RUGBY IN THE SERVICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24415, 28 September 1940, Page 6

RUGBY IN THE SERVICES

BOARD OF CONTROL SUGGESTED . & • CRITICISM OF TEAM SELECTIONS A suggestion that the fighting services should have a board of control for Rugby next season was made by the president of the Canterbury Rugby Union (Mr J. K. Moloney) when criticising the method of selection of the teams for the interisland services matches at Wellington. “Just hotch-potch” and “a hoax” were descriptions applied to this selection by members of the Management Committee after Mr Moloney, had raised the matter. Criticism was directed especially at the selection of M. P. Donnelly (Canterbury) for the North Island and L. Schubert (Auckland) for the South Island. ' Mr Moloney said it should not have been necessary to call on the New Zealand Union’s selector. Mr E. McKenzie, to pick these teams. The representatives of the army and the Air Force in Christchurch had chosen combined services teams very satisfactorily for former fixtures. Surely they were more competent to pick a South Island team.

Captain J. D. Mackay said that in telephone conversation with the secretary of the New Zealand Rugby Union he‘had learned that the teams were not strictly representative of the two islands. It was a charity match and the main concern had been to choose two good teams.