MEETING OF RUGBY UNION.

Shannon News, 13 July 1923, Page 3

MEETING OF RUGBY UNION.

1 The weekly meeting of . the Manage- . merit Committee of s the Horowhenua nugby Union as held on Tuesday even-" ing, Mr. J. Proctor being in the chair. There ‘were also present Messrs McMillan,- Seiascia, , Hutchings, Austin, Casey, and the secretary, Mf. L. Carmichael. ' REP. FIXTURES, f The Wellington Rugby Union'' wrote that its- woutlu not be possible to ar- , range %a. rep-, match this season. - It was. decided that July 25 be accepted as the. date for the Bebbington Shield thatch against the Bush Union. • Agreed' that August 11 be accepted as date ipr the return game against the Manawatu .Union, to. pe played at Palmerston North.

Regarding the selection of the combined Wellington, .Manawatu and Horowhenua teams to pIawN.S.W., the secretary was . instructed jib / write .to the..secretary of the Manawatu Union that, .this Union agrees to one seiectoi from each: Union.

It was decided io write secretary of the East Coast Union; .that this union was prepared to. give them a rep. match on any. date, in Auguswith the exception: of August 11 anu 22, and would allow..them 50 per cental the;.net gate money.

SELECTION OF. MAORI REP. TEAM

The secretary brought up the ques lion oi the selection ot Maori reps-, mentioning that tlie practice at pres eiH lOiiywed my me selector .w-s send direct to a player asking him to join thef team. This, he protested, was uniair to tne Union, as it might nappen that, several of .the Union’s rep. players might be, picked just prior to an important rep. fixture, and the Union, would sutler through the absence of these men.

The chairman suggested that the selector cif the Maori rep. team, be written' to pointing out that in future he should write to the. union respecting men wanted, for. the team.,. The Union would then be able to decide whether it,, equld auow men to go. He move.., to this -effect. .Mr:. Seiascia seconder, the - motion .which was carried. ROUGH PLAY.

W. Pini ol the Foxton Juniors Club, who had- been .ordered, to the line in me Foxton-Shannon game -on Saturday, appeared before Hie Union to. answer a charge of fighting on the held. Pini denied having done more than hold the other man.

The referee., explained that he haa not seen the beginning oi the affair, but when, he turned round this : man and his opponent appeared to be having a proper fight, the ball being out ,oi play at the time. He had ordereu ’both players off the-field, this man going quietly, but the other man haa .given more trouble. Mr Austin stated that the other player, who had not come forward, was a thoroughly unsatisfactory man on a football field. He had seen him in other games; and he was always giving trouble. He. considered it- quut -probable that he had started the trouDltvand not Pini. * IW. referee said he. -could not sa> who was- the aggressor, but that whe*. he had seen them they were both ap .parently fighting. It was possible tha> Pini was only protecting himself.. On the motion of the chairman ii was decided that a. severe caution would meet the case, the other; playei 'to be suspended until such time as he appeared belore the Union. ; other players, A. Cook, of Hu Mai seniors, and McEwan, of Shannon Thirds, who had been ordered to tht line on Saturday were also suspended until their appearance to answer tht charges against them. TRAVELLING EXPENSES OF REP. PLAYERS. .. The question of the position of th; Union regarding the travelling expenses of rep. players came up fo discussion, through the receipt of c bill for 30s for bringing two player.*-. to the last rep. game. The secretary protested strongly against the princi pie oi paying players’ travelling ex pehses, saying that it was', not dom in other Unions. If one man’wen allowed to hire a taxijo come to t match, every other one 'would deman*. thef |ame privilege and the Unioi.. would -be swamped with bills. - ; Mr Hutchings contended that it wa? not fair j,o ask Foxton players to pa.V their owipfares. They were in a dn ferent position to other places, front , which men could come by train. The chairman said that if the mei. who had run up this bill had had n< means of getting to the match the> should have communicated with tht local member of the rnanagemen committee who would have arrange transport for them. The secretary expressed the opinioi that the committee should pass a reso lution right away that men should assemble for rep. matches at then own expense. A large, number, of men did not ask for any expenses and it was not right to treat one man differently from another. Mr Hutchings, was of opinion that this might mean losing some good men who were not able to pay their expenses. Mr Austin said that where trains were available -it should be a. rule that players pay their own fares, but he considered that at other places they* might reasonably receive a cer tain amount of assistance.

The secretary quoted a case of a rep. player who lived six miles oui where no train was available, ordering a taxi and charging it to the Union, when he could have ridden in without difficulty, and said that unfortunately some men would take advantage of a ruling of the sort suggested. The only fair way was to allow every man so much and as they would not all use the money for travelling, it put them , on the status of professionals. After some further discussion, Mr Casey moved “That rep. players in future must pay their travelling expenses to the aground on which the rep. games are played, if within the Union, and must assemble at the essembly place at their own expense in the case of a travelling team.”—Carried. / ' GENERAL.' Referees’ and, gatekeepers’ reports were received. Accounts to the amount of £f> 17s Cd were passed* for payment. Agreed that a player’s insurance of £4 be paid. - - The chairman brought up.the ques

tion of junior rep. games, and moved that the Rangitikei Union be written to asking that the return game of their junior reps, be played as a. cur-tain-raiser to the senior rep. - game to be played at Foxton, provided such senior game can be arranged. It was. further resolved that Vienawatu be asked to submit a date for the return game of their junior reps. The secretary was instructed to notify the selector of the dates of rep. games, and that it was proposed to assemble the taam on the Monday prior to thq, Wednesday match against me Bush Union.

A hearty vote of thanks to the chair concluded the meeting.

THE RUGBY GAME.

FOOTBALL NOTES. As was predicted; Wanderers and Hui Mai both won their games on Saturday, leaving the relative positions of the teams unchanged. Next Saturday will possibly decide the fate of the competition, as it is practically certain that Hui Mai, playing on their home ground, wall win their game against Foxton, who do not travel well. Wanderers on the other hand will have all they can do to beat Otaki, with whom they drew at their last meeting after one of the best games of the season. A defeat now would definitely put Wanderers out of the fight, and Saturday’s match is being watched with a considerable amount of interest throughout the Union.

Jacob, Horowhenua’s dashing winger, is absent on tour with the N. 7.. Maori team. His absence from the "n—i w'ns nndnui v tpdly felt in New Eolith Wales, and +he selector, Mr TPa rata., took the first opportunity of including him on the return of’ the to n°w 7oalf>nd. Pengi Broileh<nn also ioined the Maori team, and both Weraroa and Wanderers wifi miss their leading players during their absence.

T. winiata has. returned very fit from his tour in Australia and should give a good account of himself in the Wanderers’ backs next Saturday.

T. McDonald, who in the. absence of Jacob. captained the Wanderers against Foxton on Saturday, appears p lrwe struck form, a gain. He is well n’aced at half, and made some fine openings during the game. P. McLeavey put. in a lot of good work on the five-eighth line- He is fast and used his head well, and if he can keen un to this form, should make a useful man. -- Aveteran who returned for Wanderers on Saturday wais Walter Winiafa. All the old science was there, but -Anno Domini will mot be denied and he has run un a lot of condition since the days when he was one of New Zealand’s premier backs. Another old-timer was Griffiths, who formerly played a good game for Otaki. As full back for Wanderers he showed that he has a lot of. go still, and held the position with’ decided credit to himself and the team. A Foxton player of whom more, will be heard is Lamberg, the recently classified Tokomaru junior. Playing at half, he showed: speed, initiative, and a big capacity for bard work, qualities which will always tell. Weraroa is still battling away undismayed by an unbroken run, of de : feats. The team is gradually improving, and; there appears to be every prospect of them showing up well before the end of the season. The game against Shannon on Saturday will give the team a chance of proving whether the recent alterations have strengthened up the weak links. There is no question that Levin and district is large enough to support two senior teams; and even if Weraroa does not alclhieve much this year, they have a hefty lot of julniors on. which to draw, and will be in the limelight before long. The rep. game against the Bush Union on the 25th promises, to be an unusually good one. The visitors are reported to have overcome all opposition which they have encountered to date, having three rep. games to their credit. The local management committee, however, is determined that, they shall meet their Waterloo at. Levin, and the rep. team, is assembling on Monday in preparation for the. match on Wednesday. The wisdom! of this course was amply demonstrated in the last game played, and as the renresentafion of the Union in the combined Horowhenua, Manawatu, and Wellington Unions, is going to depend to a great extent on its showing in the next couple of games, the importance of getting players together cannot be over-estimated.

The Koputaroa junior team has had n very successful season up-to<-date. Although only formed this year, they have sprung into prominence at once, and now lead by one point in the northern division. Bdth players and public are very enthusiastic and f r ur gold medals halve been donated for competition amongst members .f the team.

The gatoe between Hui Mai and Shannon, which was played on a very heavy ground at Shannon, was, under the circumstances, a fast and even game, and a draw w'ould probably have indicated the relative strengths of ■ the teams-. • -

Holden, playing second ■five-eighths for Shannon, was patchy in the'first snell, but after turning round at half time, got into his stride and did some good work for his side. This is his first season senior and he looks like turning out well. McKenzie, Shannon’s first five eighth, wa;s always on the .spot, and on several occasion got his team .out of difficult positions. Lenihan at half was.at his best, and those who have seen him play, know that when he is in form, he is a hard man to beat. ' The nick of the Shannon backs was undoubtedly Kelly. Whether attacking or defending he was always there, knowing just what to do and how to do it. He is amongst the best centre three-quarters. of the Union this season. but- spoils his play by erratic passing. The two wingers, T. Moynihan and A. Rowlands, did not get many opportunities, but-made the best of what i'mw '’id tret. Rowland is a recently classified junior with all his football ' career before him and, op his form,

should be among the. coming rep. players. * K. Moynihan is. well-known as one of Horownenua’s best, and was a tower of strength for his side.. His. weakness is off-side play, which is a bau habit in a player who otherwise might have a chance in big football. Johansen, at breakaway, was into everything. He played probably his best game of the season, and scored Shannon’s only try. The Hui Mai forwards failed to hold their own against Shannon in the loose, and were saved time and again by their backs,, who had a rim of luck with “speculation” kicks. Heta Johnson, playing on the wing, is certainly a great scorer 'when opportunity offers, putting up six points for his team on Saturday. ,He has a lot of pace with plenty of dash at the right moment as well. Batchelor, Otaki’s five-eighth, who played in that position in the rep. match against Manawatu, and who was attached to the staff of the Bank of New Zealand, Otaki, has been transferred to Auckland. His going is a decided loss, to both club and representative football in the Union.

REFEREES FOR SATURDAY.

SENIOR. Shannon v. Weraroa, at Levin (Mr H. Burroughs). Foxton v. Hui Mai, at Manakau (Mr F. Seymour). . .. Wanderers v: - Otaki, at Otaki (Mr E. Be.van). ' JUNIORS. Paraparaumu y./’Rovers, at Paraparauinu (Mr K. Davis). Te Horo v. Otaki, at Otaki (Mr S. Parker). ' Hui Mai v. Weraroa, at Weraroa (Mr H. Karauti). Tokomaru v. Moutoa, at Mouitoa (Mr W. Neville). * Mangahao y. Shannon,-at Shannon '(Mr J. Hemmingsen). Foxton v. Koputaroa, at Weraroa (Mr R. Kingi). THIRDS. Paraparaumu v. Hui Mai, at Paraparaumu 4MrL. Udy).. Otaki v;- Kuku, at Otaki (Mr T. Wehpeihana). < Shannon v. Rovers'.-at. Shannon (Mr L. RandaJ.l)..- : 1 • Foxton v, Weraroa,'-at Weraroa (Mr R. A. Sloan).-,- y ' . FOURT% ' ..Foxton v. School, ajt Levin (Mr J. Rose).