“NOT SPORTS; NOT GRITTY."

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3495, 10 April 1912, Page 4

“NOT SPORTS; NOT GRITTY."

Ao-'arently the members of the Colonial' Rugby League team, which has just returned from England, were not impressed with the receptions accorded them as a rule upon the fields of play. Mr. Quinlan, one of the joint managers, declares that the general public came to see them beaten, and if they were not then they did not get any pleasure out of the game! “The Northern Union officials and the club officials,” continued Mr. Quinlan, “all treated us well, but such was not the ease so far as the general public were concerned. You see, they had heard that the Australians were full of points, and were prejudiced against the team before they saw them play. Why, even before the matches and before the teams had come out the crowd would start the cry of ‘Play the game!’ while later when the men appeared on the field they were welcomed with derisive cries of ‘'Frozen mutton’ and ‘Foreigners,’ while the local representatives were adjured to ‘Down the foreigners.’ Not even content with showing their partisanship in this by no means ‘uncertain manner, they invariably hooted whenever the referee gave a decision against their own side, and failed to show any appreciation of the work of the Australian team, no matter how brilliant it might be-” This antagonism to the Australians was, he said, to some extent fostered by the attacks of a certain section of the English press, which was very bitter. Why, a certain paper in the course of an article stated that thev had previously had visits from both Australian cricket and football teams, that these visits didn’t dto : much good there, and it looked as if this team was going to follow in the footsteps of the 'previous teams, and if that were so the sooner they left the better. Another journal made the statement- that if the Australians had won matches the opposition must have been very feeble, while still another paper emphatically stated that the Australian footballers knew nothing more than their own (English) players knew when they were in their swaddling cloches. "I have always heard,” added Mr. Quinlan, “that an Englishman couldn’t take a defeat, but thought that it was because he was too gritty to submit to defeat, but now I know that it means that he won’t acknowledge defeat ‘under any circumstances!”