ROUGH RUGBY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 14, 9 October 1937, Page 17

ROUGH RUGBY

english union circular opinion of critics a ; ; UNFAIRNESS, NOT ROUGHNES& County unions all over the country appears to approve the action of the Rugby Union ih circularising clubs with a view to suppressjng unfair tactics. Opinion is divided, however, on whefher or not English ^ugby is unnecessarily rough, says the Daily Express. A. T. (Tom) Voyce, pf Qloucester, one pf the most vigorous forwards internationai Rugby 'has kriown, thinks our Rugby is coinparatively mild. ; ' "Our 'Rugby is not too rough," he told me. "It's mild cpmpared with the South Africans', the New Zealanders' and the Australians.', and, yet I think the Domipions players are the fairest in the world. It is not roughness we have to worry about, but unfairness, afid .the two things are very diffe'rent." After * all, Rugby is a man's -game When you can have a jolly o.ld rpugh and tumble and then have a drink together 'aft'erwards; * ' ^hat ^he . authorities' ara "tmhg . to, 'check" is"uhc' fair'ness in'trying to" beat the 'referee with rSharp practices. ■ The two. unfairness and roughness, should not be confused. RoUghness in the v propef spirit is whait makes Rugby the grand game it is. - We don't want the boys to, 'wear kid . gloves, * We only want them to play to the rules" . Lord Strabplgi, the - iormers Com;mander . Kenworthy, M.K, who was fcioth a Rugby player andmayad heavyweight hojfing champion, believes, that the; game is becoming rougher. "Here and there I nptice a slight tendency to roughness," he said, "which should be checked. It is a mistake people make to think that Rugby is a rough game, Properly played, . has less roughness than any thing I. know. I have been a keen Rugby spectator ever sinde I stopped playing it just before the war, and I must confess X have notiped a tendency to roughness here and there which ought to be stamped out." . The oircular letter which was accompanied by 'two posters for display in all players' dressing rooms re.ad as follows: — Laws Treated Lightly. During last. season the c'ommittee of the Rugby Football Union noted with grat concern a growing tendency for

some players to treat lightly certam infringepients pf thp- , laws, maiply, tho'se gqverning play' in and . . around the scrummage. . • •" - " At th'e beginning of the- new seasonthey- desire to draw the attention -of all players arid referees to'law 34 (c), under which a referee must order ofi the field any player who p'ersistently infringes the laws. They strongly urge all referees to apply this law with the. utmost strictness and in eyery case. of persistent infringement to ordpr the offending player off the field. Now that attention has been drawn to the matter, they rely upon the players themselves and also. on captains of teams, together with club and union offlcials, to ensure that no referee shall have occasion to pxercise such* powers. Major-General B. A, Hill, president, made. a strong attack upori the emplbyme'nt of questionable tactics on the field of play at the lasfannual meeting of the Rugby Union. "There was evidence in many games last - season," he said, "that players were paying too muqh attention to the ietter of the law and too little to the spirit. What is the reason for this Unfair play? The expenses of clubs are becoming larger and larger. and there is* the danger that the tqking of good gates will become the dominant aim. If you have "that, there is the greater .danger of the encouragement of the type of player who has no conscience and who will do unything as long as the referee will allow him to do it."