Rugby Football.

Free Lance, Volume III, Issue 148, 2 May 1903, Page 18

Rugby Football.

THE football season opened under very happy auspices on Saturday. True, there was a, keen wind blowing, which interfered with the enloyment from the spectators' point of view but that same wind was much relished by the players. It gave an occasional'breathing space which was much needed in many cases, and tempered the heat of the sun as well. The ground was a bit on the hard Sl de but that alone is a pleasant change to what the Athletic Park used to be before Caretaker Murphy took charge. It was indeed a pleasing sight to see the e-iound on Saturday, when both matches were in progress— the green sward acting as a pleasant toil to the van-coloured jeisevs of the players. * * * The matches on the Athlet c Paik were between the Melrose and Ath'etie teams and Old Boys and Wellington Victory lested with the first-named in each instance by a substantial mannn. ♦ * * There were many— myself among the number— who anticipated that the Old Boys would win from their older opponents, but no one expected them to win so handsomely. The story of the game is easily told. There was a persistence in the attack of the Old Boys at the opening of the game which seemed to promise success to rest with them the Wellingtons, on the other hand, seeming to lack that necessary persistence at the critical moment. The Old Boys were getting possession pretty freouentlv, and it seemed to me that they did not make enough use of their chances. The ball hung in the back line of the scrummage and it did this so frequently that the conviction was forced home on me that the backrankers were followine instructions. I may be wrong but still that is the way I feel about it just now. When the ball did come out, it was handed about in good style, though the centre three-quarter was w T eak at times. The Wellington team held their own in thei loose forward scrambles, but in the other departments of the game they were outplayed by the ex-Collegians. • * * The Melrose-Athletic match was a haphazard sort of arrangement Neither team treated the matter in a very serious light —it was more of a club practice came than a contest for the Senior Championship. True, some of those ding-dong forward rushes with which the Melrose Club's senior team have always been associated were in evidence here and there, but theie were not enough of them to make one believe that the Melrose players were fulJv extended. The Athletic fifteen was almost a new set of players — at any rate, new to senior football m Wellington. In vain one looked for old faces — it was like the proverbial looking for a needle m a haystack They were there, but they were very haid to find Therefore to get OUt of the deal the way they did, and the fine showing they made under such distressing circumstances, is all the more to the credit of the representatives of the Athletic Club. • * • Drake is a burly forward in the Old Boys' team. A familiar name, too — as a> matter of fact, he is first cousin to Wally" of that ilk. The player m question is but nineteen years of age, has features that remind you of the Canterbury representative, and promises to develop into a good stamp of a 'bustler." Another new face is Gardiner's. He plays right wing-foiward, and gets down on to the opposing backs in quick time. If his vis-a-vis plays the correct game with him. and leaves the bustling business alone, he will have a contract to foot the ball aw ay from him 0. Cl eland has been given a lift fiom the juniors, and performed creditably. His place kicking was a prominent feature of his play on Saturday. Buddie did not have much to do in guarding the goal, and methinks it was ]v.st as well He is solid, but he has to run too far to get his kick in. Against a team of bustling forw ards he would ho m trouble all the time.

McKenzie w a& patchy at centre threequaitei Occasionally, he was weak, and at other times brilliant. What could have been finer than the pass ho gave Johnson when that player crossed (he line in the second soell ? Ingles was neglected all together, but Johnson was gieatly in evidence If that knee of Frank's keeps solid, he w ill be a thorn m the side of his opponents this season. The Old Boys appear to have unearthed a treason c in Thompson, their halfback. Said lad is a younger brother of Monas, and showed fine form in the game under review . For an opening senior game, his display was excellent, but I will not praise 1 him too much in case his hat will get small The season has a lone way to go 'set, and he will have many harder matches to play m than Saturday's was, so I would remark to him — "Keep straight on, and don't imagine you're* an ideal half-back because of one game. Improve on Saturday's form in every succeeding match and maybe the highest honouis in the football world will be yours." Morling, Drake, Alexander, and Joidan give the solidity to the Old Boys' pack that, has been needed, and Dodd and Watkins are finished exponents of loose forward play. Odlin and Gilme-r complete the team, and both work hard, the former in the loose especially. "Knox," however, doesn't seem to improve as he gets older — hp is the same player that he was when he first played senior. • * * The Wellington team was a surprise. LoVatt, lan Johnson, Meredith, Manson McMinn. McLachlan Leversedge, Baird, and Walsh, of last year's team, are gone. Perhaps, some of them may be seen/ later on, but they were not i" evidence on Saturday. By thew^v I hear that McMinn is hkelv to be back in town in three weeks' time. C. P. Blacklock took Lovatt's place at full-back. He did not give a bad peiforma,nce at all. His taking of the ball was very good, and, although he made pood kicks, he failed too frequently at finding the line to fulfil the destiny of a full-back. This defect he should remedy in succeeding matches. Allen was centre three-ouaa-ter. This was the player who played for the Athletics last year because there was no place available for him in the Wellington fifteen. He was not very noticeable in th© game 1 under review. Mclntyre and Brodie were the wings. The former made some characteristic dashes', but the latter was painfully neglected. Scott Wilson was the five-eighth, but, methinks, the sooner Brodie and he change places the better it will be for the side. The five-eighth is the mvot on which the back division work and if the player in that position becomes convinced that he is playing the whole of the opposite side bv himself resultantlv the back play of his team is disorganised. This seemed to me to be Wilson's failing. Time and again Allen and Brodie would back him up for a pass when he had mad© an opening only to find the ball punted down the. centre of the field to a waiting back on the other side. It was disheartening to his mates, and should make "Scott's" position in the three-quarter line a certainty. Gray did not have much opportunity behind the Wellington scrummage. It would, perhaps, be unfair to criticise his play on this game, but one feature I noticed I must draw attention to, and it is the fact that, although the passes he made were true., they w ere not sharp enough, and occasionally were mteicepted for that reason. Carey was very conspicuous in the wing forward, and directly he strikes form will be a source of strength to his side, and a thorn in the side of his, opponents. Carey was very prominent m the Wellington vanguard, and his footwoik was a marked feature of his pla,y His promotion from the juniors seems to be w ai ranted. A. Wilson was effective in the straggling play, and the try he scored was a fine effort His line w ork ai as not as good as it has been pieviously Carnaohan is a new face in Wellington football, but I did not sec much of him. The lattei comment piacticaJly fits Bavfield, Burnett, Bendall, and Tuinbull — the lemainder of the Wellington pack. * * * Mr G. Clark was the leferee, but ho did not seem to be too suie of his ground. He was veiy stnet — too strict, to my idea — on the rule of playing the ball on the ground, while on tho othei hand he was lenient in the matter of charging when a fiee-kick was being taken. I may not have seen one instance coirectlv but it seemed to me that McIntvro was mterfeied with when Watkins scored the Old Boys' first try. In (Continued on page 19.)

that case the try should have been disallowed, from my view point Johnson appearing to push Mclntyre from behind. However, a referee is only humanhe is like the players— he must be given a little latitude in his opening game. Mr. Clark conscientiously did his best to arbitrate fairly between the two teams, and no man can be expected to do moie. » » * George Spencer filled lus usual position at full-back for Melrose, but he was not asked to do much. His placekicking showed him to be out of practice, although he potted a fine goal from the field. E. Claridge run about a lot, but his display was a long wa^ beJow what I expected of him. A fine chance of scoring t\as mulled badly m the first half of the game, and he made a present of the second try to the Athletic team. Goodwin put in some good work during the afternoon. A certain try was lost by him, though, on on© occasion. He had Wrigley and Claridge outside him, v, ith only the full-back between them and the line. He tried to score himself and failed, when a pass would have made the try a sure thing. Webb, a substitute from the juniors, played m good style and a settled place could be given him in the senior team. Wrigley was only out for an airing, and had not intended playing when he wandered up to the Park. He was pressed into service, and did very well considering it was the first he handled the ball since last season Foothead played behind the scrummage, but it is just as well for his team the opposition was weak. His passes were too slow by yards, and methinks he would be happier on the wing. Adams, De Blois, Callum, and J. Spencer were generally prominent — the latter in more ways than one. Sievers was a substitute, but he notched two of his side's tries. Osborne Hardham, Sullivan, and Peterson completed the team, but] I did not see much of them. On one occasion I noticed a new player charge an Athletic back after he got his* kick in, but his name I won't mention. Just a word of warning to the player, though — keep that game proing, and the bank will find you before the season is far advanced. * * * The Athletic backs generally were weak, but exceptions to the said comment are Boyoe, McCarthy, and Halbert. This is "Jaffer" Boyce's second season with tihei Athletics, and he infused a lot of dash into his play. When the Athletic team gets into it® stride, Boyce will be of much assistance. Halbert — who, by the way, was a member of the Wellington, third fifteen last year — played in such a manner as to warrant the statement that an injustice was done him by the Wellington Club's selection committees last year. His defence was solid, and his kicking very sound. McCarthy, who was five-eighths, played a surprisingly good game for a lad his size and weight considering the trend of the game. He got down to the forward rushes in good style, and instituted bouts of passing if he got the least opportunity. His finding of tne touch-line was a marked feature of his play. Hales and Wills were the more prominent of the forwards, the two tries scored by the former being good efforts. Pitt was for the most part of the game a passenger, and retirement from the playing arena is my advice to him at the nresent time. The others I will leave without a comment at this stage . * * * Mr. J. M. Robb was referee, and, although he carried out the duties fairly well, he did not appear to me to have the full control over the players a referee should have, or else he would have cautioned several of them for the language in which they expressed themselves at times. * * * A disagreeable feature in connection with Saturday's matches was the immense amount of talking indulged in by players in both matches Whether they were trying to bustJe the referees T know not — suffice it to say, occasionally some blue words got into the talking. A word of advice is tendered here — unless an enforced retirement is wanted by several players, this "cackling" habit will have to be checked. If it is not, direotlv we will hear something: about the strictness of the referees and the game being spoiled thereby. But to mv mind it is better to have the game ruined than to offend the ears of the spectators. * * • Contrary to expectations, the PonekeOriental game at Petor.e, resulted in an easy victory for the former team.

The pla.v was confined to the forwards for the first twenty-five minutes, the Oriental vanguard bein-^ much in evidence. From a scrummage, Reynolds started a passing rush, which appeared dangerous, but the Orientals ran to touch. The Poneke forwards retaliated, and their backs got to work, and they held the upper hand for the balance of the game. The back play of the Poneke team resembled a College team's passing rushes, so beautiful was the combination. Thomas played satisfactorily at fullback, but he has a tendency to get a bit too far forward. Wallace played his best game for tw o seasons — in. fact, one of his best since 1898. He makes a good captain, too, judging by Saturday's game, for he seemed to do the right thing at the right time — whether he opened up the play or otherwise. Gray, the ex-Chnstchurch player, played an ideal game at centre threequarter. He appeared to be everywhere, his backing up being perfect, while the wa,v he took his passes was pleasing to watch. Twohill and Slattery showed good form, the latter having one of his days out. His defence was solid. Twohill is new to the style of play adopted b- the Ponekes. but acquitted himself fairly well. He made some capital runs, pacing in good style, but on occsions he ran into the full-back where his pace would have carried him round him and over the line. He has a neat fend, which he ought to cultivate. Slater passed out well, but he could have put more vim into his passes. He stopped forwaird rushes m good style. J. Mann has improved on his last season's form, and played a rattling game on the wing forward. W. Spencer, the ex-Melrose player, performed consistently as his mate. Cross, the ex-South Island representative, was the best forward on the ground. He keeps well on the ball. Mcßaei was the best of the other Poneke forwards, but McAnally, Thompson Sweeney, Galbraith, and Murphy did their fair share of the work. • * * Stringer, the Oriental full-back shaped well, but he should rid himself of a trait he displayed last weeik — viz., waiting on the p-oal-line for an opponent. Even if he bringsi his opponent down when in that position the odds are that the score will be registered. Bush kicked well, but his taking of the ball was on the weak side. Marsh played very solidly all through the game, but on the occasion when McAnally scored he made the mistake of waiting for him too near the goal-line. He should have come out to meet McAnally. Roberts was not a great success at five-eighth. True, he stopped rushes, and tackled in fine style, and his kicking to touch was 1 decidedly good. But, there w r as no aggressiveness* in his play. Reynolds grafted hard at half-back, doin"" fairly well right through the game. He appeared to be playing to lnstructionsi, and his display was no improvement on what "Freddy" Roberts' would have given had he been behind the pack. Parker was 1 the best of the wing-for-wards, but a habit he has of putting his hands on his vis-a-vis should be checked if he wants to continue playing. Best, Lowe, E. Wylie, and A. "Wylie were the best of a solid scrummage, and it is to this 1 department that the Orientals will have to look to for their mobable chances of winning matches when the said forwards get thoroughly seasoned. Mr. Laughton refereed to the satisfaction of both teams. # * # Charlie Marter, for many years secretary of the Wellington Rugby Union, and an acknowledged authority on football when in Wellington, has written to Mr. A. C. Norris, in connection with the forthcoming tour of the New Zealand team to New South Wales and Queensland. The following are a few extracts from the letter — "We New Zealanders here are taking the same view that Nekon took in one of his battles — we want all the enemy's ships, that is we want their scalps in every match. To me the matter seems simple. A great forward team above all and the day is ours If we fail to crush them forward, or only make an even contest of it forward they have some spry customers behind, who can streak, and are not afraid to pass the ball around, and the result will be trouble for us. "In my mind's eye I can see a forward team that would never leave the matter in doubt, but there are other minds who do not see the question in the same light, and the mistake of 1893 may be repeated. From the play

I have seen here, I am convinced there is no real "devil' in the forwards. I will give you an instance. The forwards struggle for the ball, one side gets it, the other yells out 'they have got it!' and that for the time being seems to end the functions of the forwards. They leave it to the backs then. "I pointed out to the oaptain of a team here that some of the New Zealand forward teams only began to play when they had lost the ball in a scrum. "There is one department in which, I think, we can eat their heads off — judicious touoh-hne kicking. Their collaring too, is not of the best. But m quick spurts and dodging some of their backs are clinkers. Of course, lam speaking of the play as I saw it last season. "It will interest you all to know that New South Wale® are pluming themselves on victory. The team you siaw in New Zealand did not in any way represent their strength, but it did their style of play, and they claim as the result of contact with the Englishmen, and the tour through New Zealand, to have improved out of all recognition. We shall see." • • • The accident scheme of the Rugby Union has been finally passed, and, if got into working order should prove of immense benefit to players. The dead season is now over, and I have no time to discuss "Touch" or simdar matter of little moment to the football world. In his last week's diatribe he described the statement I made that the dailv papers copied from each other, after verification, reports of meetings which had not already appeared in the individual journals, as 1 a lie. In proof of my assertion. I would be pleased if "Touch" could tell me how the "Evening Post" got its report of the delegates' meeting this week if it was not in the way I described? The annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union is to be held tonight (Friday). My contention re appointing two managers for the team, to go to New South Wales has evoked a lot of discussion in the papers mi the colony. Truth to tell. lam not wedded to my own contention, but the dearth of subjects to write about during the "off season" was the mam reason I put) it forward. I expect the main body of my confreres were just as pleased I did, for the disproving of my arguments ga.ve them also a theme to' write on.

Miss Maud Beattv after August, intends letting the Berlin and Brussels play-p-oors lest their eves on some New Zealand lo\ehnes.s. * * * May Beattv finds it haul to tearheiself away fiom Pollard's happy family. Now stated that, she will join the company for tlio African tour Miss Hilda Spomg is doing big things in Morgan's Laud. She is. even billed as The Beautiful Australian " The Yankees get on to the truth now and again. . * ♦ Miss Mane Lloyd's woik w a.s tempoianly hindered bv a nasal trouble I hoai she has had anopeiation pel formed h\ a London snecial st, and is again on the boaids * • Miss Maud Batty, the round and beauteous New Zealand brunette, has had the seal of the Royal approval nut on her career. She appeared before their Majesties the King and Queen at I)nuv Lane, on Februaxv 12th. * * * The ' Bulletin" is said to have recently lemarked that the Victorian State Governor's family had "cut" Diva Melba as socially, she was "impossible." "Critic" rises to the occasion to answer that at time of writing Melba is a guest in the house of the Governor. * * *■ Johnny Sheridan's people think something of lum as also does the Great Australian Public. An immense audience said goad-bye to Johnny at Sydney Criterion lecentlv and the company gave the "Widow " a beautiful gold watch. The fact that the presentation -\\as made on the stage, before the audience has no significance. Johnny is going back to Sydney m June. * * * A theatrical man on tour has been telling his troubles to the papeis. He says he has played in about fifty places since arriving m New Zealand, only twice making sufficient to meet expenses. "It's a life full of incident," he observed. "Everywhere one goes one hears a different yarn explaining the small ness of the audiences. A dance bazaar marriage, or dog fight, preceding or succeeding you are all trotted out as reasons. In Taraniaki I eet on an average about forty peonle to line ud, and they startle me by stating that I have a very erood house! Ye erods' I have had my medicine, and I'm taking no more of catering to the amusement of New Zealanders. I'm going right away back home to America'" New Zealanders are rapidly becoming educated theatrically. # * * Shakespeare up-to-date is catching on at Melbourne Princess. That rather weary business, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," is doing immense things, but Shakespeare has not had much to do with the success. Briefly, as the "Sunday Times" says, "The Dream" per favour of Musgrove is a glorified pantomime. "The Dream" as per Shakespeare has a large quantity of poor dialogue m it, a number of wretched jokes, and some silly situations. If the play were produced minus the Musgrove trimmings, few would sit it out; as it is, the audiences enjoy it thoroughly, and are sorry w"hen the last curtain falls. * * * Edison's Wonderscope (lately arrived from Melbourne) has just closed a successful four-w eeks' season in Dunedm, and will be in Wellington shortly. Eighty per cent, of its living pictures are quite new to New Zealand, and are remarkably well produced. They comprise scenes in Alaska, Canada, Mexico, Japan. China Hongkong Singapore, Coronation views, and a large variety of very laughable oomio scenes, as well a, the pantomime of "Santa Glaus." Mr. R. Huntly, the proprietor, has also a specially large and fine oonceirtophone. which furnishes a capital musical programme. Look out for this show, it is well worth seeing. • * • 'The Old Mill Dam" has been showing in London, and nobody out here cares twopence. But the play earned some enormous posters, an elephant, a rhinoceros, and other scenic effects being included. The posters were so large that each bill contained but one word of the title, thus The-Old-Mill-Dam. In one city district the manager took a walk to see how the bill-poster had treated him. Ec started blithe and happy, and returned limr> and miserable. The bill-noster had disposed of the bills without the least regard for sequence. In one place he read The-Dam-Old-Mill, in another Mill-The-Old Dam and in a third — this broke the camel's back— Dam-The-Old-Mill.