Rugby Football.

Free Lance, Volume IV, Issue 196, 2 April 1904, Page 19

Rugby Football.

This week football weather is with us, ant 1 on Saturday the openmo- games of tr.-i season will be played on the Athletic Park. The Melrose Club plays Hawera at 3, Wellington plays Christchurch at 2.15, and Poneke plays City (Mamer) at 3.45 ♦ * * Senior championship mat-ches will prolublv commence on the 23rd instant. Junior matches, however, will not be started until the first Saturday in May. The practice matches at Miramar last Saturday were all well attended. * * w The Mel rose Club are erecting a new gymnasium on a section abutting on tilt Athletic Park. Mr. George Payne, the popular president of the club, has a subscription-list to assist in defraying the cost of the building, and he will be pleased to hear from any well-wisher or old member of the club whom he has ncl met yet" in his travel round with the bst. Mr. Alec Campbell, it is pleasing to state, is recovering from the attack of t; phoid fever which has rendered his residence in the Hospital compulsory for a while. It will be a few weeks yet before he is about again in his accustomed health and Vigour, but football circles in Wellington cannot spare Alec lust yet — he is a most popular administrator.

Jack Grant has also had a hard figrht with typhoid fever, and has not vet been able to take up the secretaryship of the Melrose Club. I hope he may scon be about again in his best health. • * » The Petone Club have presented the cup won bv them in the benefit match hst year to the Rugby Union, to be competed for in a challenge match on s milar conditions to those on which it was won b^ themselves. * * » Mr. W. Coffey has been re-ar>r>ointed lopresentative of the Canterbury Rugby Union on the New Zealand Union. A special vote of thanks has been passed to him by that body for his services last season. Hany Frost, the well-known ex-Can-te rbury representative, was recently married at Chistchureh Congratulations. Oscar Kember, the ex-treasurer of the V, ellington Football Club is to be married early in April. It is veiy probable that the New Zealand Rugby Union will issue an annual for the benefit mainly of smaller affiliated unions. The projected brochure will contain, amongst things, the Lrws of the Game, w.th case rulings thereon brought up to date. (Cortinued on page 21.)

Some doctois spend a life-time In hunting aftei germs, And by the time they've killed them They've giown as big as worms ; Microbes would bid adieu to earth, Chest tioubles would be fewer, Life would be gay, if every one Took Woods' Grew Peppeemint Cure.