FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 186, 28 July 1908, Page 4

FOOTBALL.

ROUGHNESS IX OIK CA.MK. There can be no doubt thai th'.' Britons have received fur more than their fair share of hard knocks during their Xew Zealand tour. There lias been hardlv a match iu winch one or the other'of them lias not been hurt—often seriously. There are many wild tabs floating round about the murderous attacks that have been made on the Knglishmen in some of the. matches, and many of these are obviously exasperated, but the fact cannot be gainsaid that sheer downright roughness has been part of the stock-in-trade of not a fe.w of the Dominion's Rugby heroes. This is not, as it should be, says the football contributor of the Xew Zealand Times. ■ who goes on to say: "We are fond of talking of Rugln as "the national game,' and as such I suppose its exponents are looked on as a fair type of the Dominion's manhood. Hut I for one refuse to believe that the average Xew Zealand young man is the bloodthirsty savage that some Rugby 'players' would like him to be. The good old Rugby game is in greater danger of losing its popularity now than ever it has been before, and if it is to retain its present proud position as the only game in which we are more proficient than anyone else, the element of roughness must be absolutely eliminated. Players themselves must bo more careful than they seem tj be at present, and the unions must set that those who refuse to play the game are .prevented ever from going on a held of play again. They cannot be too severe on roughness, for if there is one thing that will certainly kill a game it is brutality. To my mind it seems that it is the great popularity of Rugby which is responsible more than anything edse for the creeping iu of this eminently undesirable'element. The followeis of Rugby have been living in a fools' paradise for years past. They have'refusal to recognise that Rugby, although the greatest game, is not the only one. On every side soccer and the Australian game are making a great bid for popularity, and hockey also has a. large following. We used to laugh at the piayors of soccer, the 'gentlemen's game,' played only by those who were frightened of | Rugby. Nowadays such a sneer sounds positively foolish, for we cannot wonder that some of our best player* shou.d take on the' sister garni' rather than expose, themselves to the tender mercies of young hoodlums whose sob; delight is in 'winding' an opponent. Sonietlu'jg must be done in the matter. A fewweeks ago I published a long extras! from a letter written by Oarnet Portns, from England, iu which lie commented on the great unpopularity of the All Klacks. When our friends who are now with us go Home again T should not be at all surprised if that unpopularity Ijc-i-imies more noticeable than ever. There is only one thing to be done: The unions must wake up to the fact that the game is in imminent danger of extinction solely through the fault of a t few for after all there are only one or two in a team who plav a foul game, thus giving the whole side a bad name. Tii the past, players who have been reported for roughness have been treat'd too leniently. Results have shown that it does no good to suspend a man For one or two weeks, -Rut him up' for a period that will give him lime to thinkover his misdeeds, and he will be more careful when he is allowed to play again. [ remember the. great outcry there was in Dunedin a few years ago 'when 'Dodo' King was dis.pialilied for life for tripping an opponent. Xo doubt the sen- ( tenco was a severe one. but it did a vast amount of good. I don't mention nanus, but I know one or two players not a hundred miles from this town'who would do better shouting on the bank than acting as they do now on the playing area. Tf referees and union ollieials do their duty some of tho-e ought to get a shock Ix.f.nv thev are. verv much older."

The following will represent Tnkapa against Waimalc in the semi-final for the senior championship at Manaia nevt Thursday: llar.dgran>s, Ifonevii. ■:.;. Stohr. Hooker. Mynott. I'rewin. (~inlney, McLean, Ilalfe, Johnston. Ward. Loveridge. .lones. Walsh, and Seamark. The team will leave by the mail train.