FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 November 1921, Page 3

FOOTBALL.

officials entertained. A PLEASANT GATHERING. A very pleasant gathering took Dlace at Stratford on Wednesday night, when Mr. D. J- Malone, president of the Taranaki Rugby inion, entertained the officials of the Union and a number of prominent football supporters at dinner at the Stratford Hotel, as a wind-up to a successful Beason. It was indeed a happy idea, and greatly appreciated by all present. Mr. D. J. Malone presided, and there were als‘» present: Messrs. Jas. McLeod (president of the New Zealand Rugby Union), J. W. McMillan (Mayor of Stratford). T. C. List. W. H. Moyes, A. L. Humphries, A. Smith (New Plymouth), R. Wood (Stratford). H. Spurdie (Maitara), J. Goodwin, R. Page, Chalmers (Hawera). G. Hopkins (chairman of the Referees’ Association), W. B. Fearon, R. G. Harkness. A. R. Ryder. A. P. Neilsen, Jas. Garc’a (members of the T.R.l*.), G. E. Jago | (secretary), P. S. Skoglund, and R. N. Tyrer (ex-secretaries).

Apologies were received from Messrs. Tyrer. Campbell, Jackson (Stratford), L. Beamish and A. Cray (Hawera). After justice had been done to the excellent menu provided by Host Whittle, a short toast list was discussed. After the usual loyal toast had bean honored. Mr. T. C. List proposed “The New Zealand Rugby Union* associated with the name of Air. McLeod, its president, who had taken an active part in athletics in various forms, and had done so much to further the interests of football, not only in Taranaki, but in the whole Dominion. It was largely due to the rare combination of strong intellectuality and good temperament that he had been so successful both as president of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and as chairman of the Taranaki Union. In Mr. McLeod they had a big asset in the sporting life of New Zealand. He had done a lot for football, especially during the Springbok tour, for the : success of which be was largely responsible; j indeed, but for him, the tour would not have ■ gone quite as well as it had. He noticed I that Mr. McLeod’s scheme for the rc-organis-

aeion cf the Management Committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union had not met with much appreciation in Wellington, but that was not to be expected. He trusted that Mr. McLeod would continue to take an active part in the athletic life of the province and of New Zealand, and wished him a continuance of his success. Mr. McLeod said he appreciated Mr. List’s kindly remarks, which, however, te felt he did not deserve. He had probably been constituted in such a way that he could nut resist taking part in sport, when probably Fortieth ing else would pay better. However, when his feHow men had confidence in him and he felt he could d<» some good in encouraging a healthy game, te felt that’ he would not be doing his duty if he let the opportunity go. THE RECENT SPRINGBOKS’ TOUR. Regarding the New Zealand Union Management Committee, quite a Jot had been sai i and written, but, with the exception of a few small matters, there was little to cavil ■ at. The trouble was that tho tour had proved I so big, and the conditions so abnormal, that j mistakes tad been made that could not be i seen nor anticipated. Had the New Zealand | Rugby Union realised how big the Springbok | tour was going to be, and what an enormou-. hold it was going to have on the public, precautions would have been taken to see that

a let of th- mistakes that had been «na<’e wuuld not happen. That was the reason why te had put forward his proposals regarding re-organisation, and had submitted them so that they could be discussed, and, if necessary. amended by the management committee r,f nro.incial unions. Wellington apparently would endorse the proposals. He tad not expected them to, because Wellington, whll • a bulwark in the football world, was most conservative. He did not say this in a disparaging way, because there was not a union so strong or whose judgment was more sound, j The difficulty, however, was to get some pen- ; j pie to view the matter frona tho point of * view of principles and not of personalities. j Some individuals had taken his views as the , outcome of personal pique, but all who knew him would admit that he never indulged in personalities. Football, as far as this couniry was concerned, had got a wor..lerful hold, but he considered that it had to be held in check. It was therefore necessary to put tte nest men possible in control of It. He did not think i« advisable tha'c they should have the excitement of a tour every year, as some wished, as he considered so much excitement as they had had last year was hot conducive fo business. Never before, he thought, had a city closed up for football as was the case in Wellington on the occasion' of the last test. Personally, he hoped that the greatest efforts would be made to see that international tours would only take place ar intervals of four or five years. THE STANDARD OP THE GAME. Generally speaking, he thought football management was better than ever before, because for two years every club and every union throughout New Zealand had been inspired with one set purpose, viz., to raise the standard of football, and the result of these efforts had made for better management, and he believed that wT-uld have its effect, at the next annual meeting, when they would find the matter discussed from a national point • f view. He did not suppose that he would be associated actively with the government of the game, as he already had two years of it. and it was too much to expect more even if he had desired it.

The next annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union would be one of great moment to New Zealand football, particularly overseas. They had been . triring for years to get representation on the English Rugby 1 Union, and they had obtained a great deal more than they had got prior to his taking over. He considered there would be a federation of Rugby unions throughout the world, meeting every two years, in Which New Zealand would have a direct say, and under which

they would have a universal code of rules. This would be a body on which they would tare confidence, and if it gave a decision averse to the new rules which they were proposing to use in New Zealand, he felt that would be the end of the so-called new rules. The Auckland Union could not play them if they were not approved by the International Board of Control. Personally he considered it was not in the best interests of the game to fave diversity of rules. In concluding, Mr. McLeod thanked Mr. Malone for the happy inspiration that had led i to the gathering, which he hoped would be I the forerunner of many more. Mr. Malone had proved one of the best presidents and hardest grafters in tte province, and had the confidence of one of those behind footWhatever might be said of the faults of the New Zealand Management Committee, he could assure them that it was quite happy in .ts honesty of purpose, and as cb*an in amateur sport as any body in New Zealand, though he admitted there might have been a certain ‘ amount of tactlessness shown in connection • with the big tour. THE GAME IN TARANAKI. “The Taranaki Rugby Union” was proposed bv Mr P Skoglund, who said that his long experience with the Taranaki Rugby Union as its secretary made him very familiar with the working or the Union. The Union had been tortunate in tte men they had at the head ot affair, and he instanced men like the late dr A. Bayly. Mr. T. Bellringer (past presidents), Mr. Geo. Syme (sole selector), who had selected the champion team that toured New Zealand, Messrs. A. L. Humphries, W Bailey, and the late A. Jury. They were very fortunate in the present day an haring men at the head of tte Union like Messrs. D J M-Uone as president, and 3. McLeod as Jhadmnn. It would he dlffleult to get better and keener sports, and as long as union football in Taranaki had men of that calibre - sociated with It, it would not go wrong. .The Xme introduced by Mr. McLeod had proved very successful. I'srt of the scheme he himself had advocated 11 years ago. vm„ that h. Union should take all gate money, and t> at clubs should subsist on their subsenptions. He quite approved of Mr 3 srinme for (he re-organisation or the Management Committee oi the New Zealand Bugby Union He considered that it was the proper thin- io Place ,hc Proposal before rhe provincial unions, so as to give them an opportunity of discussing it and Introducing amendmenu. ir Mr. McLeod was successful in in-

traducing the new scheme, le would have done more good for New Zealand football than anyone else had done.

As secretary of the Union he had to rely on club secretaries a good deal, and none had [done greater work than Messrs. J. Goodwin and J. C. Beamish, of Hawera.

TRIBUTES TO HELPERS AND SUPPORTERS. Mr. D. J. Malone, in responding, touched lightly on the doings of the past season, whict, he said, had been from all points of view a successful one. The committee of management had done excellent work and been a happy family. There had been fewer infringements of the rules to deal with than in any other season. The game had been very cleanly played, a tribute to the management of the chairman and the secretary. The executive had done their work cheerfully, and had achieved results of which he was proud. Football in every grade had been interesting and the standard of play had shown an improvement. For tte past year or two football here had been on the down grade, but this year there had been a decided improvement. This l.e attributed to a great extent to the scheme Mr. McLeod brought down. This had had the effect of bringing tie players j more in contact with each other. At the start he had had a little doubt as to the working of the scheme, but it had proved very successful. He expressed his sincere thanks to the Management Committee, who had been most loyal and had worked well. He extended his thanks to the referees who had kept their appointments throughout and had done very good work. He paid a tribute to the Press for the way it had supported the game ef Rugby. Certain papers had shown great enterprise in fostering the game in various ways. He congratulated Mr. Moyes on the fine showof his boys in the Moascar Cup contest. I It was men of Mr. Moyes* stamp that they wanted in the game. He expressed regret that Mr. Tyrer was unable to be present. Taranaki was fortunate in having schools like the High Schools, and more fortunate in having a man like Mr. Moyes as headmaster, because the tone of the school was inspired by the master. A great debt of gratitude was also due to voluntary workers, viz., those who had assisted in entertaining visiting teams, lending their cars, etc. He also specially thank- ’ ed Mr. Humphries for his loyal support in! the selection of the teams, attributing the sue- ; cess in the Springbok match almost entirely >

to the advice and training that Mr. Humphries had given the team. He also paid a tribute to Mr. C. Brown, who could not be present owing to family bereavement. He touched on the success of school football this year, and concluded by thanking all who had assisted him as president and selector. In the latter capacity ho had been criticised, but it was done in a friendly (manner.

SYSTEM OF SELECTION. ■ I; was difficult to select a good team, as j players came and went. Players often did I not reproduce the form shown in other . iir.tehes. He suggested an alteration in tte : system of sclectimi of the teams, as he would ■ probably not be interested in the game I next year. (Cries of Continuing, Mr. ’ Malone said that he felt he had been as- : soriated with football long enough and ought t<o give the younger men a chance. He con- ; sidered there was something wrong with the system of selecting representative teams, j Directly a man was considered not good ! enough for the representatives, he was pushjed into space. If Taranaki could work some j ■ scheme whereby they could establish a B I' team, and then have matches with Wanganui I B, Rangitlkei, etc., it would give an opportunity for players to retain their form. At prei sent there was too wide a gap between senior football and representative footbail. A player who showed brilliancy in his dub games often failed when brought into the reps, and was dropped, whereas, if there was a B team he would have a chance to make good again. Ti e standard of football was judged by the showing of the rep team, and for that reason he was pleascrl with the showing against South Africa, which had re-establish-ed Taranaki again in the first rank of football, as had also the brilliant victory against Auckland. SCHOOL FOOTBALL. "School Football,” was proposed by Mr. A. J IL. Humphries, who said that football was the i national game, aatd a country was likely to be ' ' judged by the standard of football played. It • j was up to everyone therefore to make an I effort to bring football up to the best stan- ! dard, and this could only be done by teaching the young children tow to play. In the past this teaching had only been casual, hut football should be taught like drill, and he even advocated lectures being given in the evenings. Football was not so hard to play if oneonly knew how. Lots of boys would make the best players only they never had 'the oppartunity of learning. Football, moreover, was constantly changing, and was going to change more so in the future, and the school was a good place to try out the changes and ascertain their value. For instance, there was the

wing forward. Tiie South Africans said ttat there were certain things in their formation better than ours. Personally, he did not think their forward formation better than ours, but he agreed that, their four three-quar-ters were. He considered the wing forward at the present time was not as useful as he could be made. He did a lot of spoiling, and broke away on own, but was not much use in the Combination. He could be made one of the most useful men in the team. UNION’S SUPPORT APPRECIATED. Mr. W. H. Moyes, in responding, expressed thanks to the president for the opportunity of being present, and said that while the management of football in Taranaki was in the hands of the present committee, it had not

much to fear from the opposition of any other 1 game. Schools naturally looked to the Union 1 for support, and. as far as his school was concerned, it had never appealed in vain. He expressed thanks for all the Union had done for school football. Exception was being taken in some parts to the Rugby Union having ' I control of rchool football, but he failed to see ; how it could be properly controlled otherI v.ise. and possibly it was because it was attracting large crowds, but ho considered that this was due to the fact that school football/was recognised as clean, and that the boys played for the sake of the game. ’He. was personally satisfied with the. conditions under which h|s school played, and had no desire to change. In concluding, he suggested that the Union should run a seven aside tournament each year. THE WORK OF THE REFEREES “The Referees’ Association” was proposed by Mr. Garcia, who referred to the debt that Taranaki football owed to the referees, who, at considerable inconvenience to themselves. Iso ably controlled the game and left it at high standard as far as clean play was concerned. He specially referred to the work done by Mr. G. Hopkins, who had been actively associated with football for the past quarter of a century. Mr. G. Hopkins, in responding, said that his experiences had always been enjoyable. He had been adversely criticised, but he had never been abused, and he welcomed critics always, as it gave an opportunity of remedying faults. He referred to the assistance al- • ways given by club secretaries, and touched I on the loyalty of the referees to the Union. I During the past year the association had about doubled its members, and they lad some promising young members who would advance as the standard of football improved. The president said that he omitted to mention the great work done by the secretary (Mr. Jago), who had undoubtedly proved the right man in the right place. INTERESTING FIGURES. Mr. G. E. Jago proposed “The Press,” and referred to the great assistance they had given the game. He also referred to the assistance received from various men in different centres. Touching on the balance sheet, he said that Mr. McLeod tad prophesised that the season would end with a credit of £ 1000. As a matter of fact the balance would be about £530. But for unforseen circumstances Mr. McLeod's estimates would have been realised. He also pointed out that the union had disbursed about £4BO in various ways, such as payment to New Zealand Rugby Union, , £100; cost of seating, £150; donations and I grants, £lBO, which would Lave brought the I amount close to £ 1000. There was, he said, no doubt Taranaki football was in the up j grade. No fewer than 63 teams took part in the grade competitions, and he estimated that about 4000 school children .participated in the game. Mr. Page (Hawera Star), in responding cn behalf of the Press, promised to donate a trophy for the proposed seven aside tournament, remarking that the Press could always be depended hdou to support clean sport.

I HOSPITALITY ACKNOWLEDGE©. | “The Chairman and Host” was proposed by I Mr. List, who said that all appreciated the thoughtfulness and kindness of Mr. Malone in giving them the opportunity of foregathering. It would be a severe loss to Taranaki’s football if Sir. Malone carried out his intention, just expressed, of retiring from the management of the game. Mr. i Matone had the support of all who were be-; 1 kind football In Taranaki, and who quite ap- > predated (he difficulty of his duties in respect of selecting the representative teams. [ Football in Taranaki had received a great ■ impetus this year, and the outlook for next j season was distinctly promising, and as long 1 as football in Taranaki was controlled as it' had been, it would have the support of the ’. public and the Press. He also offered to ; donate a shield or trophy for any competi- | tion the Union might arrange for next year. i The president, in responding, expressed: thanks for the kindly remarks. Any interest ■ he had .Aaken in football had been well ; repaid by the enjoyment he had got out of ■ the game. He would always be willing to i give any assistance he possibly could, while! not taking an active part in the manage- j "The Host and Hostesf” was duly acknow- J ledged by Mr. Whittle.