, Alhambra, by 20 points to nil, the severest drubbing the Kaikorai first fifteen has experienced since its inception.

The local union arc fortunato in having secured Mr R. Sim as their delegate to the New Zealand Rugby Union. Mr Sim was a first-class player in his day, and still takes a keen interest in the game. The interests of the Poverty Bay Rugby Union will be safe in such capable hands. The second ground on the Dom-din will be the scene of a hard tussle this afternoon, when the West End and Huia juniors play the first match of the junior competition. Had the Huia Club been represented by its junior instead of its senior team last Saturday week, it is confidently asserted that they would not have sustained such a severe defeat. The West End has a fine junior team.