FOOTBALL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 61

FOOTBALL.

NOTES BY FTJLL BACK. In view of" Easter engagements, th 4 Alhambr?. Club purposes getting the members into form early, and has arranged for the opening practice match for Saturday. March 14. . The amateur turned professional cornea Tinder the whip in the annual report of the Otago Rugby Union, as see: — "Six Otago Dlayers— A. Eckhold. H. Paton, S. Casey, A.M'Donald, E. Booth, and W. Johnston—* were chosen as members of the N«w Zealand • eprusentalive team which toured Australia. It is to be regretted that the last-mentioned player broke the promise given by him to the New Zealand Union that he would not join the professional team which visited England last season." P. F. M'Evedy, the Guy's Hospital and Kent three-quarter, is vice-captain of the British Rugby team for New Zealand. M.V, M'Evedy was a member of Bedell' Sivright's team of 190*. In order to keep the ground at Bristol fit for play for an international Rugby, match 20 tons of straw was scattered about. Receipt; from the match between the New. Zealind professionals and Wales were £576, and from the game with England £475. The council of the New South Wales Rugby Union has arranged the following matches for the British footballers: — August 8, against New South Wales, at Sydney :' August 12 against Northern Union, at Newcastle; August 15, against New South; Wales, a) Sydney ; August 19, against Western Union, a.t Bathurst ; August against Metropolitan Union, at Sydney. . The annual mooting of the Wellington Rugby Union is like?y to take place aboutMarch 20. Owing to the early appearance of the English team in the Dominion it ia suggested that championship matches should be under way before "Raster. Somethine about MTSvody. who is a mem* ber of the British team for New Zealand:— The Nev* Zealander P. F. M'Evedy, who hna done yeoman's' service for Kent this season in the Rugby county championship, waa once again v-ery much in evidence at Black, heatb, when the county fifteen beat the Eastf Mid'ands by a goa] and a try to a try. M'Evedy, who captained the home team, pained" one try after a brilliant corkscrew' i*un, and goalrd Kent's second try, thus contributing five of the eight points scored! by rhe county, and i f was to a great extent due to the fine defensive work of the captain and his compatriot that the strong, rushes of the Eastern pack failed of their object. The first of the English Rui*bv international matches. EnVand v. Wales, at Bristol, attracted 30.000 spectators — or. rather, would-be spectators, for though; the ground was in excellent condition and the weather perfect in all but one respect, h shifting but generally almost impenetrable foe prevailed nearly the whole time. Possibly thu may have so bewildered the players themselves as to account for tha tremendously hra.vv scoring, 46 points in' all beintr scored— 28 by Wales and' 18 by. . England. Five times was the latter'a line crossed, and four times did the Englishmen cross the Welsh line. Wales improved l , on thre,- of her tries, and also scored a." penalty goal and a dropped aroal, while' England improved on three of her goals .i Though a, margin of 10 points seems a great! <!«al, there was really not that difference between the teams, there beins any amount} of brilliant play on both sides. Indeed,, had not England suffered two serious defect tions at the last moment through indispds'j tion— those of their captain and their crack threa-querter hack— there is no telling howl the irnmti would have gone. The previous records having stood at exactly level, there .was keen, aoxietv on each side to prove victwous, but it became the good fortune of

wales to forge ahead, with 12 wins to Eng%of3'*> 11, with two games drawn.