FOOTBALL.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 June 1923, Page 4

FOOTBALL.

THE Dill MAN SHIELD. I The DiUnuui Shield which forms the trophy for inm|: lilion on Cass .Square to-nioiro" afternoon may he compete.i fur between Westland. Grey and huiugahu:’ Unions. The first match ior the shield was played on June lSlh. 1021. ai Grevmonl!i between Mestland and lmmgaiuia. the I'ermer "inning hy 0 points h li. The final match that year te determine the Tinklers was played between Westland and Grey at Hokitika ,oi .lime 25th.. Grey winning by Id to li, Westland challenged fur the Shield i„ July. 1022. and were defeated at Greymoullt hy Grey hy 25 to J. On Get. 21.-t. of the same year. Westland again challenged Gray and were successful by !) to li. and are l herd ore the present Itol«lor<. MODr.RX ri.AY!XC TACTICS. i ENGLISH STANDAR DS Cl! ITU ISl.*f»

Some interesting relleel imis '-u pre- j senl-dav -landards of English Rugby. I hy that well-known writer. I'. -I. Sol-, links, who deals especially with ihe model'll tendency ol back- to (let chip j kicking into touch, "ill he read "ith j interest in No" Zealand, especially i>> t ho-e wim favour the limitation "I i line-finding. by mean- ot the amended rule. Ile say - : - 'll l- highly satisfactory to know; 1 fiai Rugby i- nourishing exceedingly, j and is being played today in (listrids , where hitherto n has heeii niiknown. j The quantity is all right. hut what of j the quality!" T lie standard <d play | geiierallv i- not a- h'glj us it wa - he , lore ihe " iir. 11 is true Putt 'he , England lit toon has. out ol the sixteen j post-war matches. won thirteen, j drawn one. and lost only' I wo. .Limit-| leilly that is a splendid rc.-oid. i.ut one fears it does mu represent the -ivength ol English Rugby generally. The national side ha- boon bios- d | u ith the possession (I several bill's j -neb, a- \Y. J. A. Davie-, al bis hes! j the incomparable, C. A. Kershaw, one oi i lie greatest serum halves in the liiior\ of Rugby. ('. N. Lowe, \t . \'. Wakefield. A. T. Voyoe, and one or lwo others. But the rank and iiic are of very different clay, and it wuuid lie a difficult matter to select a second England hiteeii which could hold a candle in the one that has so worthily v,on the crown of the nations. CAME FASTER AND CLEVERER. "We all know that tlie game is (hanging, and unquestionably in inany respeots lor the belter. !'. i- fa-ter, cleverer, more open, and the day ol the o.x-like lonvuril whose single talent was that of shoving, olien long alter the ball hail gone, Ims passed for ever. Hut even though forwards be as speedy and as clever with their hands a-three-ipiai'i ai's are supposed to be solid scrummaging, like good-length howling, is still a wonderful asset, and brilliance must lint he cultivated at the expense of genuine hard work. Forwards cannot all he Wakefields o; Lnddingtons, but they can at least follow the example set by those and other supermen, who can always he relied iip.iii to do their share ol the work, and a hit more.

"Simething ol the same sort may be observed in the ease of the outsides of the day, who are too prone to adopt the •clutch and chance it’ method which they have <n eusioiially seen succeed. It has al-o failed, many anil iiianv a time, hut ils devotees conveniently forget its failures. .Soundness is still an essential of first-class Rugby, which is the reason why those a-tlite judges of the game, the English selectors, have passed over more than one player high in popular favour. And wlm shall say that they have not been justified KICKING OVERDONE. ‘ There is n:»t the least dnuLt 1 1i*-» kicking is now much overdone hy many of our hack-. The attack punt does eolue off now and then, as mi the la.v of average it is hound to do. hut how oltou do we see a promising attack spoilt by a kick into touch, or. worse still, hy an aimless punt- forward. which any opposing full-hack worth his salt "ill return with hem \ interest 'r Kicking into touch is a most valuable accomplishment, and as practised hy the English captain, for tu--taitce. has worn down many line packs, hut it does not lead to tries. Davies at his best never overdid it ; lie \«vis always on the look-out for a chance of scoring. Hut his would-be iiiiilators kick when i hey can gain little or nothing hy it : indeed, merely bring their attack m a tame conrnt-

sion. BRAIN* ON THE RUGRV FIELD. "The aim of the Rugby player is to score tries, and if that is kept in mind many of the model'll hero-ies will automatically disappear. Hard tackling, straight running, and going for the line will always win matches, and il young players would only impress these points on their minds, our Rugby would soon show a big improvement. They form the reason for England's success during the last few years, and tlicv will soon bring any club to tlie top of the tree. Perilous the best way to dismiss tlie subject is to insist that the first and last essential in Rugby football, given the necessary physique, is—brains.”

THE FULL-BACK. AN INTERNATIONAL’S ADVICE. The Hon J. M. IL Scott, the Scottish international, offers advise to full-backs:— “The full-back is the last line of defence and therefore an important position. The essential qualifications are fielding, kicking, tackling, pluck and speed. As regards the position m the field where the hack should stand. I think myself lie should always be directly behind the hall. That is to say, that if the scrum is in tlie centre of the field, the hack should stand halt-way between the two touch-fines, if the serum is on a touch-line the hack should he on that touch-line. He must judge his distance as to how far hack he stands behind hi- three quarters, and the weather conditions have a good deal to do ill deciding this. If there is a strong wind blowing towards him, he "ill have to he further hack than normally, and if be has a strong wind behind him. probably lie need not stand quite so far haelr. As a normal rule, I think about twenty yards i- quite far enough behind the three-quari ers in midfield. Of course, a- the game gets inside Ills own "27" fine he will take tlie goalline or just outside il as In- deieuslve line. Il is ju-t a- great a fault for a lull-hack to lie ton far back, as ii is for him to come right up anion t the l hree-qiiarier-. A full-back "ill make tackling very much easier for him-iTf if lie gels into a position that lie is running at an oblique angle to the line <■ i direction of the man lie wisiicx to Ulekl,-. Il does Hot liiattei llo" many opponents are eeming towards him, he mu-1 concern him- If " ith one man and one man only, namely, the mall ailli the hall. "While trying to gain as much ground as possible before purling with, the hall. . . il must lie remembered that a lull-hack should never he caught in possession il he It:is had any time at all in which to kiek without ri -kiog Idkick being charged tlown liv thn-e following up. li is ins! as stupid (and a great deal more dangerouu) In kiek the hail when there are four or five men about two yards away as to kiek (he hall from tile spot where it is caught when there is no one within in only yard-. "A full-hack must go and meet everything that is ruining towards him: d i- quite u-ele s In wait slandir ; -1 ill. Even if ii is a kick coining as he thinks straight to him. he -1 1 ,■ ■ ■ i<l move about, however -mall an aiiiounl, so that his muscles are already a; live nod ready to answer quickly, if li e ball does not (nine exactly as he thought it would. To a forward dribbling a ball, a full-back or any mail who stands slid and waits fur him. is just like a post, and he can lime his swerve or whatever lie is going to do. at his own v, ill, whereas if that full-back is ((lining inwards him he has got m oeoii-ider I lie rate at which Ihe lull-back is moving as well as his own pace. And the same thing applies to a nine running with the hail in Ins hands. "From the point of view of the iuii-

back, it is very ninth easier to follow a swerve if you are on the move yourself, than it is to do so from standing still. The thing to aim at is to try and make the man who has the ball go where you want him, rather than wail, to see what he is going to do on ins own, when h,v tlie time you realise what lie is going to do, lie is doing it or has done it and probably you are too late. "AVlten fielding a high kick the eyes must never he taken olf the hall during its flight on ally consideration. However near the opposition are, in fact the nearer they are the more important it is, the hall is tlie one concern of the man who is going to field it."