RUGBY ENTHUSIASM.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVII, Issue 5013, 13 August 1926, Page 1

RUGBY ENTHUSIASM.

booking shield match seats.

AN ALL-NIGHT VIGIL.

Remarkable tributes to the fevenkh fanaticism for Rugby that exists m Hawkes Bay (states the Napiei Daily Telegraph) were given in the city when spine adenrt supporters of the game sa,t all night in a Queue outside the booking office waiting to reserve seats 'for the all r important Ranfurly Shield fixture, Hawkes Bay against Wellington. It was a remarkable testimony to the enthusiasm of the Hawke’s Bay public for the good old game, and it is surely safe to say that in no othei centre in New Zealand would the Rugby fans have sat up hours on end through the dark and chilly ni S waiting, constantly waiting, that th y should not be left out when it came to the final allocation Gf the available seating accommodatiioh. No knight in the days, of cffivahy was more faithful in his, , all-night vigil than were some of these rabid Rugbyites who waited through the nocturnal hours to book seats. The aueue started about 11 P* •» when a handful of young city offices arrived at the hooking office door, equipped with' chairs, fo comfortable resting during the long wait, and rugs and overcoats to defy the advance of cold. Dumping the chairs at the booking office door they curled up in them, swathed ip Vugs and coats, and slept through the hours of waiting. CAME WITH KEROSENE TINS. At 11.30 p.m.; another batch arrived, this bunch with kerosene tins: foi seats, and they, too, settled down to the long watch and wait. .Half hour after midnight three more turned up, and with them the firfst lady, a young enthusiast for the game and pioneer of her sex in this, long sojourn —and femininity, it must be admitted,' is just as ardent as Hawkft’s Bay manhood in its love fdr the Rugby game. ' These in turn settled for- the long wait, and shortly afterwards ».ome more came, and then more again, till at 2.30 a.m. there were 35 waiting applicants for reserved seats in the queue—some lying in slumber in rugs in sheltering shop doorways, others lolling in chairs and oh kerosene tins and boxes, while .others fought off the craving for '-Jeep a,nd smoked away the hours or paced the footpath :» circulation generating strolls. At 4 o’clock in the morning 50 persons were in the waiting line O f intending reservers, and, as if by common consent, a general period of wakefulness ensued, and thermos flasks were produced from unknown vorners and bundles of sandwiches drawn from ba,gs and baskets, and early morning supper ensued. Half a dozen "young bljbds” from a neighbouring office retired to their business premises for this interlude. A GOOD OMEN. Just about this time a young feline made its appearance from nowhere, apparently, and joined the: waiters. The kitten was received with evident enthusiasm when it was observed that it wa£ marked by nature in the famous Hawked Bay. colours—black and white. The waiting crowd took the kitten to its heart, and the good omen evident in its colour raised hopes! to confident heights for Saturday. Neighbour shared with neighbour the. provendor each had, and conversation, scintilating with good-natured chaff, flowed -easily along. Dawn broke some time later, and over the whole queue, which had noKv grqwn considerably, came the. wakening influence, and walks on to the Parade were freely indulged in as efficient “leg stretchers.” Few s.lept from now on, and magazines and books appeared from all corners and were read by the light of pocket torches or by the improving light of day. ALL BOOKED IN AN HOUR. Gradually more came to swell the waiting line —youths oh bicycles, men in cars and on foot, apd l ladies with their escorts —and when at last the tiwn clock beat a measured eight, ap.d the booking office opened, the- queue included 'Upward of 150 people! Everyone was keen to get a reserved s,e,at, but there was the utmost good nature and order, and th© waiting line filed quietly in in fives to the booking office, where each applicant booked three seats. Demands for seats, were almost feverish, apd inside ap hour all available accommodation, totalling 500 “seats, had been snapped up. Even this numbetr did not satisfy the demands., and when aU the seats had been sold there were stil many left in the- queue who had no seats. Endeavours are, being made tci accommodate these supporters oh a wing stajnd of 200 sweating capacity.

The long wait of thei crowd through the dragging hours of night, the. alacrity with which available seats were snapped up, and the evident inadequacy of the .available seating accommodation (adds, the “Telegraph”) are wonderful testimonials to the enthusiasm for Rugby in Hawke’s Bay.