Football.

Southland Times, Issue 18853, 19 June 1920, Page 9

Football.

(By "< Hdooker.”) b'een pa’r.es on Weducs.lny. Invercargdl unlucky in closing stages. Bluff opened tiie game with advantage j Forde again behind the Waikivvi pack i directing operations. ; Star had a big fight to draw with Wai- | kiwi in a scrambling game. | Hanks and Law went lo pieces when St. 1 Geo rev retired hurt against Bluff, i The game at Bluff sounded lik" a debat- | ing -avic-ly in full swing when it had been i going a few minutes. j It is time the Bluff team was ready to ■ .-tart on time. On Saturday as tt-ual, the ■ town teem after travelling down, had to 'wait until Bluff got players into togs. j The excitement was interne in the closi ing stages ( ,f the .Athletic v Invercargill j game. Wbt n the Blue- had Athletic p-n- ---■ ned on the 'line, Sutton made some goad 1 ei7.irt.-s but his luck was out and lie finished ,up on two occasions within inches of a | more. i 'the Athletic forwards in the first spell I were always worrying I lie opposing rearj guard, bur, the pace of the ganm told in the second half. With a few more training j runs the Athletic par.!; will be a ,-olid prnpo. 1 si (.ion for any of the club teams to tackle, i Many games are lost in the final five min- ! m -■ the passing movements of the Inverenrj gill rearguard lacked sling, and until the ’ Blue hacks, master the art of coining in on the tun to gather their pas.-es, they will al- : ways find that solid tackling is sufficient to i break up any standing passing movements. ' Toe heavy ball no doubt accounted fur ! .-sac:' of the had handling,

Tin' spiv! e,tors whs question the ruling of the ri'f.-r ;ire* mostly biassed club followers, :nvl many comments were heard in tho • mm! in tin;' Invercargill v Alhi-.’ti-- match that were as amu-dur as r!»;»y were riiiici [. Tin' Bluff hj(i c< ■t; 11 ‘ >i- go's irssr than most ami openly qu,-T.o:is i lie rulings of I-he man with tli' whi.-t On SaturT'V they were a u r.".ve- i tli i r many of the marks churned were nor rive,-., not having bean! of the arm in!- ! tule tint a player takirvr a mttrk most mark with hi# foot at the same The Bluff forwards played all over Hanks r ;i .-■■at’t-ihiy and ihii not give the opposing raas ;us is 1 an t ■ pot Utthty to <!o mush pas>i!V'. !n tlie s-rians they secured the larger slnre of th" hall thanks to the hooking nt Fl-h.-r. who oi-yed well in that position. "nli 1 , led h j - tVirivani.- well and reeeiveil good suauiiri fioni his pack. Wrobleuski p! rye. 1 a gre-u name and it is to he regret ted tint the Bluff tearn cannot rnit'it T.n-on his services in matches away from home. !;■“ m a good line on- man ami a eo.s-1 fe.ilov.---r, ul lying "nod football from start finish. Trembuih puts in a h-t of Ih- work 'i. t-' he done I’otter fill;-' 1 lire role i f win'; forward, and mined the leu a# in p.-.anv of their p-e-un" rn-'hes. handling well. He puts in some great work, and on defence i< a solid player who knows how to use the line to ad van tape. The Ml it ft peak on Saturday altered its pairs' in the -wmid half, and opened tip :,i irs he aits iml joinerl in pa-’-uig taon',r : -nm which eotnplateiy la'.if the Bank# team. 'I he panic played by the Bluff hark# was a decided improvement on any of their emmes this sea-mu. and at tones their pas situ: isi-he-. were | carried out. It was avid,"a. how,- fh- r riiev were not cu-romed to hn\ las ha!! to burn, and insnv rood roetii'P'- w-r In-1., the hack# be : ny ton slow in pel i; a, a up to tile ball. 1-m----i-.-rtv I, hind tie- n :ck threw the nnil out iy an ! varied it a- pi'lV with good hhnd s:!" work, ll” curb in nicely and when runrem: at the scrum dims not go too far out. hugging Ids forward# and giving his. ~1.1 r a,a- tie -u# ; chance to operate. His try in the second inert was a -rood one, and he left the Hanks’ bucks stan.din.tr with a well timed cut in. le-atim: the whoh* rear-it-i rd in his run for t!m line. Brown and Galbraith at fi v" c■ <;h,:li# -ware stromr on d.-biii-r, bit I require a little team work to j. :,ke th-'ir attacking: movement; a greater success. Brown has a btid habit of wanderim: over the field, and while that has some advantages when on defer.ee .it frequently leads to him being missed frotn passing niaiies. The three-quarter line Bong. John.,;f,n and Murphy, were not shown very much on aback. although in (he clu.sin-: when there was more ball about, Mnrphv pur in some good runs that showed that, lie has a fair turn of speed, arid when once under way is a hard man to stop. Johnston at centre was not called upon to do much work, but ha- long line kick# p;, Pric out of difm-iilrie.i tin many occasion#. Swa.l" at full back played a safe game. but was never really pressed throughout. the St;liar of the attack having been talien out lotur before it reached him. ite score-! a pood try by fast following in the second spell, while his lino kicking was Bank- and law was a disorganised side mminst Bluff and was beaten at its own ",m,c. The ab-ence of Dykes behind t!;e

mi'rn di.-liK-ated th- backs and when Si . tb'i’i'ac v.m.- foired t.) rcl ire in the second spell the disorganisation wa- complete. The backs were seldom in action and what passing they tiid do was only of a spasmodic nature and never more than three players handled the ball. In the first spell the team held its opponents and the spell ended in its favour, thanks to a neat dropped goal by St. George. In the second spell the Bluff team gave (he Blues no rest, and was on attack mo-: of the spell. The Blue forwards were until)!'* to bold (he Bluff puck and were never afraid to get their heads backs any assistance. They battled stronglv. Imt V.ert* unable to keep Hie pace. The Athletic pack, won the game for their club against Invercargill on Wednesday and led by Boche. Sparks and Leith, mad.: the pace a cracker in the first spell. On the line nuts iho-c three were prominent and were never afraid to get thir heads down. Both in the tight and loose they were in the van, and the breaking of the Hlue piLsslng on niiiiiy occasions, wiis directly due to the solid tackling of the three mentioned. Mapletoft, at winger, played a good spoiling game and gave the opposing half no rest, getting round the scrum quickly. McKenzie and Me.ffin in the front row were responsible for the Invercargill backs getting little ball, and they beat the Blue front rankers iu the majority

of the scrums. Both played good solid games in the tight while McKenzie was prominent with short line kicks when his side was in danger. The amount of hall obtained by the Uhletic backs was wasted on many occasons, the backs being unable to handle with uiy degree of efficiency. Shepherd, be hind the pack opened the game more than ■in previous occasions, and when it came to defence in the second half was never ifreid to go down to rushes. His collaring was sure and he grassed his man every time. The five-eighths, Horan and Cosgrove difl not team well although in indi vidual efforts they showed out whenever an opening occurred. The best game pul up by an Athletic back was Gilroy at full. He never made one mistake during the -••me, end some of his saves showed remarkable coolness. When called upon to tackle lie made sure of his man. and he always ' rat to ins ball and secured it on the full. The three-quarter line was never brilliant ■aid confined itself to spoiling work being '■ontent to stop any movements of the opposing backs.

The B'ue forwards were never in the hunt in the first spell, and at times ap peared to be taking things easy jus on -cv. rai oeeasions. when pressed, they cleared in good style. In the second spell they livened considerably and gave the Green pjick a strenuous time. Garrett and O’Byrne were prominent in the loose, and were always found in the van of any for yard movement of the Blue pack. On the line outs they fed their backs on every op nnrtunity, a trick that most of the Blue forwards made use of frequently. Todd played a good game in the tight and is a great grafter, while Millar was prominent mi the hue outs and in the loose. The Blue pack had a tougher proposition than

again.- 1. Star, and did not show to the same advantage. The Blue hacks although they threw the hall about did not gain much ground with the : r passing as it lacked sting. The backs were never on the move when they gathered their passes, and that enabled the Greens to get up in time to collar their men. thus effectually putting him out of action for the rush. Behind the scrum Davidson played well, but when on one occasion he endeavoured to work the blind side he ran too far out from the scrum, and

r- the ooporilng backs time to concentrate and stop the move. Sutton, on the wing, put in several good runs and was unfortunate twice in not registering tries. Ho puts plenty of dash into his play, and when runtninr takes a lot of stopping. The inability of the Bine backs to deal effectively with the sweeping dribbling rushes of the Green forwards displayed a weakness that was not apparent in the game agjiinst Star, and they were unable to stop the invasions. Forward rushes cannot be stopped by trying to field the ball off the toes of the opposing forwards, and the Blue backs found that out early in the game, but difl not profit by the knowledge.

It is really wonderful (says the London Daily News) how the Frenchmen have improved at the Rugby game. They acquitted then!selves this winter with great credit against England, Scotland and Wales and it was no idle compliment that the Welsh captain ro'-ently paid the leader of the French fifteen in Pari? when he remarked that in a few year? there would be no side to beat them. Personally, I anticipate that France will, within half a dozen years, win the international championship and that hoppy event will indeed cement Ihe entente coniialc.

Athletic seniors include a forward called Leith who is .shaping the right way to attain high Rugby honours. He hunts the ball unceasingly from first to last, does his full share in the line and scrum and tackles with grim determination. The Woodland* periormer is also n very fine drop kick and it is safe to say that he will in future prove a danger tn opponents when afforded op portunities of dropping goals from the field of play.

V> 'lh a solid turf underfoot and the overhead euMtl'tions at their best, a fast game

was expor red when Public Service and Union met on the Park last Saturday. Service got off the mark with startling sudrien-ne.-s, and when they had rattled up 0 points ii. fore half of the first spell was over, the match looked as good as won. So thought th.e Service forwards and they began to •.lack: ii their efforts and the hard-bitten Union pack, which have proved themselves most dangerous when they look well beaten, carnc down on the Service twenty-five in

their characteristic loose forward rushes. Not only were they pulling up a great fight when half tune sounded, but they were only point- behind their opponents. It was a great tir.i spell fifteen points scored. But the so'-ond half was not so spectacular. Both s.des were f. .ding the strain of battle, and the game settled down into forward scrambles with a passing rush now and again. Tin' tn-rvirp pack were not quite as good as their opponents; for what Union lacked in weight they made up for in speed. The i'ublie h'ervice forwards were not able to stop rushes as well as the Union pack, and this gave the Dalgleish brothers some extra work, Sproat and .Sellars were always near the ball in the fast work. Anderson docs not use the weight he possesses as well as he ought, but he tackled hard and low once or twice.

At tunes, the Union forwards were practically playing the i’ublie Service team on their own. They put up a great fight against a heavier ret of forwxinls. Once the bail was out of the scrum at Service’s end Stew:u I we..- round on it at a great rate, so quickly, however, that he was very close to being oi/side on some occasions. Cockroft bad a solid man in the person of Langbein opposing him, but he worked hard to the end, arnl appears to be playing better. The Union forwards have, however, a bad habit on the fine out. A big number of scrums for knocks on were given, and if seemed that many of these knocks on were intentional, for it was a remarkable fact that the ball was seldom knocked on near Service's half back but always in an open space; and at times Union forwards got away in this manner when the referee, at the end of the line, did not notice the knock on. A few penalties would soon stop this practice. The Service bucks, although lacking the combination of last year, played well. The men near the scrum had a lot of work to do in stopping rushes. Fortune on ih" wing played an improved game. His kicking was erratic; sometimes he got in some huge kicks down the line which wore good for a quarter of the field; sometimes the ball went straight up over his head. Macdonald played better at second five, but it is not his place. Public Service arc in the unfortunate position of having five men who are good wing threequarters but are not so good at centre or second live, at which places the team is none too strong. Perhaps they would do better if they gave Sproat, who is versatile enough for anything, a chance sit second five, end put Macdonald back on the wing. The rest of the backs played a sound game. O'L’onncll fielded and kicked well, but he made one mistake when he tried to drop kick twice in succession with the fast. Union forwards right on him. No one objects to a full back drop kicking—in fact he is often the only man who gets the chance to try a drop kick —but drop kicking by the last line of defence is risky unless there is plenty of time and the nearest opponent is some distance away.

The Union backs were not as good as their opponents’. Their passing rushes were so slow that Sproat and Stobo were often upon the five-eighths before they had got rid of the ball. Munson took and kicked the ball fairly well but he usually .stood, apparently thinking out the next move, for several seconus belore making up his mind what to do and was olten tackled with the ball. Middlemiss did a lot of work, his kicking and taking being safe, if somewhat slow. His tackling was not so safe. Waikiwi and Star drew with 5 points each after a very even game. ’Kiwi, as usual, took the field short of one man. The game soon settled down into a forward battle; the Star backs did not want to handle, ami tiie ’Kiwi rearguard, with the exception of the men near the scrum, could not. horde and Knight varied an otherwise monotonous game with some nippy passing rushes but their play was spoilt by the ’Kiwi thrcc-qutirter hue which could not connect with the rushes. Oughton got away in some good individual runs. Star had a slightly better pack of forwards —both were short at the time of starting.

The play of neither side was specially good; the forwards were not loose enough in the open and both sides were slow in getting up to lines out. The ’Kiwi pack let the ball out quickly when their hookers got it, and their backs had plenty of chances. The Star backs were evidently out with the intention of playing a defensive game only. When Jenkins got the ball he invariably kicked it and when Murray found his backs did not want the ball he went on his own, following short kicks up the line. Brotvn (centre) was Star's strong man on defence. He is a reliable kick, not for length of kick but in ability to find the line on nearly every’ occasion. The backs, as a whole, confined their efforts to spoiling ami although they were fairly successful they slowed the game and made the spectators impatient. Their backs are good enough and attack is the best defence. If they keep to this style of play they will probably .-offer j few more defeats before the cud « the, jeason. Hiliey at full back was not so good is usual. When he missed a take close to his own line at the beginning of the game he a opeared to be rattled and after that he was not too sure. His kicking was erratic ; he was not able to find the line on occasions vhen it was needed and he did not gain much ground very often. The constant changing of positions in the 'Kiwi backs Ls having a bad effect on this team. In nearly every match they take the field with one or two changes. Let them •tick to the team as it was on Wednesday and give the players a chance to settle down to their positions. Forde and Knight worned well in conjunction close to the scrum. Forde gave the backs the ball on every occasion and came round again to get into me rushes. The ex-Southland representative is an adept with the feint pass and of his cuts in were brought off by it. lie, however, got lit tic support from 1 1 is backs in the runs, Knight being the only man who understood his play, horde went down to rushes in good style ami until he damaged his collar hone in the second half was play - ing in his old style. Knight ably seconded his efforts, his play being almost on the same lines as the half's, bloat; got into the passing rushes on most occasions Put Dawson and Maltby very seldom took the pass. WiL; played a better game, and got in some strong fine finders. lie is fast enough, however, to lie given a chance on the wing. A practice that is on the increase in senior football is that of coming on the field iu unnecessarily abbreviated shorts. It is a disgusting practice. There is a rule in ;umiteur athletics which forbids u runner to come on a running track unless his shorts reach to the kneee. If an athlete can run with shorts to the knees, why cannot a footballer play in the same garb? Another similar practice is that of folding up the shorts at the ends. Will one ol the Union’s bucks, and other player's, take notice.

Some discussion arose on the Park on 'Wednesday, the subject being a try scored by Star which the referee disallowed. Star subsequently entered a protest to the Rugby Union, but owing to it being unaccompanied by a protest fee the matter was not dealt with. It is difficult to see how Star could expect the Union to uphold the protest. Late in the second spell Onghton picked up the ball near half way, ran w;th, and kicked hard towards 'Kiwi’s goal line. He and some other Star player? went after it at, full speed. The ball went a long way across the goal line and watt forced by a Star playpr. The referee came up and finding the dead bail line was not marked he measured off the required 25 yards from the goal line and found the to - was scored out of bounds, therefore it was disallowed. the dispute hinges round the absence of the dean ball line. The writer personally marked the place where Star scored (not that, it needed mt.riling, for those who were in the vicinity will remember the deep impressions made by the players as they dived for the ball I and afterwards measured the distance. He found It to Lie about 271 yards. The force down was made, therefore, nearly S feet over tbs line. In any case the referee s uevision is final. If Star put in the prole I to draw fi! ntion lo the laxity of the Union’s committee responsible for the correct marking of me pria, t.'.en their action '.'ill ha\e support.. When the result of a match and possibly the resuit oi a season's competition depend on what appears to be a tri ing line 2o varus distant iroin each goal hue, one can understand that correctness in m.nuto things is necessary even on a Rugby football playing area.

Wales comes out of this year's international championships with a blare of honour It ilreuuy headed me nations in the Rugby tournament, and as the result of Scotland's failure to beat Ireland at mid-April, it now heads the Association table td.o. In the Rugby championship W ales is bracketed lime with England and Scotland, each country having won three matches and Inst one, but when the points come to be analysed the Principality is seen to have a decisive claim to the honour of being the be.-l side of the year. The players of the Principality scored no fewer than 5S points in im.-e matches, and on the general run of piny no one will question their all-round superiority as a side. The club of the season also happens to be a Welsh one. Newport, by the.r great exploits this year, have all but cqua’!ed the doughty deeds of the club in the days of 18J2-3 of T. C. Graham and Arthur Gould, when it went through the season with an unbeaten record. Newport, a town in Wales, will bp familiar to those who remember the All Black's tour of 1fi0.5. When the All Black team played Newport, their 31st match of the lour, they only won by (i points (a penalty and a t > to 3 points (a penalty i, alter one of tine hardest fought matches of a lung ami arm; ou? season. •

Some time ago the Referees’ Association made a protect to the Rugby Union about the stale of the Eastern Reserve. There has been no improvement to this area. 'lhe footpaths which cut the ground diagonally are getting deeper and more bumpy. In addition, there are dangerous depressions about six inches wide by from two to six inches deep and extending for several yards. These are children s slides and there are a dozen or so of them scattered across tile ground. There is a large round hols in the playing area about 20 yards from the southern goal posts and in a line with them. It needs filling. The touch lines and dead ball lines are very badly marked, some are not marked at ail, and altogether the reserve is a sample of similar area? round the town under the control of the Town Council. Probably it. will not. be until there are a few limbs broken on this reserve that the City Fathers or their representatives in the Reserves Committees will awake from their peaceful slumber. Why should these reserves he intersected, with open gales and stiles at their ends? The streets were made for traffic, not the reserves. The public are not as much to blame for walking across the ground as the Town Councillor? who, with their characteristic wisdom, have seen fit to mar the appearance of the reserves by encouraging such traffic. When any protest is made to the Council back comes the reply, “We have spent so many pounds on this reserve, .so many on that.” Quite so, but where tire the results? Success is measured in these (fays not by expenditure but by results. So bud was the position a few months ago that the Council had to place two sign boards at each gate to the Eastern Reserve informing, not pedestrians, but cyclists! that a fine of £5 would be imposed on those caught riding on these “footpaths” on the reserve. A member of the English Northern Union team, which is at present in Sydney, mentions the interesting fact thtd "Gharlie” Seeling, the greatest forward >3 v Zealand has known has played his last game with Wigan. Since going to the Old Country, Seeling played .many year? for Wigan, but now recognises that his football days are over. Seeling had never won a Northern Union medal, and had his last chance in the Cup final last season, in which Hui&eivficld and Wigan met. Wigan led by 10 to 8 at half-time, hut Huddersfield ran all over Uiem in the second spell, winning by 21 points to 10.

I The controlling official of the AthleticInvercargill match on Wednesday last, Mr ■ Forrester, carried out his duties in a crisp and alert manner, the result being that play was carried on at a faster rate than mttai. I Had Mr Forrester paid less attention to j absolutely correct scrum formation and roiled the bail into play when the lirst few forwards gathered to the pack, a still greater improvement might have, resulted.

A disappointing feature of the AthleticInvereargi'l game on Wednesday last was the wretched kicking of the Greens' backs. Time and again the ball was kicked almost straight to touch or screwed away in any direction but the one intended, while many of the efforts were weak and dropped far ihort of their objective—the full back’s work provided the exception. Had u not been for the well-directed drop kicks and punts of forwards Leith and Sparkes respectively', and one excellent effort by J. Roche the Athletic Trie would have fared badly. "I regret that I have no spare time, and hall not be able to attend any meetings of your union in connection with this matter,” vrotc a referee to last night’s meeting of the ilanagerncnt Committee of the Canterbury uugby Football Association (states the Lytslton Times), in relation to a request by he secretary of the union that he should attend a meeting of the committee and give evidence regarding the ordering off a field of a player. “If my report is inconclusive lie it. I can supply- further particulars •vithout losing a whole evening waiting to be catechised. Quite sufficient publicity vvas heaped upon mr under similar circumittaices la-t year without my becoming an sliver Twist.” This communication, adire.s.ed lo "The Secretary,” and without any other salutation, was typed at the bottom of the note received by the referee from the secretary of the union and sent back to the secretary. It. was considered in ■joimniitee, but upon resumption it was re!<orte(l to the press, and also a decision that the letter should be referred to thd Referees’ Association. Football at the seaside is not without its drawbacks. Players who have taken part

ai matches on the Lyttelton Recreation ■.•round (says the Press) have very frequently found how unprofitable it is to put too much energy into a kick directed towards lilt; line nearest the sea. The Management Committee of the Canterbury Union at its last meeting rereived a report that a recent game between St. Bede's and Lyttelton had ;o be abandoned, as the only hail available had been kicked into the sen, and could not bo recovered. Members of the committee expressed tlje opinion that a dozen balls ■voulu not be 100 many to have in reserve fur a game on the Lyttelton ground. It was .ecidecl that Luc Competitions Committee mould have the ground inspected. Vv EDN lAS DA V COMPETITION. Pld. Won. Lost.. Dm. For.Agst.Pts. itar .... 7 4 1 2 45 -IS 10 Athletic .. ti 3 2 1 51 57 7 vVaikiwi 7 2* r 1 1 GO 52 5 In’gill G 2 4 0 45 44 4 SATURDAY COMPETITION. Pld. Won. Lost.. Dm. For.Ag-t Pfs. Union 5 3 0 2 37 33 G i‘. Service . 5 3 0 2 47 33 G Banks & Law 5 2 0 3 47 63 4 Bit If 5 2 0 3 45 47 4 Following are the positions of various competing teams in the Western District: — Pld. Won. Lost.. Dm. For.-tg-l T'ts. Otautau ..5 5 0 0 OS 16 10 Riverton ..4 2 1 1 34 41 5 ,sdghii aps 4 22 (J 27 25 4 Otvpuki . . 6 1 4 0 13 73 2 vVaiau Rvs. 4 0 3 1 18 35 1 SOUTH ISLAND TEAM. A CANTERBURY CRITICISM. The South Island team to moot the North Island in Wellington on .June 26 will fill the Rugby public, at least of Canterbury and Outgo, with astonishment and apprehension (says a writer in Christchurch Stan. The Itain looks almost like u South Island

country team, as it includes an unusually high proportion of sub-union players, 'inis wdi be nil right if it was desirable to give the country’ teams a little encouragement .nice in v,niie, nut tfii,-: year a Honth island country team is to make a northern tour. Further than that, the New Zealand team uul ue picked on t.:e play in the NArth \. b-.iul.h 1.-l.iii<T luafi.n, and therefore those who have not bcfii mdlined in either team v.hl be disfraiK-i.i: ed entirely. Tne New .A ,:i:.iui .in 1 on the other hand, will i c morally obliged to count out West, Coa. t, Duller, Nelson and Otago Central players such as Jiave l.'-.vu selected lor the .vouth i. land teams. A country player must have ’.mu: uai briiiian.'e ii in- ran be t ran.-phml; d

wadocniy men the usually low grade .< [andaid of f lay in hi? own province to lake his place in the be. I company among men who t been speeded up to a high standard throughout the season. i here is only one Canterbury forward in the r-Tuii Islam; Cam, namely, Jiasell, who is included as a hooker, and rightly so. Certainly Cummin;,-? t? in a? second emer,vuey, wmch i- quite amusing, but not so tragic as the omission entirely of Carnegie, who played i.ll ore.r Lna W.iutialon w;'.::-i'O'a ar:i in the Vv cilmgirjti match, or Kills, the vigorous aiarists forward, iv.:ui-; t.n* liniii-aii ,1 i. i.nu-tl.ory team, hare not got a tr.ati in tin Gould island uam, out tour forward [places arc tilled from tire Vi eC Coast, Buller, Southland, and South Canterbury. Admittedly Canterbury are not strong i t backs, hivans; (Old Boy?' , who is selected fuli-back, has given a. pood, clean performance. Sandman (Iviorivtde i and l ord (M.'i i vale i shou.d work well as haif and lir.-l iive-eighth, bid lit esc are the only tanterbuty men in the team, barring Based, it looks like tempting providence to put West Coast and Otago Central men in the Uiicequartcr line, and the two emergency backs come Irom the West Coast anil Nelson.

The whole it ion to followers of form seems inexplicable, aim the selectors do not appear to have set out to pick ihe best team, but rather to please the smaller unions. It would not be stretching it to say that the proem .Marßts team could ocat ihe aJd-wl South island team.

The inlet-provincial programme this seaeon is an extensive one and if Southland is going to put up a tight worthy of football , raoitiotis of tne past some thing should he done, and done quickly. The se_.ee;or? hate now been watching the games clo.-tciy fur .some considerable tune and shouid have a fair idea of those who ate worthy of representative honours, individual members i.o not make a team and combiuatim counts more in Rugby than in many games. What is wrong with picking 2.5 players and jutting them through an extensive cnaGting to enable them to be fully conversant with taeir fHSsittons '( A represent uti vc team cannot be mouluc'd in a few day? and the .-electors, if they want the Southland team to put up a game worthy of the proGnce, should waste no time in gelling prospect.ve representative players into training.