RUGBY UNION WORRIES.

Shannon News, 19 September 1922, Page 3

RUGBY UNION WORRIES.

LOTS OF TROUBLE AND LITTLE MONEY.

When presenting the junior championship trophies to the Tokomaru Football Club on Friday. Mr W. Thomson, chairman of the Management. Committee of the Horowhenua Union, made a few remarks regarding the Union’s work during the season. Those who had control of football matters, he said, received a lot of abuse, and lots of hard things were said about them. According to the man in the street, the members of the Union always had an axe to grind, but he could assure those present that those in charge of local football affairs were doing their best for the game from every standpoint. Last season the Management Committee found 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 of 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 PROPOSED AMALGAMATION. Mr Thomson also touched on the amalgamation proposal with Manawatu. He explained that under the amalgamation, }Horowh]enua would not lose its identity. Under the scheme, our clun competitions would go on as usuai, also the usual rep. matches with . Rangitikei, Bush and other Unions. The linking up of Manawatu and Horowhenua, however, would practically make the combined Union a metropolitan one. At the present time there was no hope of ever getting matches with Wellington, Otago, Canterbury, Southland, Auckland or Taranaki, but it would be different with the combined team, and he instanced their game with the Springboks, which was one ol vbe best in New Zealand against the Aim cans. The Manawatu Union was willing to put £6OO into the scheme, also to finance a tour right to Invercargill next year, and the season alter that would probably see some of the Unions playing the return matches here. The proportion of these rep. games it was proposed to give Horowhenua was one to every two in Palmerston North. He thought the amalgamation would give our players much wider opportunities fQr gelling big football than they ever would get at present. CLASSIFICATION.

As Tokomaru had won the junior championship, the question of classification would probably crop up next season. The point would have to be gone into, but Tokomaru was a young clubjcvith all young players. There were boys playing who were fit to play senior, but wtoat 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 of some clubs, such as Tokomaru, 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. (Applause.)