FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 101, 18 April 1908, Page 5

FOOTBALL.

SLW ZKAUVNO UK FLUKES* A*»UCIA TiO.N. ANNUAL COM-KKENCK. Per Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. The conference of New Zealand Uugby relereer. opened here this morning. -Mr. M. Sheahan, chairman of the mauagement committee of the Aueklaud Uugb\ Union, in opening, welcomed tlie delegate*, and asked tilt assistance j! reteree* in making the Uugby gaui»* more spectacular. The conference then went into consideration of the rules. The New Zealand ilugby Referees' Association will meet to-morrow,

| The Kngli-h Uugby train to vUil New Zealand alld Australia numbers twentyright. of wlioni nine aiv iut'Tiiauoiul It ha;) been organiM'd by .Mr. (ieorge 11. Harnett, of Kent Onnty, a member of the Uugby Union CommitU''*. who will act as manager. The other ollieials will be A. F. Ilardin (captain), and J*. I'. McKvedy (vice-eaptainj. Urigiually it was hoped to include players from Scotland and Ireland; bin the unions of these countrie.-i have m.'L their faces against Uugby tours on Uic ground | that they tend to professionalism. Tin* ! colours are red and white, with a narrow edging of blue. Much dilliculty has been experienced in getting together anything like a representative team through the attitude of the Jx-ottisn and Irish Unions, and the side includes no Scottish or players. Iht; list as published should be ra pubic of yielding a strong fifteen under a captain of so much >pirit and expeiieiice as A. !•'. Harding; bul it is of .necessity something oi an experimental team, and there will I.e. perhaps a little disappointment that brilliant players are not plentiful in the pariv* U. A. (Jibbs, of Cardiff, and II- H. Vas sail, of Oxford, are the great class' players behind the scrummage, and the element that must he relied on to make the tour a success will be the forwards, lheSu have been obviously chosen on the experience, of the New Zealand team which toured under I). Uallaher's captainship two years ago, and tin* powerful aud hard serummagers of the We>t and North of England and South Wales should hold their own against the sturdy type of players c-omntUnlv associated with New Zealand. . seems to be the weak >pot ;V ,M ' P art . v - H. Ui\on. the old Cambridge Jtlue. ami \\\ .Morgan belong to what i-. colloquially known a> the "nippy spede.- of ' hall-back: U\ .1. Havey ha- done well for Cornwall a- a '•-land-ollV' and (ierald William-, it is understood, was reserve fur England la-d season. Then- i> a givat amount ot variety on tin* three-fpiarter line, anl the full-back* are 1 x>tli verv trustworthy.

Whatever the nlmiit tli.* «>ii-litutiuu of the side, the (ilayei'-i all tlie spirit of the ami lire >ure to jm!l to^etli* - ujiiler the inlliienee of the niiinager. Mr. Harnett. It will lie noticed that only two ineniliei> of the eonihiiiatioii that toured in .\\Mvalash in 11)04 namely, the .New /ealander I*. K. MeKvedy and "Caplain'' [larding—are included in Mr. Harnett'-, jiarly.

TIIK ENGLISH TEAM. The .Star-Okato match on Easter Monday should prove inleresting. No New I'lyinouthites the Western Union tennis ale an unknown i|iianlity. but ♦Ms Okato combination is reported to be a good one and capable of making the Stars plav their best game. Tile match will be played on the racecourse. The Tukapas played a practice malch yesterday, when twelve seniors defeated eighteen juniors by about TO points. The senior backs played well togetner, but tlie juniors were below their expected form.