RUGBY RULES

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 815, 8 November 1929, Page 13

RUGBY RULES

THE AUCKLAND AMENDMENTS (Special to THE SUN) WELLINGTON, Thursday. Recently the N.ew Zealand Rugby Union decided to ask the Auckland Rugby Union why it had dared to depart from the accepted rules of the game as sanctioned in the Dominion. At this week’s meeting of the management committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union a reply was received from Auckland. It was stated in the letter that Auck-

land was playing under the rules as authorised by the New Zealand Rugby Union. “For the past twelve years, or more,” said the Auckland secretary in his letter, “we have applied interpretations to certain of the law's, which affect our club competitions only. These are: (a) The imaginary line at the back of the scrummage; (b) kicks at goal to be free from charge; and (c) the referee places the ball in the scrummage. These interpretations are in vogue in our local competitions by the authority of the delegates of our union, who. under the exceptional conditions which exist here, considered such purely local action necessary solely in the best interests of the game in Auckland.” It is understood that referees also

place the ball in the scrum in Otago, so that Auckland is not the only rentre to break the rule governing this part of the game. The management committee decided that it was not competent to deal with the matter and it was referred to the next annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union.