RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2831, 12 March 1878, Page 2

RUGBY FOOTBALL.

Football is undoubtedly in itself a fhe and Timorous sport. It should, call forth the qualities of skill, pluck; • and eadur- . ance. But what sane, unbiased person can. say that the " game," as it is no* played in almost. every town ; the kingdom, possesses one single attribute entitling it to ..popularity P What can honestly be said of a " sport" in which mere brute. force, bears ; the palm from pluck and skill P It is a common boast of those to, whose perverted genius the revival of Rugby football is due that they rescued it from extinction by converting it from a rough-and-tumble scramble into a science. Truly, a science they have made it, but it is one of maim* ing and manslaughter. It is no longer demanded that the ball shall be skilfully manipulated past.all opposition, or guided to a,spot where, overwhelming concentration will carry the day. These splendid innovators bive given c death blow to the tactical skiUrofrtk: game, which was its chief beauty. . The Rugby football player pa? excellence- of :>day is a man who is prepared to go upon the field with his life in his hand; and the pet of the team is he who. can inflict most injuries and incite the greatest terror by hi's ferocity. The football arena is no longer v space 1 for good natur'd, if arduous, contention for supremacy; that has been supplanted (improved upn, they would have us believe) by a fierce hand ta hand struggle of. weaponless savages. ' ',', „ '"!;1 The forward players, with the sball in their midst, engage in a milie of which promiscuous kicking .not infrequently forms an important part, and 1 which bears a close resemblance to the contention of ft box of infuriated spiders over.a^ solitary fly. But it is on a back player (getting .the ball, and attempting.to ran with it, that the coarse brutality of the '<' *'game " fully manifests itself. From the moment of picking the ball from the ground the player Vhc holds it.becomes a being for whom the delicate attentions custonm.'ly Kid by Red Indians to one of their num.----r who is " running the gaunt'et •" would bs considered too humane.and considerate. He is beset in every possible way fair or foul. He ;will not relinquish his hold, but struggles for freedom; he is subjected to semi • strangnlatioe. But he is still noeonquered, and, b* dint of leaving a moiety of his shirt in the hands of the. enemy, he once more breaki away. The foe ia upon him again, however, and just as he nears the goal line, andi success seems certain, he is se*ced suddenly by the legs and dashed* to earth with m violence that deprives him of hii senses. On rising it is more than likely that his collar-boi»3 is b -okeri or his kneecap smashed, in which ease he will be •> evipple for the remainder of his days. Or, if he escape permanent injury, it doea not by any means follow that the player by whom he was "tackled" will be co fortunate. Every time a player resorts to the expedient of" c llaring low," which means dashing blindly at the legs of ft man running at full speed, he rant ft frightfrl risk of injury. Mot one, two, Or three, tmt hundreds of instances occur .during every season, with unfailing certainty, In which Elayj's are borne from the field with roken ribs, legs, or arms. The thins; has become so common that the fact of faing a "crack 1' pltyer at Bugby footbail is synonymous with the possession of a frame that has experienced every conceivable description of fracture.- It is notorious that many city firms and companies decline to retain the services of a football player, so much loss have they sustained by the absence of tbeir clerks on account of serious injuries. Lst those r;ho doubt inquire of the accident irsurri oe cmspanies how much is paid every year^fcr football accidents. One of 11-o» largest: has naid more for football tlir:: for guv and Hrs Cisualtici put together. Why should young men be,thus permitted to visk life and limb with im« panity P Lot a couple of boxen, to who*n hard knocks are but as qa^fasm a eat'a paw, ecjrage in a bloodless Mtmbzt, etid everybody .will fly out against the magistracy for' non-interference. ' When • female acrobat, who knows perfectly well what sbe is about, and whose life is far too valuable to be heedlessly risked, adds a few feet to. a sensation dive, the outcry is yet greater. YeS footbail, with its absolute certainty of permanent todtfy injury to many, *nd inevitable proportion of fatal disaster, is not only permitted to flourish, but is actually applauded as ft beneficial institution.' We distinctly say that a sO'Cilled "geme," the prominent feature of which is course brutality, ml which, fosters m niter disregard for human life and limb, can ooiy have a tendency iowards nroral degradation; and we warn parents to consider well before committing their sons to the fonder mer* cies of Bugby football.—Public Opicion.

"Why don't you speak distinctly t" cried a passenger to a brakesman who announced the names of tbe stations in an utterly unintelligible manner. "I can't understand. a word you any." "What's that to meP" responded the brakesman. " You don't expect to have a fine clear tenor at £9 a month, do youP"