RUGBY UNION WORRIES.

Otaki Mail, 22 September 1922, Page 4

RUGBY UNION WORRIES.

# — LUTS OF TDOUBLE AND LITTLE MONEY. When presenting the, junior championship trophies to the Tokornaru Football Club on Friday. Mr W. Thomson, cha n man of the Maiingemerit Committee of Hie Horowhenua j Union, made a. lew remarks regarding I the Union's work during the season. 1 Those who had control of football matters, he said, received a Jot of l abuse, and lots of hard tilings were said about them. According to the man in the street, the members of the i niou always had an axe to grind, but lie could assure those present that those in charge of local loothail affairs were doing their best for 1 the game from every standpoint. Last i season the Management Committee. lotihd itself with a financial deficit. With this drawback, the Union endeavoured to centralise rep. matches, so as to conserve finance, and matches were only given to centres which undertook the entertaining and other expense oi such games. On this understanding rep. matches were played in Shannon and Otaki, with satisfactory results. When it was considered that the Union had struck a lot of trouble in different ways, it was very satisfactory to be able to say the Union would end up the year with a credit balance. (Applause.) THE PP.OPOSED AMALGAMATION. Mr Thomson also touched on the , amalgamation proposal with Manawatu. He explained that under tlie amalgamation, Jllorowhynua. would not lose its identity. Under the scheme, our eluo competitions would go on as usuai, also the usual rep. matches with Bangitikei, Bush and other Unions. The linking up of Mauawatu and Horowhenua, however, would practically make the. combined Union a metropolitan one. At the present, time there was no hope of j ever getting matches with Wellington, Utago, Canterbury, Southland, Auckland or Taranaki, but it would be different- with ihe combined team, and he instanced their game with the Springboks, which was one of the | best in New Zealand against the Atrl- I

cans. The Mauawatu Union was willing to pul £6OO into the scheme, also to finance a tour right to Invercargill next year, and the season after dial, would probably see some of the Unions playing the return matches here. The proportion of these rep. games it was proposed to give Ilorowhenua was one to every two in Palmerston North. He thought the amalgamation would give our players much wider opportunities for getting big l'ouiball than they ever would get. at present. CLASS! I- tCATION. Vs Tokornaru had won the junior championship, the question of classification would probably crop up next season. The point would have to be gone yi 1 1u, bin l'ukomaru .was a young dull will) all young players. There were boys playing who were lit to play senior, but what the Union .wanted to prevent was the old senior players getting into junior teams. If young players were classified too severely, it might mean the breaking up ol some clubs, such as Tokornaru, which was not desired. It was very pleasing, therefore, to see. that- Toko was not likely to have any members classified as seniors next season. (Appla use.)