FOOTBALL NOTES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 60, 8 June 1907, Page 3

FOOTBALL NOTES.

l'or the Wellington senior champion chip Poneke, with nix games played (tour wen, one drawn and one lost) have the highest championship points, viz., 9; bat Peton' have only played four games so far, all of which they have won, their points being 8, and are looked upon as possessing the best chance of annexing the honors, ivhieh they have held for three or four year 3 past. The suburban team is composed principally of young players, who train hard, and gain the finer points at gymnasium practices. Frank Glasgow, the es-Taranaki "All Black," who is now resident at Inververcargill has only played one match this season, a sprained leg in his first game having kept him out of service ever since.

Dave Gallaher, the captain of the "All Wicks," received an interesting little post card by the last English mail. It is in the form of a mourning card:—"ln loving memory of poor old Wales, who succumbed at the hands of the South Africans at Swansea, December Ist, 1006: With courage bold the Welshmen came, And played right well to win the game, Alas! Their spirits fell complete, When "Springbok's" team they failed to beat"

The Opunake-Waimate match of last Saturday was one of the roughest played in Taranaki, and was by no mean 3 creditable to local football. It appears that the trouble was started by a Waimate man scragging an opponent, accidentally or intentionally is not known The Opunake man who was hit—it was a smack ou one of the visual organs—retaliated by striking whom he thought was his aggressor, but, discovering his mistake, be apologised to this player, and waited bis chance to "put one on to" the real aggressor. During a lull in the game, his opportunity came. His aggressor was standing away from the others, when the Opunake player, without warning, knocked the Waimate player off his feet, smashing, it was afterwards ascertained, the player's jaw. This was the most brutal of the whole incidents. The referee, unfortunately, did not see the occurrence.

Afterwards an Opunake man and a Waimateite,who were at loggerheads,were ordered off by the referee, but it was not long before both players, without consulting the referee, marched on to the field again and started playing. What is more, they were allowed to play, one man, the Waimate player, scoring a try. Several of the players will be reported to the Union. It is worth mentioning that one of the biggest offenders was the referee's own brother, and it says much for the impartiality and Integrity of the referee that he is recommending to the Union that the said brother should be disgualiaed for life, along with the Waimate man.

It is to be hoped that the Rugby Union when it deals with the cases arising from this gune, will sift things carefully and comprehensively and mete out punishnien with no tardy hand. It may be mentioned that there is no enmity existing between the two teams. They have hitherto been on the most friendly of terms. The brutality is all the harder to account for and to understand.

Collaring low Is not a strong point of many of the players in the northern division.- Players seem to believe that an opponect'j legs are beneath thoir dignity, and therefore they study the top of the jersey when they desire to arrest his progress. The study is harmless. There is an entertaining flourish of arms, which tickle the man with the ball, and he pursues his way smiling. It is a common spectacle, this display of wild arms grabbing handfuls of air near a man who is on the run. Sometimes, when his engines arc only half out, he can easily steam through a whole team th.it tries to bring him low by high-handed quixotic, windmill tactics. Generally he onirics 111* elut-Jiei" that are extended for his neck, jersey, shoulders, ears, back hair, whiskers, and others parts of his top hamper but sometimes the fingers make fast ou one of the features mentioned. But the ball is forgotten by the aggressor. The man in possession merely wriggles, sheds a little bit of his jersey perhaps, and is oif again. As a contemporary says, the modern player will persist in ball rather than the man. There is often no great advantage in stopping a runner if he is permitted to comfortably pass to a supporter. It is the simplest tlur.j in rho world to knock ibe ball out from the crook of the man's arm. A sharp thrust vertically, upward, or down vard, preferably downward, is all that is required. It is so long since "collaring low" has been in general practice that there are probably many who haidly know what the words mean. Th»y would be charmingly surprised by the delights of bringing a mau down by the legs if they would only give this style a trial. The best way is to get close up to the runner, but to refrain from tackling the man in front. This would only invite a bump in the eye or on the lip or a buffet in the epigastrium. !t is advisable to dive at the runner on the ilank, just when he is skipping past.

'the tackler's arms hould encircle the hips, clap legs together and calmly await developments. They are not long coming. The man with the hall Binks rapidly to the earth, and his bump on the ground is emphasised by the burden which he lias been obliged to carry. This is a very legitimate hard tackle. Thcflecr is not hurt, but he is convinced that he has been brought down. The collar er, however, is quite fresh. He has fallen on a nice cushion, and is able to pay attention to the ball, hi which the former carrier has lo?t interest temporarily.

The Stratford seniors completed their first round of fixtures on Monday with an enviable record, having ia turn beaten the other five senior teams in the division, having scored 85 points, with onh--2" points against them. Their closest jame was with Eltham, whom they defeated by 11 to 8. The matches against Kltliam. Tukapa and Clifton »,i ■ pi.m-d m the Stratford ground, and the return Watches with these respective elnbs on their own fields are looked forward to with interest. On the showing so far, however, only Tukapa and Eltham would seem to have a chance of checking the victorious march of the wearers of the red and black.

The advantage of possessing a reliable place kick in a team was never better exemplified than in the case of the Straf ford seniors, to whom Stohr has Ijeen » tower of strength, and directly responsible for the defeat of Tukapa and Eltham, and the greater portion of the big scores piled up against Star and Clifton.

The Stohr, Cameron and Kivell combination is about the strongest in the Northern division and it will be unfortunate if Klvell's mishap in the match last Monday puts the combination out of joint.

Stratford nlso jwasesses a first-class pack, capable of holding its own with any of the forward divisions in Xorth 'i:>ranaki. J oc Young is prominent, but with experience he is developing into "considerable of a pointer," and shirks, without appearing to do so, much of the hard work. McMastcrs and Merchant are prominent line workers, and young Kivell is a demon in the scrums. !~i Eltham and Tukau* u S next on the

!list, l)iit Elthaiu has played one match le-s than the town team, having to meet Star at the end of the round at Eltham. The Eliliam pack is fairly fast, but scarcely up to the averdupois of the ' other teams, and in this respect their speedy backs have been somewhat handicapped by inability to secure the ball from the scrums when opposing such 'loams as Clifton. Were it for the effective spoiling work by Potts and McCracken. the two speedy wing forwards, the team might not make so good a 'showing as they have. Hay and Burke Lire likely-looking forwards, although 'the latter is on the light side. The backs I are a good lot, and improving with 'every match, Dive being practically the 'only senior player iu the team at the be- ' ginning of the season. Brown, who playled for' Star first juniors last season, is serum half, and is a strong defensive 'player, who takes -gruel" without a ! whimper. Harsh, the five-eight, an im--1 portal ion from Hamilton, on his play so 'far, is an acquisition to Taranaki foot■liall. He >s a very heady player, solid in defence, and strong in altack, and should make a name for himself. Dive is playing a good team, but is not given opportunity of showing his best at centre, as lie is probably, the strongest threcIquarter iu the province. Lewis and Glentworth on the wings are speedy, Kilt

somewhat light. Next to Hardgraveß, Moir is the safest full-back playing in the Northern division.

Inglcwood is making a inucii better showing this year than last, and is all round a much improved team, of which Potier is the shining light. The forwards are a solid lot, and particularly, good serummagers. Taylor and Johnson are forwards of the dashing type, and are prominent in all rushes. Luke and Olson are probably the best of a very even lot. Behind the serum Greenway is very fair and sure, but hardly tricky enough. Potier is well supported by O'Driscoll and De Launay. Until Monday last, the Clifton pac!c was generally regarded as the best in the division, but against Stratford they had to exert every ounce to demonstrate any superiority over the southern men. Inone department, however, the Clifton men excel, and that is in following up. Xo forward division has been such a thorn in the sides of the opposing backs this season as the Waitara men, and it is unfortunate for them that their backs are not speedy enough to make use of the openings .made for them by their forwards. Loveridge is playing a very fine game, and. barring accidents, should qualify for his provincial cap. Pukere is a hard-working forward. i.jd probable the most noticeable of Ciie others has been the veteran Samson. "Gillett" Samson is the mainstay of the backs, his line-kicking especially being of great service to his side. Schofield is a very safe player, but lacks the speed essential lor a scoring wing, although at times he musters a surprising burst of energy. "Polio's" speculators have been one of the features of the Clifton games this season, and he has rarely made a mistake. in this his experience of '•'soccer" no doubt stands him in good stead. Williams at full, has played one or two fine games, but is somewhat in anil out.

It seems pretty certain now that the proposed tour of the professional team to the Old Country will eventuate. The cable announces that the English Northern Union are backing the undertaking to the extent of .€»>. This must be taken as evidence that the Northern Union has thorough contidence in the success of the enterprise. It is reported that nearly every arrangement is completed at this end, and that tlie personnel of the team will shortly be announced. Some of the most prominent of the colony's players, including several members of the. All Black combination, are said to have been selected and will be going.

- What is the Northern Union? It is a union of clubs in Yorkshire, Lancashire ami adjacent counties, which was formed in 18!)5 owing to a disruption with the English (amateur) Union. Since that date it has had many accessions, and has become the leading body in the Xorth of England. The question in dispute was the payment of players. Football was originally played by men who were comparatively well-to-do, and could give the time to play it; but with the increasing popularity of the game, it became the pastime of all classes of the people, and clubs began to grow rich by drawing ''big gates/' In these circumstavces the temptation* arose to reimburse the player for any out-of-pocket expenses he might be put to for playing the game, and thus it became universally recognised as legitimate to pay a player's expenses to and from a match. But in the ease of working men, it often meant that they lost part of their weekly wage when they had to go a distance to play a match or go on tour, nnd consequently the claim was made on their behalf to recoup them for their loss of wage; while at the same time rich clubs began to be willing to offer monetary inducements to good players to join their club. At this time, professionalism—i.e., the hiring and paying of a player for his services—was openly recognised in Association football. A large section of the English Union—the amateur party—would not tolerate anything that savoured of professionalism, and regarded payments : made to a player for broken time as illegitimate. The result was the formation of the Northern Union, which practically recognised professionalism, an clement which is strong wherever Rugby fooball is the popular game of the artisan of the Old Country. |

The (diief objection to the New Zealand professional team is that it will split football iu the colony into two camps—professional and amateur. Such a division must prejudicially affect our national game. The colony is not big enough to support two sections, as is the case in the Old Country, where the conditions an- so dilVerent to ours. Here everyone can alford to play ;..to pay the expenses incidental to the game. It may be argued that the All Ilhick team was professional in its constitution, seeing that the members were pail a guinea a week towards their out-oi-pookot expenses. If this course were followed in the case of the proposed professional team no exception could be taken to it. but the promoters intend to make si money-making concern of th" tour, purely ami simply, and do not. hide their intentions in the slightest. They are going to play the game for dollars and not for the honor end glory of the playing. And what is re. they are defying the wUhi s and the rules and laws of the Executive of the SVw Zealand Rugby Union. We ;■,;> not doubt |that the trip will be successful in a pe miliary sense- sum-s is almost assured by reason of th' guarantee offered— but we do think fli.it the lour will have a prejudicial effect on New Zealand football in more than one way.