Rugby Football.

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 193, 12 March 1904, Page 20

Rugby Football.

THE fact that the Rugby clubs are holding their annual meetings calls loudly to us- that summer is over and that toes are itching to get at the oval. And, as Captain Edwin played his watering can on local cricket last Saturday, the time seems opportune to tackle a question that every now and again crops up. Isn't it possible to improve the Rugby game so as to make it more interesting for the spectators. Even the casual observer is fain to admit that the Rugger game, as at present played in this country, is not as satisfying as it should be, and the regular patron has his ardour damped at times by tame exhibitions. Now and again a game is played which abounds in incidents of an interesting character, and the spectators are pleased. For instance, the match between the New South Wales and Wellington teams m 1901 was full of dashing episodes, and was thoroughly enjoyable. Asain. the North and South Island match, in Wellington in 1902. was an exciting contest. What was the result from the spectator's standpoint? A remark made in my hearing expresses it : "If we could, be certain of seeing games of that description it would take a lot to keep me from being on the Athletic Park every week." Now, I have a few suggestions to offer which I think would both improve the game and make it more interesting to watch : 1. The abolition of the wing forward. 2. The lessening of the number of packed scrummages, and the making of the play more open. 3. The carrying out of the rules of the game strictly both in the letter and the spirit to this end. 4. The abolition of line-out play. 5. The alteration in the methods of scoring to make the scoring of a try of more value than it is at present. 6. Drop-out from the goal-line , not 25yds out. * * * Wing-forward play as we know it now in Wellington — and, in fact, right through the colony — has developed purely and simply into a bustling match between the men on the sides of the scrummage. The fine points that used to be worked by the players in this position have all been forgotten, and it is positively wearying to watch the present-day wing-forward and his tactics. So, the sooner the last of him is seen the better.

The old argument that the wmgfonvard is played in that position to stoD the passing of the opposing back team does not come into the question at all for the simple reason that he does not fulfil that mission in any way— the man opposed to him takes good care that he doesn't. * * * Then, as to the scrum, the whole tendency of the rules is to make the game fast and open, and the scrummage has the opposite effect ; therefore the fewer scrummages there are in the game the better it must be as a spectacle. For that reason, it would be well if referees in general, as far as lay in their power, curtailed the push and bustle of the pack. Let the public see as much of the ball as possible, and if the play does become thereby too fast for the players all the better ; it will make them use the means of training more. In this connection, there is a rule in the Association code I have always considered a good one when breaches occur not provided for with free kicks. It is '•Two players from either side line up, and the referee throws the ball in the air. Neither of the players can touch the ball until it has landed on the ground, but from thence the play goes on." If a similar rule was in the Rugby game to take the place of the scrummage, methinks the plr«y would be brighter from the spectator's standpoint. The abolition of line-out play would necessitate an alteration in the rules of the game, and is not likely to be carried into effect as long as the New Zealand Union is affiliated to the English Union. And with the prospective tour of Eneland by a New Zealand representative team, any argument® in favour of disaffiliation would be but wasted energy at this juncture. "Oh," but someone says, "some of the finest pieces of play in the game are those emanating from the line-out play and some players shine in this position solely." I grant this, but I venture to assert, on the other hand, that some of the dirtiest and unfairest tactics are resorted to on the line-out, which the referee cannot possibl" see. And, take your good man on the line-out, how often does he get a chance to show his caparbihties in that position? Three times out of four he has two opponents watching him, and more often than otherwise he is bowled over before he has a possible chance of getting the ball. Let me illustrate what I mean by reference to an incident in one of Wellington's representative matches. The game wasi well on, and the Wellington team were behind. From a throw-in the ball was coming to a well-known exponent of line-out play on the opposing side. Before tne ball reached him, however, he was bowled over, and a Wellington man made tracks for the goal- -line, with the ball under his arm. Off the succeeding play a try was scored, and this try ultimately won the match for Wellington. The local player said, "He would have done the same thing to me if he had the chance," and I fully believe it, but it only served to confirm my opinion that line-out play could be dispensed with with advantage.

What would you do, then when, the ball went into touch ? Give a f ree-kiok to the opposing side from any position of the field parallel to the goal lines where the ball went out of pay. A blind man almost could see that a penalty of this description would tend, to keep the ball in play, and thus make< the game more open. When all is sa l^ and done, the scoring of tries is the main object of both teams of players when they indulge in the Rugby game. To that end, I think the rules ought to be altered so as to make the try more the objective of the game. If the try was worth four points, the efforts to secure it would tend to make the game a more exhilarating spectacle. The converted try I would leave at its present value — 5 points ; a goal from the field off a mark, 3 points , and a penalty goal, 2 points. Then, to allow the drop-out from the 25yds line after a force-down, to my mind, is unfair, and the drop-out, to give the attacking team the full advantage of its position, should be taken from the goal-line. But this is another case of altering the rules, and is waste argument. ■x ♦ # Finally, as the season is just opening, let me invite' the players to play the game in the spirit in which it should be played — a sport pure and simple, and the national game of New Zealand. We know not the professional in the Rugby game — every participant in this country plays the game because he likes it, and because he belongs to an athletic community. Therefore^ let one and all play the game in the spirit of the rules, and for the end that it may make better men of them all. To the referees I would say Keep the game honest, give the fair player and the keen player all the encouragement possible within the four corners of the rules • the unfair and vicious man get on the touch-line as soon as ever you can. He is a long way better out of the game than in it, and his club, his union, and his colony will be all the better off without his assistance ; Keep the game a sport, and its popularity with the New Zealand public will ever be on the up-grade. The annual meeting of the Wellington Rugby Union is to be held in the Trocadero on Wednesday, the 30th instant. The Melrose Club's annual report disclosed a shocking state of affairs financially — over £56 of outstanding subscriptions for one season is altogether appalling. However, as those who owe the money will be posted as defaulters, there is a big probability that the cash may not all be lost to the Melrose Club. Football is the cheapest sport under the sun, and generally the footballer's annual subscription is less than in any other branch of sport. Can you wondei then, when one reads of a sum like that stated above being outstanding, as the result of one year's operations of a club, that the opinion is expiessed in some quarters that the average footballer is a poor kind of sport ? The Melrose Club have elected "Jack" Grant as their honorary secretary for the ensuing year, and if they can prevail upon him to take up the duties the

next annual report should make better readin^ than the one under review. "Jack" is a hustler, a Melrose man to the backbone, but withal a good sport. The Athletic, Poneke, and Old Boys Clubs all hold their annual meetings this week. I hear there is a great probability that the Athletic Club will not be able to place a senior team in the field this season. The Oriental and Wellington Clubs have not made a move as yet, which is strange as regards the latter club, considering that they are to have a match at Easter time wuh the Christchurch Club in Wellington. (Continued on page 21.)