THAT RUGBY TRIP

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 49, 20 November 1937, Page 16

THAT RUGBY TRIP

V AUSTRALIANS PERTURBED : f ' — - LET US DOWN?" MATTER VERY IMIFFICIAL Australians are not taking kindly to reports relative to New Zealand's cancellation' of its Rugby Union tour of Australla next season, reports the Sydney Referee. However, the whole matter is very unofficiaL The N.S.W. Rugby Union hui not yet received a word from the New Zealand Rugby Union on the subject. - . , Press reports have been the sole means of inf ofmation. To be frank, N.S.W. officials cannot believe that New Zealand officials would go back on them by cancelling the tour without due negotiation. That is why Mr. Jeff Noseda, secre-.. tary of the N.S.W. Rugby Union and Mr. W. W. Hill, the president, are confiderit that the tour will not be cancelled, They believe that the New Zealanders'will be in Australia in due course next year. The special representative of "The Referee" in New Zealand writes of a feeling that is sweeping the Dominion. Public opinion is strong in many quarters against the cancellation of the Australian tour.- Many are wondering if the xeported cancellation of the tour is a sign of weakness on the part bf the New Zealand Rugby 'Union. / * "Justhow the sending of a couple of dozen players to Australia next season ■would hamper football in New Zealand is hard to see," says tha correspondent. "On the contrary, the experiehce gained by those players and the building up of their football accomplishments would be a fine thing for the game in New Zealand." _ Penounced From The Fulpit "Unfortunately," adds the Referee's New Zealand representative, "the public qf New Zealand is having its confidehee.in the New Zealand Rugby Union shaken. Many deplored the commerciai tang that surrounded the Springbok series this year. It was denounced even from the pulpit. The New Zealand Rugby Union was twitted with 'astute commercialism.'" ,The reported cancellation of the Australian tour and what looks like a breach of faith with Australia, leads to a good deal of criticism of the New Zealand authoriilss. New Zealanders are wondering if the cancellation was made because of a fear that the All Blacks would not be capable of holding their own with Australia next year. That can hardly be the case. We may take it that such a spirit has not animated the Dominion Rugby Union. Naturally such a decision, as it is reported to have made, must give rise to diverse opinions and controversy. If the New Zealand team comes to Australia next year (and all Australians hope it will), the Dominion might Deat the Commonwealth hands down. Australia, on the other hand, might gain the mastery. But whatever the result might be, it is not so terribly important. What really matters is that the teams play good, high-class football, preserving the best spirit of the game, so that during and after the matches, players, officials, and public, can feel pleasure in them.