FOOTBALL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2582, 17 August 1909, Page 6

FOOTBALL.

POVERTY BAY RUGBY UNION

The weekly meeting of the Management Committee of the Poverty Bay Rugby Union was held in the Masonic Motel last night. Present: Messrs J. S. Wauchop, J. A. Eaton, H. Bright, W. Johnston, and E. L. Maude (hon. secretary). In the absence of the chairman (Mr. H. E. Maude), Mr. Wauchop presided. The application of the Gisborne Club for payment for two club jerseys missing after the Town v. Country match, was re-considered, and it was decided to refund cost of jerseys. The Wanganui Rugby Union wrote re the election of a referee for the Poverty Bay v. Wanganui match. — The secretary stated he had instructed the Wanganui Union to submit two names to the manager of the Poverty Bay team, for him to decide. A number of congratulatory telegrams were received in reference to the Aucldand-Poverty Bay match. The New Zealand Rugby Union forwarded a list of players disqualified. The referee in the City v. Star match on Thursday last wrote regarding the ordering off the field of Itewai i and O’Neill.—lt was decided to write severely cautioning the two players. A number of players were passed for Kaiti-City, Gisborne, Defence Cadets, United, and City Clubs. It was decided to continue the Thursday fixtures this week, the matches being: Star v. Alhambra, 1.45 p.m. ; City v. Gisborne, 3 p.m. A letter was received from the Gisborne City Band asking for the use of the Domain for the purpose of playing a challenge ipatcli with the Volunteer Fire Brigade.—The ground was granted for Thursday, September 9. It. was decided that the manager of the representative tonring team should ho written to, to have a selection com; mittee of three appointed by the team,; to select tlxc winners for the Douglas medals. The winners to be selected after the Hastings match, and before the team returned to Gisborne. A vote of sympathy was passed to Mr. L. 0. Ingram, a member of the committee, on his long illness. A number of accounts were passed for payment, and the meeting adjourned.

KAITI-CITY CLUB. The following . will represent tlie Kaiti-City juniors in their match with United on Saturday :Full-back, Stubbs ; three-quarters. Fromm, Oman, Huston ; five-eighths, Hargreaves and Pol- .. lock; half, Sticlibury; forwards, Bristow, Boche, McKenzie, O’Neill, Jackson, J. McConnell, G. "Whitfield, Exeter ; emergencies, Whitfield and Morell. The above-mentioned players are requested to meet at the Royal Hotel tonight at 7.30 for practice. THE POVERTY BAY TOURING TEAM. ARRIVAL AT WANGANUI. (Special to ‘ "'Times.'’) WANGANUI, August IG. The team and supporters arrived safely after a trying railway journey. They meet Wanganui to-morrow, and expect to put up a big battle. The team chosen is as follows: —Fitzgerald, Ryland, Pollock, Miller, Kaipara, Watckorn, Nehu, Tocker (wing), Beach, Lyons, Gilbert, Donnelly, Nicolas, Lowe, Delaney ; emergencies, Campbell and Lincoln. CONGRATULATORY TELEGRAMS. Quite a host of telegrams were sent to Auckland on Saturday evening by local football enthusiasts, congratulating the Poverty Bay representative team on their splendid fight with Auckland. Mr. H. E. Maude (manager of the touring team) wired the secretary of the Poverty Bay Rugby Union as follows: “Splendid game; boys worthily upheld Poverty Bay. Proud and pleased.” He also sent another message to the selectors, congratulating them upon their choice. NEW ZEALAND ECHOES. “Southern” writes from Wellington to the “Referee” : You will he very sorry to hear that F. Roberts is laid up with a bad leg, which was hurt in a game of Rugby. He might never play again. Wellington and New Zealand can ill-afford to lose him. He was playing better than ever this year.; and,

■with a young set of backs ho is great, for he keeps them in their places. NewZealand has lost a great many flying • backs of the Roberts stamp during the' last three or four years. The question is, can she stand it and keep her position as one of the leading countries in the Rugby world? I think she can. But the next three years will be thehardest, as most of the star players are retiring. Besides, W. Johnstone has just returned from the North of England, and will take back with him next year 2 5 young and fast players for a professional tour. The Association game is getting a great hold. They have 60 teams playing in Wellington alone; that is, including school teams. And hundreds are playing hockey. "'Although Rugby is the leading game here, clubs have great difficulty in getting’a full muster for all the teams each Saturday. In my opinion, there is, however, room for ali. branches' of sport; * and when the time comes for a New Zealand team to line out against a team from New South Wales, you- will see one as good as any in past years. 1 Since the All Blacks’ return from England, the public is never satisfied unless they get a very fast and open gam© too fast for a player who lias to work all the week; that is, when the is heavy, with a cross wind. You will hear old players say that the present-, dav teams cannot play the passing .traine. But football is now of a higher standard, and present-day teams know how to stop fast, clever passing. Re Pohsonby going to -N.S. Wales, one or two star players, left Wellington to join Ponsonby this year. 0 Leary, a , oreat centre and a good player in any position, and Elliott, a front-row. man, with Francis and Nicholson, are m the

team. With men of that type in Ponsonby, New South Wales is in for a treat. It is good to get a good team together, but the strength of Ponsonby will do Auckland football some harm, as several teams have forfeited to them in the competition this year. They do not like 60 points being run up against them. It is more like billiards — 100 up.” .

RUSHING A REFEREE.

AFTER THE MAORI MATCH. Throughout the Maoris ‘v. Australia match, on the Sydney Agricultural Ground on July 30 feeling ran high, and when the players began to leave the field the huge crowd showed no disposition to go. An aggressive movement occurred in the enclosure m which the dressing rooms were situated. A portion of the crowd made for the gate to meet the referee and players, and hoots and groans arose as the men neared it. Then" the Maoris added the finishing touch to a situation charged with the dynamite of displeasure and the high tension of crowd hysteria, which is always unreasoning and apt to kindle with a spark into violence and riot. The Maoris suddenly thought of the cup they had won, which was standing near the' press table. They rail back in a body to it. One seized the pedestal, another the lid, and another the cupitself, and waved their trophies aloft, with Maoris cries of jubilation. Dancing hakas and yelling, they proceeded to take the cup* off the field, when the outer crowd rushed the groiyid. But it was not against the players that the demonstration ; was made. The Maoris were certainly hooted with great vigor, and there were cries of “You never won it,” “Australia was cheated out of it,” “A robbery,” as well as stronger expressions, from the lips of a few. There must have been between 5000 and 6000 people actually participating in the mad rush, and many other thousands of cooler blood remained round the ground or in the shelter of the pavilions, to watch the happenings. The clamor in the pavilion was deafening, and the small body of police had their work cut out for them. Swaying, hooting, swearing, the rowdier section of the crowd made frantic efforts to get hold of tlie referee (Hutcheson), who, unperturbed and smiling, was walking coolly to the gate. At tlie gate Hutcheson'realised that the outburst was mainly aimed at himself. So did his brother, who rushed to assist in protecting him from threatening fists. The police, toe, saw that prompt measures were necessary, and as the Australian players were trying to hustle their way to the dressingroom they endeavored to clear a track for the referee. Mr Hutcheson showed no trace of fear. Experienced footballer as ho was when he played the game a few years ago, he had not fully grasped the meaning of the enmity of an irresponsible section of the crowd. There were plenty of others present who thought- that the referee had made a serious mistake or two in the game, hut they were not foolish enough to believe that the mistakes were wilful. It was the accident of one of the. decisions at least converting the result from an Australian win to a Maori victory that inflamed the section that wanted the Australians to win by any means. Mr Hutcheson thrust aside a few menacing and grimy fists, and the police on each flank of him found it necessary to draw their batons to help clear the way. A few blows upon the shoulders, backs, and hands of some of those most pressing helped the situation to settle sufficiently to get the referee into the room. Some of the officers’ hats were knocked off, and a cowardly hand occasionally shot out in their direction, but the determined attitude adopted quelled the nearest.

As the Maoris danced nearer to the gate they had to cease their rhythmical chant and capers. They saw that if they were to get into the aressingroom they would have to bullock harder than they did in the most willing moments of the game. They also were assisted by the police, and generally escaped, as did Mr Hutcheson, without a mark. Albert Asher was grabbed by the throat, but little damage was done, and the players were able to reach shelter. A few paper bags of sand, small stones, orange-peel, and rubbish were thrown, but nobody was hurt, except some of the people caught in the foolish rush. From the aspect of justification of the outburst (says the Sydney “Morning Herald”), nothing favorable can be §aid. Mr Hutcheson is a scrupulously unbiassed referee, and although there were at least two decisions of his that might have been wrong, he was in a good position to judge one of them. The other was declared by the eastern line umpire to have been wrong, and it caused the loss of the game to Australia. It took place in the north-eas-tern corner, and it meant a score to Australia of a try had the referee allowed it. But there was a section present which did not relish any decision against the home team, and which yelled insulting remarks. at the Maoris right through tho splendid struggle, particularly at. Asher, who played a hard hut clean and sportsmanlike game. As a specimen of lack of sportsmanship, the rush of the malcontents in the crowd had a bad effect, but it by no means reflected the feeling of ninetenths of the 25,000 present.