NOTES BY FULL BACK.

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 18 August 1909, Page 60

NOTES BY FULL BACK.

It ie fxeely reported that jhe two All Bkckc. Oawy ana M'Donald, will retire from the game after thfl present season, and will thenceforward take their Rug-by from the bank.

The trial match on Saturday gave one a good insight into human nature. It revealed the limitations of the Unfit and 30 players fighting desperately for places. This is the cura© of the trial match, system. Every man thinks he is in the game to attract the attention of the selectors, who axe watohing the contestants lynx-eyed from the touch-line. He is obviously playing for h.is place, and even in his passing cannot conceal the fact He is too much of a footballer and not enough of an actor, for that. The art of playing in a trial match is lost on eoroe, and occasionally a man is pes3ed over not because he is *n indifferent footballer, but because lie is a bad actor. Trial matebea have always been more or less of a farce, and tire worst of farces •by reason of the fact that *t not infrequently happens that a man plays a .wretchedly poor game under the immediate ey£s of the selectors, whereas he had been playing consistently well in his club. Moreover, the playing for .places is too obvious — the soloist ie over all and abqve all. I remember once playing in a tria.l match on the Cakdonian Ground— l don't .know what iied <to my selection in the trial * team, for I tad knocked off training, and was distinctly out of form; the selectors thought otherwise, and there I was. My inclusion •that year was more or 1-es of a. farce. I was not alone in my way of thinking. A burly forward in the Dunedin team waa iplaying all out for hie place in the rep! team of that year, somewhere about 1893. tWe were opposedi to each other on the lineout. The ball was thrown to the Dunedin man, whom I embraced in a friendly hug as he tried to break away. He turned on one like a wounded bsar, and growled: "Why the devil didn't you let me go?" 'And then this bitter taunt- "You have bo ohanoe in the rep. team." , I knew it, and so did he. It was my one mistake- in the trial match. I was a wretchedly poor actor and a worse footballer. / had ; moreover commited a uraye indiscretion in tackBinff one of the beet forwards in the team who was playing for bis place. Ho was selected and I was dropped. It' was a Selection Committee -full of wisdom. I saw quite f lot ol tho same sort of thing in Saturday's trial, and I pondered song and earnestly on the subject of trial matches in general, and the latest one 'nipartioular. The footballer who seeks to win fame in a trial match of 1909 Is not one whit different to the old-time playere of the early nineties ; he is a soloist all the time

The esteemed selectors of the Otago team •^Messrs Oavanagh, Low, and King, to wit — watched the play and players £rom the •touch Hne with knitted brows. But at half-time they had thrown off the anxious expression, and treated the mattei of selecting an Otag< rep. team ir a refreshingly jocular .manner. It appeared then as :t: t they had already made up their collective minds on the Subject. Thi3 fact was revealed in all its nakedness when Scott, the Colours' foil! back, was changed over to the Blues, and Brookes asked to guard the Colours' goal ; also, Iteith was asked to irive place in the front row of the Blues to Fitzipatrick, of the Colours, and M'Dougall to aneke way for Eckhold in the ' Blues' five-eig-Jithg line. Thue w« saw the representative team selected under oar very eyes. A most unusual happening, but , there it •was. In the second spell it was really a match between the Otago representatives and the Colours. To the Selection Committee we owe much thanks foi thie free exhibition, and it may be taken as the public's appreciation that they' were^ silent .while the team was being selected in this daring and truly unorthodox manner H I extend sincere congratulations to *he Selection Committee on the ibest players available to represent Otago in the foreign engagements of the season. 1 am but voicing the opinion of. the majority; but there is always' a small and discontented minority who will clamour to the very gatec for th<* inclusion of one whom they in their wisdom think should •be included in the team. This is only reasonable. Besides, isn't that what a selection committee is for — to bo railed at? ;W'be£ner our teams- are selected on the oneman principle or three the result will ty> I^waya tihe. same— failure to give complete

satisfaction. Now, the present- Selection I Committee hava in vhe face of a somewhat difficult proposition done their work reasonably well. They jaugirt have made a much bigger mesa of things. Fortune did not favour tbenij. for there were not a few [players showing quite' inconsistent form in trials — some good playears- showing poor form, and others not so good! playing above themselves. The task of separating the real from the sham is no easy one, and that is why I think the Selection Committee have made a. reasonably good job of an unpromising situation. ' In their selection of Scott, of the TaieTi Club, foi the position of full back the selectors have showr justifiable apprecia- ' tion of a player' who, despite his weaknesses, is on Saturday's form easily the I Tx3b oi *He fuM baofc talent a.-0-aila.ble. Scott • played a wonderfully good game, all things , considered, and he must_ have impressed those who were biassed in favour of another that he was worthy of consideration. Personally I 'had' not seen the Taieri man to such advantage before, and most willi ingly confess to . a pleasainr Surprise. Scott starts ,off with beinig likely-looking, and ' then proceeds to demonstrate just how he ! should be consi<sared. Firstly, as a sure field of the ball; secondly, as a long-range I line-finder; and thirdly, as a tackier, ! though I admit to seeing nothing on the I day of his defensive powers. T heard one I judge of Rugby say he could not understand Scott's inclusion. 1 thought he was a good judge. Mjr own opinion is that with i intelligent coaching and' his own natural abilities Scott will make one of the best full backs w*hc has ever represented the province. Th© undesinabe features about Scott's play on Saturday we<re his over- ! eagerness to get the ball away, and his propensity to kick uncfor each and every circumstance. The Taieri roan ie at pore&3n>t a oreatua'e of impulse, which he will ' outgrow with experience. : The rival full back, Brookes, of Alhamibra, who ad played many fine- games for his cJuib, was right off on Saturday, and gave a wTetdhedf exhibition of full baok play. Truth to tell, it was at once the worst wea^oranenoe I have seen this season from th© Alhambra man. He never onca 1 looked like getting there, and it was no I surprise to see him changed over at halftime. " , , „ On the field in practical demopstration the Otago three-quarter line is mediocre, and save for the single exception of Bennet is ft big remove from the type ot player who used to represent -the province in the three-quarter division. Both from, a playini, and physical view-point the """outsides* are disappointing* neither Marston nor Davidson being in the first flight. Good club players both, but far from representative standard. On tr:al match showing Marston is lucky to get in the team, but he has weight of consistent form in club football behind him, and it is only right that this phase should be considered; yet, withal, I had rather have O'Sullhan, indifferent showing as- he gave in the trial, in the three-quarter line in place of Marston. This may appear to be severe on the Alhambra man, but it is not lack of appreciation so much as an honest belief that O' Sullivan would render better service in the three-quarter lineThere is little to choose between DavioSon and Marston, but if the Zingari player is not a shining light on attacK, he is certainly sound on defence, and goes down to it with the best of them. It is significant that after all these years Bennet sho\jld be easily our best three-quarter. ' The Alhambra man's footwork is still his very own, while his general play is far above th© three-quarters in the line. Moreover, he is the head-piece of the rear division, and this counts for much in the days of the survival of th© unfit. Roger Dansey, who took Chambers's place j>n the wing of the Colours' threequarter line, furnished more excitement than the whole of the Colours' fifteen. Dansey is a player of the uac-rthodox type, and ignores the orthodox all the time. By reason of that fact he is interesting when he is least effective. ' Once on a day The University man promised to turn out something exceptional, but, fooled about from scrum half to five-eighth and threequarters, he was nevei able to thoroughly master any one position, until we find him to-day a player of parts, * with no part sufficiently strong" to warrant a claim on the selectors' judgment. This is tho un- ' doing- of a player who might have risen to great heights in Ruajby. On the opposite vring In the ("olouv? 1 line was O'Sullivan, at all times a likely-looking player, but who found on Saturday tho play "running away from him." It was bj no means the Dunedin man's form, but it was fatal to his inclusion in the year's representative team. • I Takinig the five-eighths— M'Donald and Eckhold— selected to- represent Otago, it is probably a' better selection than appears on the surface. It all depends on how the two players "pair."' The ex-Christchurch mam, whom I singled out for an Otago representative cap after seeing him play j fof Canterbury against the British team last year, is an individualist, or, as some have put it, a "solo" player. Shall we say why M'Donald is a solo player— simply " for the reason that he is yards faster than any other back in the team, and is consequently hard to follow, because he "cuts in** like lightning, and is off on his own before the other players have got moving ; because be runs and dodge's like a hare,

and because, when he finds that' he has cut off most of the defence of the opposition and 1 finds himself alone, he lias no alternative but to try and find his way over the line single-handed. I heard of on© player on Saturday who would not pair with M'Donald. Unfortunately that player was painfully slow, and found that he could not raise enough pace to assist M'Donald in making tho. openings. The reason why he would not "pair" was obvious. The ex-Christchurch player has one serious Jaulfc, and thait is in attempting too much on his own. In a word', he is a bad finisher, but I would have him on my side every time, for he is without doubt the most Kkely back in the team. If we could pick up a reasonable decent centre I should like to see Bennefc and M'Donald as the five-eighths, the Alhambra man playing inside for choice. Wi£h those two players making the openings, and two good wing three-quarters to take the play on, tihe Otago back division would take some beating. N Dealing with things a® they are we find Eckhold again in the Otago team as fiveeightihs. That apparently can't be helped, yet why not play the Southern man naif back — a better position for him, surely, thaii five-eighths? As a five-eighths Eckhold cute no figure at all, w-hile he is reasonably tolerant behind the scrum. If M'Donald plays solo against Southland on Saturday next the selectors will not have far to seek for the reason. There is an unfortunate dearth of good half backs in Dunedin at the present time, and the selectors have been hard put to it to find one to fill the position. Sutherland appears to be file best we have, which is not complimentary to the remainder. I read somewhere that " Wilson is a better and smarter half back than Sutherland." This, again, is not flattering to Sutherland. I watched Wilson very critically on Saturday to see if I had not under- estimated his right to inclusion in the trial team. I came away convinced that Wilson may be a very good club man, but that he is no representative player. He is slow to a degree, and. moreover, lacks -initiative.Solid as a rock, I quite expect to knaw that Wilson -would get " kicked to pieces '* in defence of his side, but it is a clever attacking player, the selectors should be looking for, and unfortunately the Port man is not that. No, I am still of the opinion that the selectors' judgment, in their choice of Sutherland before Wilson, is the correct one. % The Otago forwards were ' expected to take some selecting, and possibly they did. In the- main, a wise choice of scrummagers has bean made, but I would prefer to have liad Ivimey and M'Kenzie in the team to two of those who have been selected. The difficulty evidently has been not who to put in, but who to keep out. On form, both Ivimey and M'Kenzi© are deserving of selection. 'We require players with plenty of dash and dcvil — not the reckless booter, but the player who, while keeping his head, goes all out. " - Speaking at the' dander given to the Ponsonby team ir Sydruev, the manager of the team- made- a mildlj revolutionary speech. He said that improvements had been introduced into the game i>y the Auckland 1 province, amdl tihey had met with success, such as "ihrowing the ball in five yards at least from touch, and that the referee should throw tho ball into the scrum. He expected Gfc&go to fallow suit next season. Speaking- for himself, he expressed tihe opinion that New Zealand would, ip> course of time, cut the painter from the English Union. England was too conservative, and the Australasian public was Wing educated to fast and open football. Mr James. Henderson, took up the oudgels on behalf of the parent body. He protested againet the suggestion that Australasia should cut the painter. The governing bodies heaie- were fully alive to file im/pirovemenits which could be made in the game-. Ait a meeting of the Auckland Rugby Union receratily a letter was read from the. secretary of c olul> affiliated with the Han iopoto Union which disclosed c peculiar position. According- to the letter, a match was ployed between the Mokauiti and Nekeneketmi Otubs, at Mokeuiti_, on July 17, under the control of the Maniopoto Union. The referee was elected by the Mokauiti Club, but that official had no whistle. Bath' teams ag<resd to play without a whistle. Nekenekenui Yon by 9 poin.ts to 8/ A protest lodiged by the Mokauiti team was dismissed, fout the unkxn decided it was no matelr, owing to the absence of the whistle. The latter asked could the visiting team claim a win, in the circumstances, and went on to dieteril the hardships of a replay, stating that the team that won had travelled 24- miles throu-gh rain and over dtagerous roads, and, as many of the horses were knocked up on the way, players •had to finish the journey on foot. The writer asserted that at a meeting of the Mandopoto Rugby Union penmission was (granted to forward tho letter to tho Auckland Rugby Union, asking for a ruling on the imttfer. Member's of the committee expressed the opinion that if the teams agreed to play without a whistle the result should stand, and it was decided to infoarar the Maniopot< Rugby Unior that if they were prepared to endorse the letter the Auckland Union's decision was to that effect. The Auckland Union at it* last meeting discussed the letter in reference to the con-ference-on the laws of the game received from the English Union bjr the Ne^ Zealand Rugby Union. A considerable amount of discussion ensued, and the matter was 'thoroughly gone into. Mr Sheahen proposed—"That this union respectfully asks the New Zealand Union to forward a copy of the letter received from the English Rugby Union in regard to the proposed conference which hae for its obioct the alLe-ralion in the laws of the game!" The motior was carried.. The members of tho union, decided not to waste 1 time, and on the motion of Mr Langsford it was decided to communicate with the various affiliated unions of the Dominipn t pointing out the advisability *of obtaining a copy ol the communication received from, tho' English Union in reference to the alteration in tho l^ws of the game, and asking their views on th< question in relation to taking concerted action thereon. Writing cf the scene which took placeat the conclusion of one of the matches between the Maori and Australian teams over <bhe way in which the match was> refereed, the Sydney Telegraph says: No sooner had the no-side whistle sounded than a party of the Maori team dashed to the press table, where 6tood the '' 0.T." cup, which they had won, and took possession of it Otio grasped the cup, another the lid, and a third the pedestal. Waving

' them in tihe air, they joined tlheir fellows in war -cries and wild caperings across the field. Despite ihe fact tihsit by this time the polio© were figMing ta clear a passage for the referee, the Maoris were so flushed with, their, victory that- they danced ihakas on tihe 'fring-3 of the struggling mob, their eyes rolling, tongues hanging out, and feet stamping in savage rhythm. It was a very different \baka from th© tinpofc affair which preceded tho game, and there jwas this in its favour: the spectacle held the crowd round the twisting natives almost spellbound, and checked a possible rush. MeanWhile, the referee had attempted to pass through the gate to the dressing rooms, under the big new stand, but the passage was blocked with a seething crowd, all struggling to reach, him Attempts were made to strike him by several who were close to him, but luckily he was not hurt. The police closed round him promptly, I and, shouldering aside the crowd as ' much , as possible, they elpwly made their way from the gate "to the big new stand. The i distance was only a few yards, but it took some little time to cover, and was ' not possible without a tap judiciously i applied with, a bator when other means would not allow of progress. When- the j police jjot th«ir charge to safety — an end- » ing winch was applauded by the decent I people in the stand — they commenced to disperse the crowd. This task ' was oomj paratively easy, as the hoodlumism, being baulked of its desire to_ man-Jianjdle the ' referee, quiokly died away- One small ; group of individuals appeared likely to '; continue t)he trouble, but with rare forethought the fellow who appeared to' be the ringleader »was grasped by a tall police officer and thrown over the fence bodily. An incident which was as amusing as it was unusual occurred during the football - match between Merivale and Albion on Lancaster Park on the 7th. Albion were being hard^ pa-eased, when one of their ; players secured the ball, and gave it a 'mighty kick, designed to shift the scene of play to the ofher end of the field. At j the very initiation of its flight, however, ' the ball encountered another player, re- i ■ bounded from Him, and sailed serenely over i the bar of Albion's goal., j A- large number of members, both past and present, attended the annual smoke . social held by the Pirates Football Club lon Saturday night. Mr J. S. Hislop (president) ocoupied the chair, and among those also present were Messrs P. Smith and W J. Strong (1882), J. Hutchison (1885), P. J. • Priest, H. Wise, F. H. Campbell (president of the 0.R.F.U.), E. L. Macaesey, H. > Jacobson, L. L. Kirkcakly, and Dr .R. S. I OrbeTl. The Chairman eaid be- saw so" many older mem dots 4 than himself present that he' . was not going to say very , much in , his opetning remarks. Right and left of him , were two of the* original members of the club, Messrs Smith and Strong, who had I joined at its inception in 1882. Another, old member was Mr Hutchison, who had 1 joined in 1885, and possessed the dieting tion of b&mg the only, continuous member •present since that. date. During the evening musical items were rendered by, Messrs Gawfchorpe, Parrington, Paxsons, Priest, Drake. Munro/ -Lomas, end Kirkcaldy. Mr Jackson was accompanist. The arrccng'emente cenerally reflected credit on the secretary (Mr Spencer Sandes) and the committee. Apologies were read from Messrs H. D. Stronach, Crosby Morris, J. i H. Fitzgerald, and P^ S. K. Macasscy.