Bogle's Bungle.

NZ Truth, Issue 110, 27 July 1907, Page 3

Bogle's Bungle.

A good deal of talk has been occasioned by the action of that petty pedagogue on the Management Committee of the Wellington Rugby Union who had the assinine audacity to move a life disqualification on Angry Cross, who was alleged by a •referee to have struck at an opponent. The muscular Christian on the management committee is said to be the possessor 'of a lily-white, unblemished soul, and whether he owns to this soft impeachment or not he has no right to be connected with the government of a mundane game, like Rugby. Did he move the motion on the strength of the evidence placed before the committee, or because of rumors which have gained currency from time to time through the agency of 'white-livered wasters who have never handled a footbar-1 outside a shop, or was the motion the result of envy, malice and un-oharita-bleness. Whatever tht- cause it was evidently not the result of the evidence, for the motion found no seconder, and the committee could not be convinced that Cross, on the football field, was. a menace to., the safety of his -opponents;- .So long as there is Rugby .-.there -j will- be hard players like Cr.osgi;,>indvi n o .man who plays the game fqar_s. fef&ard or even a rough opp.onen.ti. .sixe j^irty player who waits foi;, a . chancy to deal it out and puts in'./sly ); ' .stpfich is the man who is ,t6'..bp, .feared, and we have m mind several of this kidney, who should be hounded out of the game. As a matter of fact Tom' Cross has always been one of the most harshly treated individuals m club Rugby, and it is a certainty that no man playing m Wellington has had to put up with more sly kicks and punelies than the said Cross. Every .player seemed to look upon Tom. as fair game to be booted and bified whenever an opportunity presented itself, and the offender always had the certainty of public support. In spite, of everything the big fellow took his gruel like a man. never squeaking, but occasionally being stung to the verge of desperation by the continued pin pricks of a set of curs who would never have dared to hit the Petone man m the open wisn he would have had free license to retaliate. The same barrackers who have time after time gone frantic m demonstrations against Cross m club matches have roared themselves hoarse cheering tjie same man when ke has been battling for the Wellington reps. The utter inconsistency of the rabble is sickening, but they will no doubt be satisfied now, for Cross as an amateur .has had his day and has thrown m his lot .with a combination which is setting out to make something for itself instead of playing for the edification of an ungenerous public, who places a man like Bungler Bogle m a position Which allows him to propose suoh r.n unjust sentence as life disqualification for an offence which was not m any way ..proved by tho evidence. Partial blindness has kept Bo?le back as a Rugby player and from Ms biased action m regapd to Cross it would appear that this inconsequential University swat is not only blind as far as vision is concerned, but also blind to a sense of justice.. ,