FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 193, 19 August 1904, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

BRITISH TEAM IN AUCKLAND. A ROUGH TRII'. (Per PrtM Association.) AUCKLAND, August 18. The British footballers, on arrival from Onohunga, were met by a largo crowd and accorded an enthusiastic reception. Tho Ui IL ni had an extremely rough trip from New Plymouth, several memliers being completely prostrated. The olliciul reception has Ibeen adjourned till tomorrow.

Tliu Auckland team to play tho Britishers on Saturday will be as under :—Kull-baok, Harrison ; thriiy i|ii*rterß, Renwick, Murray, Mclii'cgor una McKenzie ; halves, Wood Gallaher and Kiernan ; forwards, Tyler, Mackrell, Cunningham, Seeling, Nicholson, Hay ward nnd Joyce. OTAGO v, SOUTHLAND. DUNBDIN, August 18. Tho following players will represent Otago against Soulhluiid : Fullback, liooth; Baxter, Hennett, liobson; halves, Munro, King, Hislop ; forwards, Casey, McDonald, Spiers, Mitchell, Stuart, Abbott, Johnston, Porteous. Emergency—Adams.

Tlio above, with tho following, will make tho northern tour ; liacks, Gilray, Kindley, Holt ; forwaivla, Harris, C. Stewart, Caradus.

The gate receipts at the match on Wednesday totalled about JLTfiO, but lull returns of sales of tickets are not yet available.

The injury to A. McMinn- in Wednesday's match wus not so serious as at lirst expected, and he was able to get about yesterday. The Ellham Argus »a>s Unless New Plymouth secures a football ground tihat will present a better turf and secure better necominodntion to tho public in bad weather, it is not likely that big matches will again be played in that town. Tbero are a number of girounds in the province that would have been little tho worse for yesterday's raifi. A local "sport," after witnessing Wednesday's match, has intimated Ms willingness to "put up" £25 on tho Taranaki team against the New Zealand representatives or any other team tho colorny, or he will contribute £25 towards tliie expenses of sending the team toi Wellington for a tratch against the colonial men. 'lhe arrangements at the match oa Wednesday were a credit to the Rugiby Union officials. The great crowds were handled easily, despite tho untoward weather. The various reserved seats awl official stands were well filled. Tho arrangement s for the press wore excellent, a large number of reporters witnessing the g>a-mo from a point of vantage without interfering with the spectators' views. Tho players were accommodated in a temporary pavilion, and tho tolegraph oihcials in a small office near tho main entrance. Without tho top-dressing of sand, thoughtfully provided by the ground committee of tho Union, the field must have been unplayable. Those who are principally responsible for tho arrangements were Messrs F. T. Bellringor (cltairman of the Union Management Committee), C. H. Arndt (secretary T.R.U.), Jury (member of the Management Committee), and G. Griffiths Jsecretary

f - onaki Referees' As*sociaTion). I extremely heavy trallic on the railway on Wednesday was handled by tho officials in a very capable manlier. This is all the moro wor-

thy 01 mention inasmuch as rolling stock was very limited. Accommodation was provided for 2500 passengers, and 4000 were carried. The opinion of iin outsider such as tho special who wrote up Wednesday's match for tile New Zealand Times is worth reproducing "Taranaki, heiptd 'by u man from Wnnganui and a man from Manawatu, has played tho much-talked-of .British team, and bnp Taituiaki people, although they stood in the

pouring raim until they were sopped and wringing, cheered themselves hoarse. It was a great struggle in tho quagmire, and for the most part it wus in favour of tho local fifteen.

Tho visitors wert; rarely dangerous. It was not a ground to suit suclv a team as Britain's, but again and again the men in tho black and amber jerseys wcro within un ace of scoring. Tha play at times w a s good—it was always hprd—and one of the surprising things of the match was tho lino handling of the bnll by t'hxi T a ranaki backs in the first spell. Tho loose work of tho Taramaki forwards was u trial all day to tho Britishers, an«l Bush was kept nearly as busy as ho was last Saturday. The British backs' defenco was good all round, consider-

ing tho disadvantages they wore under, but tho necossities of tho do fenco worn so urgent and continuous that thero was hardly a spare minute for collective attack. Their forwards probably playod their best game since they arrived in the colony. . . . Tho ltecreaticm Ground gates were opened at half-past eight o'clock in the morning. Large num(iwrs ol jyeople carried tlidr lunches to tho ground, and waited for hours, notwithstanding tho drizzling win, which commenced to fall a t eleven o'clock. But tho loyalty of tho crowd to its team was remarkable, At Christchuroh and Duncdin the people looked ui>on the local fifteens as beaten days before tihe game, but Tarutiaki ha.*! always looked upon its team as one that could rise to the sternest demands, and overcome tho direst difficulties that might be produced against it on a ltugfby field. The honourable records of the province justify the confidence ; and although the fifteens of tho past two or three seasons havo not been so strong as the clinking teams of 1894 and 1890, tihere has been no weakening of trust on the part of their supporters}. Taranaki it was who, in 1888, surprised New Zealand by defeating tho British team sent out by I.illywhite I and Shrewsbury ; and that great victory, for it was a great victory, is, and always will be, held up as a warning to invading teams. Tho revised returns for Saturday's match at Wellington show the cash taken at tho gates to have been £lßls 8s 3d>, and stands £,'198 His, a total of £2114 4s 3d. This is an Australaliasian record. THE ASSOCIATION GAME.

A team of Auckland reps, will play a match against Taranoki at New Plymouth about the end of this month or the beginning of September.