FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 2, 27 January 1909, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

ALTERATIONS TO THE RUGBY RULES. THE NEW GAME. ily Teiograph.— Press Association. Wellington, East Nght. The uianageuiiii,. coinniittee ol' the X.'« Zealand Rug y i.-iiion recently np-p-jiir.ul a siili-fuiiiuiiUi'L' m revise me rules. Til-dav the sub-cuiumiUec met mid li/ially agreed on a list of alterations to tin. l laws. These aIU-ratious have the I'llVci of making certain rules read as follows:

liule I.—■ Mefore tlie last sentence insert " the game shall be played in four

spells of 20 minutes each, with an interval after the second spell." Rule 2.—ln the notes to the definition of a ••tackle" delete the words:

" Neither would a placer under similar circumstances (i.e., w-jiea u man tackled has allowed the ball to touch the ground) be allowed to pass the ball to one of his own"; amend the sentence,

" if a player tarrying the ball be thrown or knocked over (but not tackled), and the hall touches the ground, he may nevertheless get up with it and continue his run or pass it," to read, " U a player carrying the uall be liiougnt to the ground, and the ball touches the ground, he may nevertheless get up with it and continue his run or pass it, provided it be done immediately." Delete the tw o words "to tackle" in notes to " A Scrimmage"; also delete lirst and fourth notes and insert. "In every case when the referee orders, a. scrummage he shall himself' put the ball into the said scrummage." The notes to be deleted refer to the way thai the ball should be put in by phi vers according to the old style. In law 3 (which delines the duties of the referee) section F now reads as follows: "At quartertime, half-time, three-quarter, and noside, he (the referee), being the sole timekeeper, shall not whistle for quartertime, naif-time, three-quarter time, o-no-sidc until the ball be held or out of play."

Law 5, section (b) now reads: •• The game shall be re-started by a kick-oil after quarter-time and three-quarter time by the opposite, side to that which started the game, and after half-time by the side which slurUa tile game. Law «.—Delete section (c) and note thereon (which provided that the ball, must not bo picked up when it was on the ground after a player had been tackled). Law 7.—The ofl'-side rule now reads " A player is placed oli'-side if he crosses an imaginary line drawn through the back of the scrummage on his own side, while the ball is in the scrummage," etc. This will have the effect of abolishing the " wing forward," whose place has been very objectionable to .many Rugby "purists." The first ,iu third notes to the same rule (allowing an outside player to enter tbe scrummage under certain conditions) arc deleted.

Law 10.—The third clause (which provided for the charging of free kicks and tries at goal) now reads: "In all cases of free kicks or kick at goal the opposite side shall not charge such kick.' The notes to that clause (except the fifth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth) have been deleted.

Law 11.—Section (k) is deleted. This section provided for the awarding of a free kick against any man who, not in the scrummage, wilfully obstructs his opponents' backs by remaining on his opponents' side of the ball when it is in a scrummage. As by the new rule such player would be off-side, tins section is rendered unnecessary. Law 12—Section (a) of the second clause is amended to provide that the bull In tin-own hi from touch so as to alight at right angles to and at least live yards from the touch-line.

The sub-committee's, report will now have to be confirmed at a special meeting of delegates to tile New ZealanJ Union. It was arranged that this meeting he held at Wellington on March 4th at 7.30 p.m.