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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031244464 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL 
 
THE ISTHMIAN LIBRARY: 
 
 A Series of Volumes dealing popularly with 
 
 the whole range of fleld sports and 
 
 Athletics. 
 
 Edited by MAX PEMBERTON, 
 
 And Illustrated by numerous Sketches a^id Instantaneous 
 Photographs. Post 8vo, cloth, ^s. each. 
 
 Vol. II. ICE SPORTS. Figure and Speed 
 Skating, Tobogganing, Ice Sailing, Curling, Bandy, 
 etc. By M. S. Monier Williams, T. A. Cook, 
 W. A. Smith, McCullum Hill, etc. 
 
 Vol. III. THE COMPLETE CYCLIST. 
 
 By A. C. Pemberton. 
 
 Other Volumes are in preparation, and will be 
 duly announced. 
 
 London: A. D. INNES & CO., 
 31 AND 32, Bedford Street, Strand. 
 
OVERTAKEN 
 
The Isthmian Library, No. i. 
 
 RUGBY 
 
 FOOTBALL 
 
 BY 
 
 B. FLETCHER ROBINSON 
 
 ILLUSTRATED 
 
 Edited by Max Pemberton 
 
 LONDON 
 A. D. INNES & CO. 
 
 BEDFORD STREET 
 1896 
 
TO 
 
 f 
 
 MR. G. ROWLAND HILL, 
 
 WHO FOR MANY YEARS 
 HAS BEEN 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND, 
 I DEDICATE 
 
 THIS BOOK. 
 
EDITOR'S FOREWORD. 
 
 The Isthmian Library of Sports and Pastimes has 
 for its chief object the instruction of the novice 
 who is the master neither of sporting technique 
 nor of any considerable athletic knowledge. It is 
 our hope to win many friends from the ranks of 
 those who are regular frequenters of the playing- 
 fields, but are unable to find there a demonstration 
 of those first principles upon which all athletic 
 success is based. We shall seek to make these 
 books true primers of sport. They will take 
 nothing for granted, nor will they assume even 
 elementary achievements. At the same time, we 
 venture to believe that the authors who have given 
 us their most able and welcome assistance are so 
 well entitled to speak, each for his own sport, that 
 
X EDITOR'S FOREWORD. 
 
 the attention of the expert will be called to the 
 series. And even he, we hope, may find in it 
 something which he may read to his profit. 
 
 Nothing is more characteristic of the sport of 
 our time than the love of change which distin- 
 guishes its devotees. The game of to-day is the 
 tradition of to-morrow. The man who succeeds 
 must ever reckon with the ephemeral moods which 
 this or that school seeks to enforce. In venturing 
 to put before the public a new series of didactic 
 books, we shall endeavour to say the ultimate 
 word so far as time and circumstance will permit 
 it to be said. Our volumes will, we trust, deal 
 with all that is newest, and with all that is best in 
 the teaching of the hour. Nor will they be forget- 
 ful of those great and abiding traditions which 
 are the precious and well-beloved inheritance of 
 the British sportsman. 
 
 MAX PEMBERTON. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. The Past ... ... ... ... ... 13 
 
 II. The Present ... ... ... ... 26 
 
 III. The Future ... ... ... ... 47 
 
 IV. Forward Play. By Frank Mitchell ... 67 
 V. Half-Back Play. By R. H. Cattell ... 84 
 
 VI. Three-Quarter-Back Play. By C. J. N. 
 
 Fleming ... ... ... ... loi 
 
 VII. Full Back Play. By Gregor MacGregor ... 119 
 
 VIII. The Referee ... ... ... ... 133 
 
 IX. How TO Captain a Club ... ... ... 150 
 
 X. Hints on Training ... ... ... 172 
 
 XI. A Chapter of Accidents ... ... ... 185 
 
 XII. A Modern Game of Rugby Football ... 198 
 
 XIII. Hints to those in Authority in English 
 
 Schools ... ... ... ... ... 219 
 
 XIV. The Nurseries of Football in England 235 
 XV. The Nurseries of Football in Scotland. 
 
 By C. J. N. Fleming „. .., ... 263 
 XVI. The Football suitable for Schools— A Voice 
 
 FROM Scotland. By H. B. Tristram ... 280 
 
 XVII. Rugby Football Abroad ... ... 294 
 
 Appendix— Rules of the Rugby Union Game, 
 
 etc. ... ... ... ... •.. 309 
 
,i..-^'. 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE PAST. 
 
 kHAT was the origin of football? 
 Many have attempted to answer this 
 question, but no one can be said to 
 _^^v have succeeded. Some enthusiasts 
 (r^^^ have taken their historical researches 
 h y I as far back as the " Odyssey," and 
 *C **® there found, to their delight, that 
 Nausicaa of the white arms was engaged in a 
 game of ball with her maidens when the goodly 
 Odysseus appeared, very much en dishabilli, before 
 her. Why they considered this worth chroni- 
 cling remains shrouded in mystery. Possibly their 
 eager eyes may have discerned in it the origin of 
 passing, or of the new movement in the direction 
 of football for ladies! Unfortunately, there is 
 
14 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 nothing further to show that this was not the 
 germ of cricket, or lawn tennis, or even baseball. 
 On the whole, it will be safer to say that Homer 
 was not conversant with football. Advancing a 
 few centuries, our friends next discovered that the 
 Romans were in the habit of playing with an 
 inflated ball called the follis. It is true that the 
 game consisted in striking it into the air with the 
 hands. But that is a mere matter of detail ; for, 
 as one of them gravely asserts, " it is hardly to be 
 believed that it should never have occurred to a 
 man playing with the follis to kick it with his foot 
 when his arms were tired." It may also have 
 occurred to a man to strike it with some form of 
 a bat. Yet, in spite of this ingenious — or, rather, 
 ingenuous — argument, it cannot be safely affirmed 
 that either cricket or football were recognized 
 sports in ancient Rome. A game of Rugby football 
 as played in the sixties would have been immensely 
 popular in the Colosseum. No record of such a 
 pastime remains, however — not even the tombstone 
 of the referee ! 
 
 iS'rom what we know of our Saxon forefathers, 
 it is much more probable that it is to them, and 
 to them alone, that we owe the game of football. 
 
THE PAST. 15 
 
 War was their exercise, rough practical joking 
 their humour. Primitive football, with its hard 
 knocks and its horse-play, combined the two. It 
 was an ideal game for them ; and when the growth 
 of law and order limited their possibilities in the 
 direction of free fights, they found in it all that 
 was necessary to counteract the peaceful absurdi- 
 ties of civilization. There is no doubt that for 
 many centuries football games were somewhat 
 bloodthirsty affairs. A match between two vil- 
 lages not unfrequently ended in a riot. The 
 Normans could not understand the pleasure that 
 the lower orders found in these contests, and the 
 Norman kings strongly objected to football riots 
 — "bustlings over great balls," as Edward II. 
 called them. To a Norman gentleman there were 
 only two forms of exercise — hunting and the use 
 of arms. A young man required nothing more to 
 fill up an athletic day. Heavy armour was not to 
 be lightly carried, nor a lance and sword easily 
 wielded without constant practice. Thus it came 
 about that football was the game of the people, 
 confined to those classes that were debarred 
 from breaking each other's heads in tournaments 
 and similar pastimes. But this, again, was not 
 
i6 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 at all pleasing to warlike sovereigns, who con- 
 sidered that their sturdy subjects should have 
 been spending their time in shooting at targets, 
 instead of forsaking the bow to indulge in " useless, 
 unlawful, and importune games," as bouts at foot- 
 ball were designated. The Scotch monarchs hated 
 these " bustlings " just as much as their brothers 
 of England, and James III. decreed that four 
 times in every year they should be "utterly 
 cryed down." However, there was no use "try- 
 ing" over spilt milk. In both kingdoms the 
 delight in a rough and tumble was bred in the 
 bone. The kings could pile on ordinance after 
 ordinance, the bishops could preach countless 
 sermons, the scholars could sneer so subtly that 
 no one understood them save themselves; but 
 football had come to England, and, to use an 
 Americanism, football had " come to stay." There 
 was little skill in the game ; the rules were of 
 the vaguest; yet, despite the fact that the 
 strongest man was the best player, the English 
 love of fair play rarely allowed the game to be- 
 come merely an exhibition of brutality. Accidents 
 were, without doubt, of frequent occurrence, but 
 they were the result of chance, not, as the majority 
 
THE PAST. 17 
 
 of mediaeval writers would have us believe, of 
 malice aforethought. 
 
 Several descriptions of the rules which governed 
 the game in different districts have been preserved ; 
 but they are hardly of very great interest to the 
 football player of to-day. The comments with 
 which they are accompanied are, however, dis- 
 tinctly amusing. Sir Thomas Elyot, a worthy 
 baronet who flourished under the Tudors, con- 
 sidered that in football there was " nothing but 
 beastlie furie and extreme violence, whereof pro- 
 cedeth hurte, and consequently rancour and malice 
 do remain with them that be wounded, whereof it 
 is to be put in perpetual silence." There is some 
 truth in what he says. Often have I seen a 
 listless player suddenly awake to " beastlie furie " 
 on receiving a provocative hack, and become a 
 terror to his adversaries, proceeding to treat them 
 with " extreme violence," " Rancour and malice " 
 are by no means conspicuous by their absence in 
 the modern football cup-tie. But perhaps the 
 Puritan Stubbes attacks the game in the most 
 determined manner. He begins reasonably enough 
 by calling it a " friendlie kind of fight ; " and I 
 do not quarrel with the description, for that is 
 
 B 
 
i8 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 exactly what it was. Unfortunately, he next pro- 
 ceeds to give full play to his imagination, and uses 
 a great deal of strong language, not only refusing 
 to call it a recreation, but insisting that it is 
 nothing but a " bloody and murthering practice ; " 
 in fact, a " develishe " business altogether. He is 
 much agitated by the method in which this terrible 
 game is played. It causes a man "to lye in 
 waight for his adversarie, seeking to overthrow him 
 and piche him on his nose, though it be on hard 
 stones " — a most painful operation undoubtedly, 
 and liable to produce "rancour and malice" in 
 "he that be wounded." The eloquent Stubbes 
 apparently saw and feared this danger, for in an 
 agony of pious horror he complains that from these 
 proceedings come "brawling, murther, homicide, 
 and great effusion of blood, as experience daily 
 teaches." Their method of tackling was, he con- 
 sidered, even more objectionable. The fact that 
 many are injured is, he thinks, "no marveille, 
 for they have the sleights to meet one betwixt 
 two, and to dash him against the hart with their 
 elbowes, to butt him under the short ribs with 
 their gripped fists, and with their knees to catch 
 him on the hip and piche him on his neck, with 
 
THE PAST. 19 
 
 a hundred such murthering devices." There is a 
 suspicious knowledge of detail about this that 
 would almost induce us to believe that either our 
 Puritan friend was a player himself on the sly, or 
 else that he was an interested spectator of these 
 same " murthering devices." 
 
 The good citizens of Manchester objected to the 
 game for quite another reason ; for the municipal 
 body stated, in 1608, that " whereas there has 
 been heretofore great disorder in our toune of 
 Manchester, and the inhabitants thereof greatly 
 wronged and charged with makinge and amend- 
 inge of their glasse windows, broken yearlye and 
 spoiled by a companye of lewd and disordered 
 persons using that unlawful exercise of playing 
 with the ffote ball in ye streets of ye said toune, 
 breakinge many men's windowes and glasse at 
 their pleasures and other great enormyties," they 
 would fine those persons twelve pence should they 
 offend in like manner again. The picture of a fat 
 elder of the town gazing indignantly through his 
 broken panes — and glass was expensive in those 
 days — at the lewd and disordered football players 
 rises distinctly before me. It reminds me of a story 
 of a celebrated undergraduate, well known for his 
 
20 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 brilliant eccentricities, who was passing through 
 his college in company with a lady visitor. 
 "There are my tutor's rooms," he said, pointing 
 them out. Then, stooping, he picked up a pebble 
 and tossed it through a pane. "And there," he 
 continued, as a red and irate face appeared — 
 " there is my tutor." 
 
 After the criticism of Stubbes, the remark of 
 Sir W. Davenant that football "is not very con- 
 veniently civil " seems mild indeed. Besides, he 
 is quite right in his opinion — it is not. The cry 
 of disapproval has so far been unanimous, and 
 it is thus refreshing for the enthusiastic Rugby 
 player to light upon, one writer who had the 
 common sense to see that there were many good 
 points about the game. Carew, a West-country 
 man, as his name denotes, tells us that football 
 was played regularly in Cornwall at the com- 
 mencement of the seventeenth century. " I cannot 
 well resolve," he concludes, after a minute descrip- 
 tion of the game, "whether I should the more 
 commend the game for its manhood and exercise, 
 or condemn it for the boisterousness and harm 
 that it begetteth ; for as on the one side it makes 
 their bodies strong, hard, and nimble, and puts a 
 
THE PAST. 21 
 
 courage into their hearts to meet an enemy in the 
 face ; so, on the other part, it is accompanied by 
 many dangers, some of which do even fall to the 
 player's share ; for the proof whereof, when the 
 hurling {j,.e. the game) is ended you shall see them 
 retiring home as from a pitched battle with bloody 
 pates, bones broken and out of joint, and such 
 bruises as serve to shorten their days, yet all in 
 good play, and never attorney or coroner troubled 
 for the matter." Here, then, was one Englishman 
 at least who could appreciate the fact that a few 
 hard knocks given and taken in fair play are not 
 such terrible things, after all. The mention of the 
 coroner is, I must admit, rather awe-inspiring ; 
 but, then, it might only have been a West-country 
 joke on the part of Carew. 
 
 Later writers than those I have mentioned 
 still speak of the game as a pure rough-and- 
 tumble struggle, with few rules and many acci- 
 dents. Strutt, the great historian of English 
 sports, writing in 1801, tells us that "when the 
 exercise becomes exceedingly violent the players 
 kick each other's shins without the least ceremony, 
 and some of them are overthrown at the hazard of 
 their limbs." Glover, again, has something to say 
 
22 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 of the game as played in Derbyshire in 1829. 
 " Broken shins, broken heads, torn coats and lost 
 hats," he writes in horror, " are among the minor 
 accidents of this fearful contest, and it frequently 
 happens that persons fall, owing to the intensity of 
 the pressure, fainting and bleeding beneath the 
 feet of the surrounding mob. But it would be 
 difficult to give an adequate idea of this rutheless 
 sport. A Frenchman passing through Derby 
 remarked that if Englishmen called this playing, 
 it would be impossible to say what they would call 
 fighting." How surprised the excellent Glover 
 would have been if he had been told that before 
 the century was out numbers of Frenchmen would 
 have grown wildly enthusiastic about this " fearful 
 contest " ! Another remark of his is distinctly 
 amusing. "The crowd," he relates in astonish- 
 ment, " is encouraged by respectable persons, who 
 take a surprising interest in the result of the day's 
 sport, urging on the players with shouts, and even 
 handing to those who are exhausted oranges and 
 other refreshment." Surprising indeed for you, 
 Mr. Glover, in 1829! What would you have said 
 could you have been set down in the Oval in 1887, 
 but fifty-eight years after you published your 
 
THE PAST. 23 
 
 excellent work, and there seen the Heir Apparent 
 to the English throne, surrounded by large numbers 
 of presumably " respectable " people, watching the 
 progress of a football game with the liveliest 
 interest? What would you have thought of a 
 sportsmanlike prince consenting to become Patron 
 of a Union that had for its object the encourage- 
 ment of this " rutheless sport " ? It is impossible 
 to tell. But if such proceedings would have 
 seemed incomprehensible to Glover, they would 
 have dealt a blow to our friend Stubbes from 
 which he would never have recovered, and which 
 would inevitably have driven him into socialism 
 or some such form of harmless, but bellicose, 
 insanity. 
 
 From the above criticisms a general idea can be 
 obtained of football in its early days. A game so 
 devoid of athletic skill and science could not be 
 expected to last. It had never taken any firm 
 hold on the wealthier or better educated classes, 
 and even among the rustics and apprentices, who 
 risked life and limb so recklessly, it was rather a 
 customary form of spending certain high days and 
 holidays throughout the year, than a definite game 
 to be played regularly. Manly sport though it 
 
24 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 was, it was too barbarous for an advancing civili- 
 zation, and towards the middle of the present 
 century its popularity had so far waned that it 
 was usually spoken of as an interesting relic 
 of the customs of elder days. It still lingered 
 amongst the public schools. But each school had 
 its own rules, which had been drawn up to suit 
 the requirements of the narrow bounds of the 
 school recreation grounds as they then existed. 
 Outside the schools, it was confined to country 
 districts where a football would be kicked about 
 for an hour or two on certain holidays. The ball 
 was generally a bladder, and the object of the 
 game, if game it can be called, was to find an 
 excuse for an extra consumption of beer. The 
 old enthusiasm which produced such catastrophes 
 amongst the players, and such violent language 
 from the writers, had died out. No gentleman 
 seems to have thought of playing after leaving 
 school. At the Universities it was unheard of 
 as a game for " men." A proposal to play football 
 would have seemed just as absurd as a challenge 
 to a match at marbles on the Senate House steps, 
 a spot which Cambridge holds especially sacred 
 from such profanations. 
 
THE PAST. 
 
 2S 
 
 How Rugby football emerged from this shadow, 
 and became one of the most popular of sports 
 amid all classes in modern England, I will relate 
 in the next chapter. 
 
26 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE PRESENT, 
 
 AM well aware," wrote Mr. Caspar 
 Whitney in his " Sporting Pilgrim- 
 age " — an account of the wanderings 
 of an American through Oxford, 
 Cambridge, and the shires — "that I 
 shall be exposing myself to a charge 
 of triteness by proclaiming what every 
 one already knows, that the average 
 Britisher is an athlete, the English nation an 
 athletic one, and its subjects, both men and women, 
 more universally and generally imbued with the 
 athletic spirit than those of any other race on 
 earth." Without wishing to exhibit an undue 
 amount of patriotic pride, I cannot but agree 
 with our American admirer in his estimate of the 
 England of to-day. Yet, as a matter of fact, our 
 athleticism is about as mocjern as our railways. 
 
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THE PRESENT. 27 
 
 What exercise, for instance, did our young men 
 take during the winter months some fifty years 
 ago — not the young men who could afford to 
 hunt and shoot, but the average young men in the 
 towns, who could get away from their work for one 
 or two afternoons a week ? They played billiards 
 a little ; they skated occasionally when the ice was 
 in good condition ; now and then, if they were of 
 a very sporting turn of mind, they attended a 
 cock-fight, or sat open-mouthed behind the ropes 
 of a prize-ring. In the novels of Dickens or 
 Thackeray we read of no other forms of athletic 
 amusement. That most lugubrious of bores, 
 William Cobbett, when considering the advantages 
 of sports for young men, wrote, "A town life 
 which many people are compelled from the nature 
 of their calling to lead, precludes the possibility of 
 pursuing amusements of this description. Young 
 men in towns are, generally speaking, compelled 
 to choose between books on the one hand, or 
 gambling and the play-house on the other." Yet 
 to-day Mr. Whitney, of the jealous U.S.A., is 
 afraid of being called trite for proclaiming that 
 our nation is athletic to the backbone. 
 What was it, then, that brought about the change 
 
28 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 in our habits ? It is a difficult question to answer 
 satisfactorily. Perhaps it was that the love of 
 fresh air and healthy exercise is bred in our bones; 
 that as the towns grew larger, and the country 
 more distant for the dwellers amongst bricks and 
 mortar, a game became the only form of exercise 
 possible ; that better regulations and an energetic 
 police forbade rough bouts at various forms of 
 football in the streets, and an organized game 
 with a settled playing field became necessary. It 
 was a winter game that was required, for cricket 
 and rowing were rapidly growing in popularity 
 during the summer. Such was the state of affairs 
 when young men fresh from Rugby and Marl- 
 borough, and other great schools where football 
 had never died out, set an example by continuing 
 to play the game they had learned to love. As 
 the play became more scientific and less brutal, 
 other young men anxious to get exercise joined 
 the clubs that had already been formed, or started 
 fresh ones of their own. To be a famous athlete 
 became an honourable distinction instead of another 
 term for what a celebrated Cambridge dean used 
 to describe as a " nasty, fast man." As the number 
 of clubs increased, the competition for places in 
 
THE PRESENT. 29 
 
 the teams became exceedingly keen, and in a 
 few years the players of Rugby football were to 
 be reckoned in thousands. An organization was 
 required to control and legislate for them. On the 
 26th January, 1871, a party of members of London 
 and suburban clubs met and resolved that the 
 formation of a Rugby Football Union was desir- 
 able. From that moment the position of the game 
 was assured. Steadily it grew in favour, until it 
 emerged from the shadows of old prejudices and 
 became equal, if not superior, in popularity to any 
 other member of the great family of English 
 Sports. 
 
 In 1 865 there were but fifteen to twenty clubs 
 round London playing Rugby football. Nearly 
 all the teams were composed of young men who 
 had previously learnt the game at the two great 
 football schools, Rugby and Marlborough. The 
 Richmond team in that year, for' instance, was 
 entirely composed of Old Rugbeans and Old 
 Marlburians. The rules were in a very uncertain 
 state, and the opposing captains often met to decide 
 the minor points before the game commenced. 
 The grounds about London were unenclosed, 
 and the spectators seem to have wandered 
 
30 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 about at their own sweet will. Indeed, a smart 
 half often availed himself of the protection of 
 the crowd to dash in near the touch-line before 
 the unfortunate back opposed to him could find 
 out exactly where he was. The number of players 
 was uncertain, but usually twenty a side. The 
 off-side laws were very lax, and some clubs would 
 send down an advance guard of forwards to protect 
 the man running with the ball. This fact is rather 
 interesting, because the Americans adopted the 
 same plan, and have never changed it. In Yankee 
 football the protection of the man with the ball is 
 all important, and for this purpose their systems 
 of wedges and lines of covering forwards were 
 invented. The scrummages were long, tedious 
 bouts of hard shoving. The men did not put their 
 heads down, but stood upright and hacked and 
 pushed their way blindly forward. 
 
 This hacking was the worst feature of the game. 
 It was useful in one respect, for without it the ball 
 might never have emerged from the forest of legs 
 which concealed it. It seems to have originated 
 at Rugby school. The hacking there was indeed 
 of a terrible nature. To hack hard and take your 
 punishment manfully seems to have been the end 
 
THE PRESENT. 31 
 
 and object of the play. Two boys would often 
 be seen steadily hacking each other long after the 
 ball and the forwards had passed to the other side 
 of the ground. Personal disputes were sometimes 
 settled in this rough and ready fashion. Of course 
 some elderly football players, whose old triumphs, 
 as seen through the softening haze of the past, 
 awake nothing but pleasant memories, are still 
 willing to contend that the hacking system was 
 neither dangerous nor brutal. This is simply 
 absurd. Many an Old Rugbean can show scars 
 existing to-day which are the relics of wounds 
 received under the old barbarous rules. There is 
 no doubt that accidents were of very common 
 occurrence, and that the majority of them were 
 due to hacking and hacking alone. The first 
 upward step that Rugby football made from 
 brutality to science was the abolition of the entire 
 system of hacking an opponent in the scrum or 
 tripping him up when he, was running with the 
 ball. Mr. Arthur C. Guillemard, in Mr. Marshall's 
 "History of Football," relates an anecdote from 
 his personal experience which throws more light 
 on this style of play than anything I can say. 
 " I well remember," he writes, " seeing the crack 
 
32 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 'hack' of one season, after coming through the 
 scrummage, finish off his triumphal march by 
 place-kicking the half-back in front of me clean 
 off his legs" — a pleasant picture of football as it 
 was played in the sixties. 
 
 Of course, under such rules as these, football 
 acquired a most unenviable reputation. The 
 letter of " A Surgeon " to the Times roused a 
 mass of correspondents from all parts of the 
 country. Exaggerated statements were made on 
 both sides. Some football players declared that 
 they had played for years, and never seen a worse 
 accident than a cut knee. On the other hand, the 
 opponents of the game insisted upon styling it 
 " dangerous," which it undoubtedly was, and " un- 
 manly," which it undoubtedly was not. It was 
 even threatened that Parliament should be peti- 
 tioned to abolish so dangerous a pastime. Punch 
 warmly supported the malcontents, and many 
 may remember the picture representing a sprawl- 
 ing, hacking, struggling crowd of players, on which 
 " Mr. P." expressed a forcible opinion. 
 
 Without reform the game would have been in 
 a bad way; but better times were in store. In 
 1 87 1, as I have already mentioned, the Rugby 
 
THE PRESENT. 33 
 
 Union was formed, and shortly afterwards the 
 evil practice of hacking was abolished, to the joy 
 of all true lovers of the game, and the loudly 
 expressed disgust of those who trusted in their 
 bootmakers to bring them football fame. 
 
 Yet for some time the style of play continued to 
 be of a ponderous nature, and, so it would seem, 
 distinctly unattractive to the uninitiated. Hacking 
 had, at least, forced the ball out of the scrummage ; 
 but now the game consisted of long bouts of hard, 
 blind shoving. Half the forwards had but a vague 
 idea as to where the ball was, and often a half- 
 back had secured it, and was running strongly 
 thirty yards away before the closely packed giants 
 in the scrummage realized the fact, and began 
 slowly to disentangle themselves. In 1876 a great 
 improvement was effected when, at the request of 
 Scotland, where football was rapidly increasing in 
 popularity, the number of players in the Inter- 
 national matches was reduced from twenty to 
 fifteen. The clubs followed the example thus set 
 them. The game became faster and more open, 
 although the scrummages were still grievously pro- 
 longed. The rules were altered for the better. It 
 was ordered that a player running with the ball 
 
 C 
 
34 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 should, when tackled, immediately put it down, 
 instead of either struggling on with half a dozen 
 opponents attached to him, or delaying matters 
 until his own forwards had time to come straggling 
 up to his assistance. To suit the faster style of 
 play, the position of the players behind the scrum- 
 mage was changed. The two halves had been all- 
 important under the old rules. To them had been 
 entrusted the brunt of the work in running, kick- 
 ing, and tackling. Now, however, attack and 
 defence were mainly in the hands of the three- 
 quarter line, which was increased from one to two 
 players, and subsequently to three or four. The 
 half became practically a conduit-pipe to transfer 
 the ball to the men behind him. His position was 
 still most important, for the strongest part of a 
 chain is its weakest link ; but he ceased to be the 
 only man to whom frequent chances of " gallery " 
 play were afforded. 
 
 In 1882, the Oxford team, at the suggestion of 
 the famous Arthur Budd, and under the direction 
 of the equally famous Harry Vassall, developed the 
 passing system amongst halves and three-quarters. 
 Long, low passing amongst the forwards was also 
 introduced. The great half-back, A. Rotherham, 
 
THE Present. 35 
 
 who was a member of the team, showed to the 
 .football world what the true duties of a half- 
 back were. He was not to neglect the three- 
 quarters, as in the early days of the Rugby game, 
 nor was he to consider himself merely a conduit- 
 pipe, as was the tendency of some of the half- 
 backs of his time. A happy medium between 
 the two was to be aimed at. By personal ex- 
 ample, Rotherham proved that his system of 
 making openings for three-quarters, and then 
 passing to them, was the correct and only system 
 for half-backs who aspired to the highest foot- 
 ball honours. Of late years the forwards have 
 perfected the art of wheeling and screwing the 
 scrummages, and of taking the ball down the field 
 by a series of rushing dribbles — of all things the 
 most difficult for a half or three-quarter to meet 
 and check. Finally, the passing game has become 
 thoroughly understood by the three-quarters. In 
 the great majority of clubs, and in all International 
 matches, one more has been added, making their 
 number four instead of three. Football players 
 of the modern school are nearly unanimous in 
 praising this innovation. When it was introduced 
 from Wales it was bitterly opposed, and veterans 
 
36 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 amongst us declared that it was ruining the game. 
 On the contrary, however, it has turned out a 
 distinct improvement, a further step in the direc- 
 tion of scientific play. 
 
 Nothing has done more to keep up the public 
 interest in football than the International matches. 
 For such matches Great Britain is excellently 
 situated. England and Wales, Scotland and 
 Ireland, have never so far merged into a common 
 whole as to lose their national characteristics and 
 national sympathies. The result is that many 
 people who know little or nothing about the game 
 will take a keen interest in these International 
 contests. It is not too much to say that when 
 Scotland, for instance, maintains an unbeaten 
 record, the whole nation rejoices in her victories. 
 It was in 1871 that the first match, England v. 
 Scotland, was played at Edinburgh. In 1874 a 
 challenge was received from Ireland, which was 
 accepted for the following season. Ireland was 
 easily beaten for many years, but in 1887 scored 
 her first victory, to her great delight. Her for- 
 wards have always been a powerful body of men, 
 and her defeats have in the majority of cases been 
 the result of deficiencies behind the scrummage. 
 
THE PRESENT. 37 
 
 At present she is far behind both England and 
 Scotland in the number of her successes in the 
 International matches. England she has beaten 
 three times to the sixteen victories scored against 
 her. Scotland has beaten her fifteen times, and 
 has only been defeated twice, two matches being 
 drawn. Last season, however, her team was of 
 the highest excellence. England and Wales fell 
 before her, and Scotland was lucky to be able to 
 retire with a draw. 
 
 Ireland has had many difficulties to contend 
 with. Rugby football is practically confined to 
 the north-east of Ireland and the " English pale," 
 as it used to be called, round Dublin. Her clubs 
 have been cut off by the boisterous Irish Sea from 
 meeting the best of the English teams with any 
 regularity. It is difficult for a club to learn to 
 win until it has been constantly beaten by clubs 
 better than itself, from whom, though it loses 
 matches,'Jt may gain experience. Moreover, the 
 sinews of war in the " distressful " country have, 
 unfortunately, often proved insufficient to meet the 
 demands made upon them. A form of Irish foot- 
 ball must be mentioned that has long flourished in 
 the country districts. A wit has divided it into 
 
38 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 three kinds, each playing with separate rules. Of 
 these, the first is the game where you kick the ball ; 
 the second, where you kick the man if you cannot 
 kick the ball ; and the third, which is purely Gaelic 
 and most popular, where you kick the ball if you 
 cannot kick the man. I am surprised that no 
 patriot has started a league under Gaelic rules ; re- 
 ferees to be appointed from Committee-room No. 15. 
 Between England and Scotland the struggles 
 have been veritably those of giants, and the tabu- 
 lated results for the last twenty years show how 
 close the fight has been. Eight matches a-piece 
 is the score of the two countries, while no less 
 than seven games have been drawn. The Scottish 
 forwards have always been the mainstay of the 
 Scottish team. Drawn from the schools where 
 the importance of sound, hard-working scrum- 
 magers is realized more than in our own country, 
 they have ■ time after time shattered the English 
 front rank, and left to the English backs the 
 difficult task of stemming the torrent of defeat. As 
 a general rule, the English backs and the Scotch 
 forwards would form an ideal team. With the 
 spread of Rugby football abroad, we may some 
 day see such a combination figure in the field, 
 
THE PRESENT. 39 
 
 It was not until 1880 that Wales first challenged 
 England. For some time football had been 
 making steady progress amongst the thickly 
 populated mining and shipping districts in the 
 south ; but at the time of the challenge— and as a 
 matter of fact at the present moment — the football 
 of Wales is represented by four great clubs — 
 Swansea, Llanelly,, Cardiff, and Newport. It is 
 naturally surprising to find that Wales, with her 
 handful of players, has made such a brave fight 
 against her powerful rivals. The reasons are, I 
 consider, three in number. In the first place, 
 though her clubs are but few they are all of the 
 highest football merit. The competition between 
 them arouses the greatest enthusiasm. Their 
 position has always enabled them to play the 
 crack metropolitan clubs, and, unlike the Irish- 
 men, notice and assimilate any improvement that 
 the Englishmen have originated. In the second 
 place, the same style of play is to be found in all 
 the Welsh clubs ; and when it comes to selecting 
 an International team, the players chosen already 
 know each other's style, and work together with 
 that machine-like accuracy that distinguishes their 
 club matches. Lastly, the " Taffies " have always 
 
40 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 shown a distinct genius for football. Many a time 
 have their rivals been absolutely nonplussed by 
 their tactics. It was the Welshmen that invented 
 the four three-quarter system, and, with all due 
 deference to our famous English clubs, it is the 
 Welshmen alone who play the four three-quarter 
 game as it should be played. Let us turn for a 
 moment to their opponents. We find International 
 teams of individually good players who yet cannot 
 combine. The Welsh team is never a scratch 
 fifteen of good men, each doing his best for him- 
 self, as is so often the case with the team that 
 England puts into the field. Every experienced 
 football player knows the advantage of combina- 
 tion over individual merit. At the same time, 
 England is far ahead of the little Principality, 
 having won ten matches to two credited to Wales, 
 while one has been drawn. Scotland, the great 
 rival of English football supremacy, has also run 
 up a long list of successes over Wales. She has 
 now won nine matches, and lost four, while one 
 has been drawn. Between Ireland and Wales, 
 the junior members of the football family, the 
 struggle has been close and exciting. The latter 
 has a slight lead at present, having won six 
 
THE PRESENT. 41 
 
 times to the former's five, one match being 
 drawn. 
 
 Though I have but lightly touched on the 
 development of this great game, it will be seen 
 that each change that has been made has been 
 in the direction of scientific and skilful play, as 
 opposed to pure brute force. The public have 
 recognized this, and so has the press. It is true 
 that now and again a particularly pugnacious 
 member of the " Peace Society," or some similar 
 body, attacks the game in somewhat the same 
 fashion as our friend Stubbes, describing it as little 
 better than a "bloodie and murthering practice." 
 Or it may be that a violent teetotaler declaims 
 against it as encouraging thirst and improper 
 language. But this is the exception, and not the 
 rule. Such prejudice is the legacy left to us from 
 the old days of hacking and tripping, to which, 
 strange as it may seem, some elderly players still 
 look back with an ill-concealed regret. Thus do 
 the sins of our football fathers descend upon their 
 children ; for the modern game is not brutal. To 
 a certain extent it is dangerous ; but, then, what 
 game is not ? Now and again a strong man loses 
 his temper, or performs an act of retributive justice. 
 
42 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 and then some slight damage Is done. I well 
 remember a famous International recounting his 
 experiences over his pipe on a winter's evening. 
 " Once," he said, in a peculiarly solemn tone, " I 
 was playing in Somerset against an up-country 
 team, who were well known for their hard play. 
 We had a little half, whose pluck was a great deal 
 too big for his body, and one of their big wing 
 forwards gave him a very poor time indeed. Well, 
 I got hold of that big forward and I sent him 
 outside the ropes." There was a pause, while the 
 giant sent a cloud of smoke into the listening 
 air. " What happened ? " I queried. " I don't 
 know," was the answer ; " he didn't come back 
 to tell me." 
 
 At the same time, serious accidents are of very 
 rare occurrence. A sceptical person can discover 
 that I do not simply speak as a mere football 
 enthusiast by comparing the number of players 
 with the number of accidents during the year. 
 They will find the percentage extraordinarily 
 small. The deaths from hunting, from skating, 
 or from boating are infinitely more numerous, 
 and yet faddists do not cry that we should 
 never steer our way across a dangerous bit of 
 
THE PRESENT. 43 
 
 country, or strap on our skates after a day's 
 frost, or go for a row with a picnic party. A 
 valuable bit of evidence is given us by that well- 
 known American sportsman, Caspar Whitney. 
 From his personal observation, he writes, " It 
 comes to me that there is no ' slogging,* and their 
 play is particularly free from 'roughing.' In all 
 the games I witnessed, in not one did I see the 
 slightest attempt -at anything savouring of ' slog- 
 ging.' Indeed, I am told the written and unwritten 
 law on the subject is extremely severe, and that 
 the transgressor would not only be ruled off the 
 field for that game, but stand a good chance of 
 being ruled off for the season. . . . Rugby Union 
 is much freer of unnecessary roughness than our 
 game as it is often played." It is pleasant to see 
 ourselves as others see us, and to find we are 
 regarded in so favourable a light. In America 
 the keenness to win finds expression in the neces- 
 sity for padded trousers, shin-guards, and head- 
 protectors. It is not surprising to learn that in 
 1894 the Cambridge member of the Massachusetts 
 State Legislature attempted to introduce a Bill pro- 
 viding for the punishment of one " who takes part 
 in a game of football when such a game is played 
 
44 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 in the presence of persons who have paid an 
 ajdmission fee to witness the same, or who promotes 
 the playing of a game at football when money is 
 (Charged for admission to the same, or who offers 
 or sells a ticket of admission to the game, or who, 
 while a student in an institution of learning, and 
 i while engaged in a game of football, beats, strikes, 
 or intentionally wounds or bruises another person 
 engaged in playing such a game." Such a Bill 
 has quite a flavour of mediseval England about 
 it, and would be improved by a few rounded 
 periods on the subject of the "beastlie furie," 
 and the other disadvantages of this "devilishe 
 pastime." 
 
 However, in England at least Rugby football 
 has a secure position, and any changes that may 
 occur in it will not be in the direction of " slog- 
 ging " or " roughing," as our kinsman terms rough 
 play. In the Universities, those most conservative 
 of institutions, it has got a firm hold. At first it 
 was regarded with considerable dislike. It was not 
 considered a gentlemanly amusement, though, in 
 connection with this, it must be remembered that 
 it was as late as the year 1837 that the Christ- 
 church crew at Oxford were requested to take 
 
THE PRESENT. 45 
 
 their boat off the river, although they were then 
 head of the summer eights, because the said 
 rowing was not a "gentlemanly amusement." 
 At a later date football aroused the hostility of 
 the boating men, for the strong and heavy athletes 
 who would make excellent " fours " and " fives " 
 in an eight were found "running about after a 
 piece of leather," as Cardinal Manning termed 
 the game. At Cambridge the opposition was so 
 strong that the boating men refused the football 
 players their " blue " — the distinguishing colour 
 which may only be worn by those who represent 
 their University in big athletic events. After a 
 great struggle, during which a great deal of bitter- 
 ness prevailed, the footballers, by a considerable 
 majority of the undergraduates assembled in the 
 Union Society's debating hall, were accorded the 
 right to wear the coveted coat of blue. At 
 Oxford the rowing men were more generous, and 
 granted the dark-blue coat as soon as it was seen 
 how popular the game was becoming, not only in 
 the Universities, but in England generally. 
 
 It would be easy to write many pages on the 
 advantages of the game, but it is unnecessary to 
 do so. The arguments in favour of athletics 
 
46 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 will apply to Rugby football. It teaches a man 
 to keep his temper ; it gives a vent to that 
 desire, inherent in the Anglo-Saxon race, to 
 rejoice in some form of hard bodily exercise. It 
 was this feeling that sent the youths of a century 
 ago strolling round the town, boxing the watch 
 and collecting bell-handles as assiduously as the 
 most ardent philatelist collects rare specimens of 
 postage stamps. Again, it keeps young men out 
 of the bars, and, in this respect, is not only not 
 dangerous, but life-saving, for the drinking of bad 
 whisky is far worse than the breaking of a collar- 
 bone. Of course every game has its disadvantages, 
 and football is no exception to the rule. What 
 they are, and how they are bound up with the 
 question of professionalism, I will point out in the 
 next chapter, on the probable future of the game. 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FUTURE. 
 
 y^^HE average prophet has not an enviable 
 •^^ position. Partly it is his own 
 
 fault. He always will insist on 
 taking an extreme view of the 
 future which passing events fore- 
 shadow. If he approves of the 
 present, he is wildly optimistic 
 as to the future ; if he objects to 
 the direction in which matters seem tending, he 
 cries aloud that everything is going to the dogs. 
 When he makes the inevitable mistake, there is the 
 inevitable candid friend — the worst of all enemies — 
 on the watch to turn and rend him when he least 
 expects it. If I now pose as a prophet, it is with 
 due apology for the presumption. I will at least do 
 my best to steer a middle course ; I will try to avoid 
 the necessity of "cutting " the candid friend. 
 
48 RUGBY Poof BALL. 
 
 Football, as I have already pointed out, began 
 with the people. When we first meet it in history 
 it was a people's game ; but for its first thirty 
 years modern Rugby football was far more 
 popular with the classes than with the masses. 
 It came from the great public schools, and the 
 first great clubs were composed almost entirely of 
 young men from the upper and middle classes. 
 Now, however, the game has been democratized 
 again, and is, in the North especially, the great 
 pastime of the labouring men. This is an excel- 
 lent thing in many ways. It has softened the 
 line dividing rank from rank ; it has shown the 
 labourer that committees do not merely consider 
 social position, but give the place in the team to 
 the best player suited to the post, irrespective of 
 who he may be. I remember an amusing in- 
 cident taking place at Cambridge which is quite 
 worth chronicling. A Cumberland team had 
 come up to play the University. After the con- 
 clusion of the game one of the visiting forwards 
 came up to a member of the county committee 
 who had accompanied the team to Cambridge, 
 and said, with an air of intense satisfaction, 
 " When we coom oop to Cambridge, A was tebble 
 
^ x-l:[''i:i:[^ 
 
 •,'-t 
 
 J. ■■•■■. 
 
THE FUTURE. 49 
 
 feared that they was nout but a set o' passons an' 
 that ; but t' fust mon as iver A git hod of, he 
 says to me, says he, 'Who the h — 11 are you a- 
 coUarin' ? ' A felt," said the worthy man, with a 
 placid smile of content on his face — " A felt nice 
 an' hoam-like after that." 
 
 Perhaps the best feature of this enthusiasm for 
 Rugby football which has grown up among 
 working men is the delight in hard exercise and 
 the consequent self-denial that it has taught them. 
 A man cannot spend his nights and his wages in 
 the public-house if twice a week he has to face 
 a hard struggle of forty minutes " each way." No 
 one is a keener sportsman than the true amateur 
 working-man football player. Many foreigners, 
 amongst whom the German Emperor stands con- 
 spicuous, have recognized the advantages of 
 artisan athletics. But it must be remembered 
 that they have an excellent substitute in their 
 military system. The few years of service, with 
 its gymnastic instruction, its route-marching, and 
 its general drilling, have a most favourable effect 
 on the national physique. We have, as is our 
 loudest boast — though why we should be so proud 
 of it it is difficult to understand — no compulsory 
 
 D 
 
so RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 conscription. It seems probable that without such 
 games as football we should gradually sink from 
 our present pretnikre position in muscularity 
 amongst the European nations. 
 
 So far we have seen only the bright side of the 
 picture, but there is a dark side as well. For 
 a long time veiled professionalism has existed 
 amongst the working men in the North of Eng- 
 land. The Rugby Union did what they could to 
 suppress it, but in vain. In 1895 the great 
 majority of Yorkshire and Lancashire clubs left 
 the Union, and formed a " Northern League " of 
 their own. At present they still claim the title 
 of "amateurs," but they have decided to pay 
 each man a sum of money for the loss of time 
 occasioned by his absence from his work. 
 Their arguments seem plausible enough. " Good 
 players," they say, " who belong to the labour- 
 ing classes, are required to appear for their club 
 two or three times a week, and yet are expected 
 to lose their pay for the half-day without a mur- 
 mur ; we only wish to remedy an injustice by 
 compensating them for the actual loss of wages 
 incurred." So far, perhaps, so good ; but the 
 Rugby Union knows, as well as do the Northern 
 
THE FUTURE. 51 
 
 clubs themselves, that this is but the thin edge of 
 the wedge. Once payments in hard cash are 
 publicly made, the regular wages of full profes- 
 sionalism will inevitably follow in time ; and " after 
 that — the deluge " for Rugby football in the North 
 of England. 
 
 The soil was ready for the sowing of the seed, 
 or rather, I should say, weed of professionalism. 
 Four or five years ago reports were in circulation 
 that certain players were regularly paid. A 
 standing joke against one well-known Interna- 
 tional, a University man, and one of the bitterest 
 opponents of professionalism, was, that after play- 
 ing brilliantly for a certain Yorkshire club, he 
 returned to the pavilion to discover that his 
 enthusiastic admirers had deposited two pounds 
 fourteen shillings and eightpence in his boots ! 
 His indignation can be better imagined than 
 described. Then, again, there was the extra- 
 ordinary increase of gate - money, due to the 
 increased interest taken in the game. Great was 
 the temptation to an enthusiastic committee when 
 a fine three-quarter would declare his inability to 
 continue to play, either because he could get no 
 work, or because he could not afford to lose the 
 
52 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 time, while at the same moment a good round 
 sum was standing to their credit at their bankers. 
 Further, the spectators, who supplied the sinews 
 of war, began to be considered far more important 
 than the sport itself. Regret would be expressed 
 that a game was slow, or consisting of many 
 scrummages, not because the players had not 
 enjoyed themselves, but because "it had proved 
 so uninteresting to the spectators." In other 
 words, a match was turned into a theatrical 
 entertainment, where the audience, having paid 
 the money, expected to get good value for it. 
 Betting, too, had made its appearance — betting 
 which, as Mr. Rowland Hill terms it, is an " un- 
 mitigated curse to any branch of athletics it con- 
 taminates." Such was the situation when last 
 year the Northern League broke from the Rugby 
 Union, and declared its intention of sanctioning 
 the payment of players for loss of time. 
 
 What will be the result of this change ? In the 
 first place, there is no doubt that the whole of the 
 clubs of the North of England will ultimately be 
 drawn into the professional vortex. It is very 
 discouraging to think of this fall of old clubs 
 and old traditions. For many years Yorkshire and 
 
THE FUTURE. 53 
 
 Lancashire have produced the finest players, and, 
 what is still more important, the most honourable 
 sportsmen in England. But as club after club 
 goes over to the great professional majority, the 
 amateur must be squeezed out. At first he will 
 join small amateur clubs, but as it becomes more 
 and more difficult for him to play in matches with 
 " foemen worthy of his steel," he will either cease 
 to take an interest in football, or his play will 
 deteriorate from the want of the practice which 
 closely contested games alone afford. If there are 
 any who do not believe this, let them look at 
 the records of Association football in the North 
 of England. From the moment professionalism 
 appeared, amateurism declined, until there is not 
 an amateur club, worthy of the name, between 
 Berwick and Hull. But this is by no means the 
 worst. I believe that the effect upon the game 
 itself will be disastrous. In Association the hard- 
 working rushing dribblers have disappeared ; a 
 complex machinery of tricky passes and " gallery " 
 tactics has taken the place of the style of play 
 followed by the man who turned out on the foot- 
 ball field for the sake of good sport, fresh air, and 
 healthy exercise. And Rugby is a very different 
 
54 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 game from Association. It is more complex, to 
 begin with, and the very rules, despite the fact 
 that of late they have been made more stringent, 
 presuppose that each player is a sportsman 
 who looks rather to the spirit than the letter 
 of the law. During the last few years in those 
 clubs in which veiled professionalism was in exist- 
 ence, the players have studied the laws merely to 
 find loopholes for evasion. It was not until 1 888 
 that penalties were inflicted for all serious forms of 
 foul play. At that time many of the old school of 
 Rugby footballers protested loudly. Let us, they 
 said, have no game at all if we cannot trust to the 
 sporting honour of the players. But penalties were 
 seen to be necessary, and what some matches 
 would now be like, if they were not in existence, 
 it is difficult to imagine. Let .us ■ listen to what 
 Mr. Montague Shearman says of professional 
 runners : " As soon as any sport has become so 
 popular that money is to be made out of it, and 
 men engage in it upon whom the loss of reputation 
 has little effect, it may be prophesied with certainty 
 that abuses will arise." This is not surprising. A 
 player who knows that he will have £i, in his 
 pocket if he wins the match, and only £2 if he 
 
THE PUTURE. 55 
 
 loses, is liable to find his sense of honour con- 
 siderably dulled. It is but natural, after all, that 
 he who plays for money is ruled by commercial 
 instinct, while he who plays for sport is ruled by 
 the instincts of a sportsman. Then there is the 
 spectator. To draw big gates he must be con- 
 sidered. The play must be altered to suit his 
 tastes. Can anything be more objectionable ? 
 The football players of the future will be com- 
 pelled to forget the honourable traditions of this 
 great English game, and to pander to the howling 
 mob that crowd the circular stands of some York- 
 shire Colosseum. Yet this is a movement en- 
 couraged by the Northern League. It has been 
 seriously proposed by them to alter the rules, 
 and reduce the number of players, in order that 
 the game may be faster and more "pleasing to 
 the spectators." I shrewdly suspect that, if the 
 truth be told, they hope, by knocking off two 
 forwards, to be able to save the weekly wages 
 they would otherwise be forced to pay them. 
 There is something to be said for their view of 
 the question. A travelling circus of fifteen men is 
 an expensive establishment to keep up. 
 
 In America we have an example of spectacular 
 
S6 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 football in full swing. In the great Inter-University 
 matches the "gate" is the first thing considered. 
 Not that the players are professionals, though a very 
 free hand is allowed them in expenses, but they 
 have become intoxicated with the interest taken in 
 them by the press and the public. For the benefit 
 of the curious, I will quote an account of a foot- 
 ball match, played in 1893, between Princeton and 
 Yale colleges, published by a leading American 
 newspaper. " Fifty thousand people," we are 
 told, " saw the great football game." The excite- 
 ment was so great that, though "it may be main- 
 tained at the same point for many more seasons, 
 it cannot," writes the enthusiastic reporter, " pass 
 the point reached to-day, unless nature provides 
 humanity with more and wilder means of express- 
 ing excitement than were possessed by the mad 
 thousands that watched the game on Manhattan 
 field." After some delay, "the excitement and 
 pent-up forces were turned loose in the usual way, 
 when a wildly agitated young man, clinging to the 
 top of a telegraph-pole over the dressing-rooms, 
 startled the stillness with a shriek, 'They're 
 coming ! ' The players appear. Then for five 
 minutes there were wild indistinguishable cheers. 
 
THE FUTURE. 57 
 
 a tumult of horns and rattles, punctured by the far- 
 carrying blast of a trumpet sounding a martial 
 call. The twenty-two shock-headed youngsters" 
 (why, by-the-by, do American athletes wear their 
 hair so long ? Is the fashion connected in any way 
 with the example set by Samson ? It would be 
 interesting to discover) "ran out on the gridiron 
 and began cavorting round, as porpoises in the 
 water. Still there were deafening cheers. The 
 substitutes, coachers, doctors, and attendants 
 spread themselves out on blankets along the north 
 side line ; the captains were called up by the 
 umpire for a serious word of warning against 
 rough play, and at last play was called." What 
 a theatrical and tawdry business it all seems ! 
 The spectators must be startled and interested. 
 Their enthusiasm must, if possible, be kept at 
 boiling point The sport to be enjoyed sinks 
 away into mere nothingness. After the play has 
 started a player is hurt. "Blake got up and 
 Hinkey did not. He was insensible, and was 
 bleeding from a cut near the right ear. He was 
 taken off the field, protesting in a dazed manner, 
 and it was supposed that he was out of the game. 
 The substitutes ran on the field and blanketed the 
 
S8 RUGBY FOOTBALL, 
 
 players, who roamed about looking like Indians, 
 while every one waited anxiously for the news of 
 Hinkey. That intrepid and silent young man 
 reappeared after his injuries were bathed and 
 bandaged, and played out the game, looking gory 
 but game." When her line was broken, "Yale," 
 we are told, "was dazed, Princeton was frantic. 
 Her substitutes fought the police in their efforts to 
 rush to their players." And so the report proceeds. 
 The American youths are undoubtedly plucky, 
 even to foolhardiness. I do not quarrel with 
 them there. What I dislike is this "improving 
 of the game," to speak in their own tongue, " off 
 the face of the earth." Their football is no longer 
 a sport ; it is an exhibition. " The outcome of the 
 contest," as one of their countrymen writes, "is 
 taken too seriously. The sight, familiar to us, of 
 members of a defeated football eleven throwing 
 themselves prostrate on the ground in an agony of 
 bitter disappointment, would, indeed, make English- 
 men stare in wonderment." " The English idea 
 appears to be," says the same writer, " an afternoon's 
 sport first, and winning and records afterwards." 
 This is a great compliment. May we deserve it 
 as much in ten years time as we do to-day ! 
 
THE FUTURE. 59 
 
 We may next inquire into what will result 
 from an alteration in the laws for the benefit of 
 the spectator. The game will be for the swift 
 of foot alone. Physique will be of little or no 
 consequence. The hard pushing in the scrum- 
 mage, which broadened and straightened young 
 football players in the past, will disappear, and 
 with it will go the raison d'etre of the game 
 in schools. Elderly football players have for 
 some time expressed strong opinions that the 
 "passing craze" is assuming absurd proportions. 
 I do not altogether hold with them there, but 
 I think it has gone about far enough. The 
 forwards are the majority and the backbone of a 
 Rugby football team. They must not become 
 mere heeling-out machines. The chief danger 
 of the professional spectacular game will be that 
 " the manly sport of football will degenerate into 
 the elegant art of catchball." It is true that, 
 as I have said, it will be most unsuitable for 
 schools, where doctors and head-masters agree 
 that the game is fast enough as it is. It is 
 also true that amateurs, who are in business all 
 the week, will find it impossible to maintain so 
 high a pitch of training as will be required if 
 
6o RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 they mean to compete with professionals. Yet, 
 after all, these are, so some think in the North, 
 mere matters of details not to be considered 
 for a moment while the public purse dangles 
 before the professional eye. Of one thing we 
 may be certain : the football of the future will 
 not be dangerous. With the same desire for 
 public approbation there will be none of the extra- 
 ordinary keenness that characterizes American 
 football. To the professional mind a broken 
 collar-bone is scarcely an equitable exchange for 
 a month's wages. To deal out rough play means, 
 in all probability, to receive rough play. Thus it 
 will come about that the professional will become 
 mild in his gambols as the proverbial lamb, though 
 I have no doubt that in any technical disputes 
 he will roar him as loudly as the proverbial lion. 
 
 Before I close the chapter, I should like to 
 say a few words on professionalism from the stand- 
 point of those men who take the money. There 
 is nothing dishonourable in their so doing. In 
 fact, the foundation of the Northern League has 
 this advantage — that all the humbug of the semi- 
 amateurism that has existed for some time is done 
 away with. If professionalism must exist, it is 
 
THE FUTURE. 6i 
 
 well for it to get up on a pedestal, and say what it 
 has to say for itself, and not slink about in holes and 
 corners. Mr. Montague Shearman read the signs 
 of the times correctly several years ago, when 
 he declared that payment of players must come, and 
 that the legislation of the Rugby Union was only 
 driving professionalism beneath the surface. He 
 concluded, however, that it would not seriously 
 injure the game, and called the professional 
 cricketer to witness that he spoke correctly. I 
 entirely differ from him there. I have said 
 that I believe that the effect of it upon the style 
 of play will be most injurious. Now I will go 
 further, and say that its effect upon the profes- 
 sionals themselves will be equally harmful. In 
 cricket there is a constant demand for cham- 
 pions who have passed their prime as groundmen, 
 bowlers at the nets, and umpires. But there will 
 be no such chances of employment for elderly 
 Rugby football professionals. If the Northern 
 League can carry out its pledges, and pays for 
 broken time alone, encouraging the players to 
 continue their work in the mills for the rest of 
 the week, all may be well. But the question 
 is, Can they do it? If the Rugby professional 
 
62 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 system is to be modelled on that practised by 
 the Association clubs, and men are bought by 
 one club from another, so that the richest club 
 may have the best team, while the players give 
 up their old employments to depend on football 
 alone, then, I say, the position of those men 
 will be most precarious. Fifteen men are a large 
 number to support, and it is doubtful if, as a 
 spectacle, Rugby football will attract the immense 
 crowds that flock to the Association matches. If 
 clubs get into difficulties, and if there are hints 
 that players, like rowing, running, and wrestling 
 professionals in the past, have taken bribes, the 
 public support will melt away, and they will find 
 themselves without a trade and without means of 
 support. Yet, again, the football life of a man is 
 but short, as compared to his cricketing life. At 
 twenty-eight or nine he is getting stiff, and Rugby 
 football of all games requires suppleness and 
 activity. In his ten years of play he will have 
 forgotten his trade, and grown accustomed to a 
 better style of living than his position warranted. 
 What will then become of him } It is not a 
 particularly pleasant thought to dwell upon. 
 
 I will quote a couple of extracts on the 
 
THE FUTURE. 63 
 
 subject from Mr. Whitney, whose work I have 
 already had occasion to mention. "What," he 
 asks, "has the professional done for Association 
 football in return for having taken it into the fold ? 
 He has given it a great popularity among his kind, 
 a popularity which, like a flash in the pan, will die 
 away as quickly as it flamed, once deprived of 
 artificial kindling. . . . He has, in fine, vitiated 
 the football atmosphere of the British Kingdom." 
 There is no doubt as to what is our American 
 friend's opinion. He hits out straight from the 
 shoulder. He is an authority too ; for, during his 
 stay, he inquired into every detail of English 
 sport in the most painstaking manner possible. 
 Listen to what he says on the whole subject : " It 
 is absolutely true that whenever or wherever an 
 element enters sport for profit, corruption is certain 
 to follow. Will any one tell me of one game 
 which professionals have dominated that has not, 
 starting out with a boom, ended in final decay after 
 a life of corruption and scandal? How runs the 
 history of professional foot-racing, boating, and 
 pugilism?" Right again, Mr. Whitney! Pro- 
 fessional "peds," as they were called, were dis- 
 covered to be so hopelessly corrupt, that the class 
 
64 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 to which they belonged became a bye-word 
 amongst sportsmen ; professional boating is prac- 
 tically dead ; while pugilists are for the most part 
 members of our colonies, who come over to box 
 for the purses we provide. Wrestling, too, he 
 might have added ; for many of its meetings have 
 been abandoned owing to the discovery that the 
 champions divided the prizes before they stripped 
 for the struggle. It was only due to its great 
 amateur strongholds at Oxford and Cambridge, 
 that boating was not entirely "dominated" by 
 professionalism. Running, for the same reason, 
 partially escaped its fell clutches. When at last 
 the public rose in its wrath and swept away the 
 mass of corruption which clustered round these 
 great sports, the amateur emerged stronger and 
 healthier for what had been done. But if the 
 whole of the North of England goes over to pro- 
 fessional Rugby football, and the imported player, 
 as is invariably the case, stamps out -what local 
 talent exists, then the game will have been entirely 
 " dominated " by professionalism. When the time 
 comes for the "roping" and "pulling," and the 
 shady tricks that appear with a decline of gate- 
 money and a lack of wages for the performers; 
 
THE FUTURE. 65 
 
 when at last the public shakes the football circus 
 from its shoulders, — then it will be found that 
 Rugby football is dead in those districts where 
 the professional flourished. It will have grown in 
 bad odour, amateurs will have given up the game 
 in disgust, and when, in the end, the professional 
 goes, as go he must, Rugby fpotball will disappear 
 with him. 
 
 What can an amateur do to stem the tide? 
 Little enough — as far as I can see. Time alone 
 can satisfactorily solve the problem of profes- 
 sionalism., At the same time, he can set his face 
 sternly against the slightest suspicion of pseudo- 
 amateurism. Let him play the game for the sake 
 of the game, and not of the spectators ; let him 
 be most scrupulous in his dealings with gate- 
 money. The amateur may fairly take money 
 for the railway and hotel expenses which he 
 incurs. It would be impossible otherwise for a 
 man, not too well blessed with this world's 
 goods, to travel about the country with his club. 
 I remember that when this very subject was 
 under discussion in a Cambridge newspaper, a 
 smart epigram appeared which is well worth 
 quoting — 
 
 E 
 
66 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 "You ask me whether 'tis to be commended 
 To take from out the gate enough to meet 
 
 What you in football tourings have expended. 
 Well, what did Samson, prototype athlete, 
 
 At Gaza? Some, of course, of what he then did 
 You may omit ; but mark how, when he beat 
 
 The Philistines, he did not hesitate, 
 
 But made his exit, taking all the gate." 
 
 Our amateurs must . not, however, be so extor- 
 tionate in their demands. If they follow the 
 example of the " prototype athlete " too far, they 
 will find a Delilah, in professional football, who 
 will cut their combs with a vengeance. Big 
 dinners, champagne, cigars, must come out of their 
 own pockets, or they will soon find that they will 
 be unable to cast out the motes from the profes- 
 sional eye by reason of the beams in their own. 
 It may seem that I have painted the picture 
 in sombre tints ; but I think that the majority 
 of football players will agree that I have not 
 exaggerated the dangers that threaten Rugby 
 football in the future. If I have done so, I most 
 humbly apologize. A bsit omen ! 
 
( 67 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FORWARD PLAY. 
 
 By Frank Mitchell, 
 Captain Cambridge XV., 1895; Captain England «>. Scotland, 1896. 
 
 Of Styles of Play. 
 
 SHOULD imagine that there is 
 nobody caring much about foot- 
 ball that has not enjoyed " Tom 
 Brown's Schooldays." Readers 
 will doubtless remember how 
 at Rugby the greater part of 
 the players spent their time 
 shoving in the scrummage. 
 The forwards bore the burden 
 and heat of the fray ; and, in spite of altered tactics 
 and altered rules, this may as truthfully be said 
 of the modern forwards as of those of an earlier 
 day. Of course they do the work in a different 
 manner ; but they have to do it all the same. 
 
68 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Several styles of play have been in vogue 
 since the game began. The scrummage has 
 not been excepted from this evolution, and 
 even now forward play may still be said to be 
 imperfect. When a team consisted of twenty 
 players a side, as it did in the sixties and early 
 seventies, some fourteen of that number (I speak 
 without authority) were in the scrummage, and 
 formed a large and compact mass, from which 
 the ball seldom emerged. Nowadays, when eight 
 forwards a side is the recognized number, it often 
 happens that the scrummage is no sooner formed 
 than it is broken up again. Old players amongst 
 us are fond of relating the Homeric conflicts 
 between the opposing forwards when a scrummage 
 lasted for five minutes, and one side gained the 
 mastery by straight, hard shoving. The end and 
 object of a forward's life was to shove straight 
 ahead, oblivious of the position of the ball, until 
 the other side was worn down before his and his 
 companions' efforts. Under such circumstances it 
 is easy to imagine that there was very little room 
 for any skill which was not backed by a large 
 quantity of muscle. Of course there is no doubt 
 that at that period there were some very fine 
 
FORIVARD PLAY. 69 
 
 players of the "bull-dog" type; but I venture 
 to state that did those players exist now, they 
 would either be completely run off their legs 
 or would have to entirely alter their style of 
 play. 
 
 In later times, when nine forwards and three 
 three-quarters were played, the game of the 
 forwards, though it may seem very reactionary to 
 say so, was almost an ideal one. They were not, 
 as we sometimes find them now, mere machines to 
 get the ball for their backs to do the work with, 
 but they were allowed to take their fair share of 
 the game both in attack and defence. In the 
 present day of four three-quarters, there are still 
 several styles of forward play quite distinct from 
 one another. Firstly, there is the Welsh style, 
 which, being interpreted, means that the chief duty 
 of a forward is to play for the benefit of his backs. 
 Secondly, we have the Scotch style, which many 
 call the old style. No doubt it bears a greater 
 resemblance to the play in vogue in the early 
 eighties than any other of the present systems. 
 Then we have, thirdly, the Yorkshire style, which 
 is the kick-and-rush game. Lastly, we have the 
 Southern and University style, which cannot be 
 
70 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 said to resemble the play of either the Welshmen, 
 Scotchmen, or Yorkshiremen. 
 
 In the Welsh game there is practically no 
 footwork. In Scotland, on the contrary, every 
 club has forwards who dribble splendidly, and in 
 this accomplishment they have dangerous rivals 
 in the Irishmen. An ideal style would be that 
 which combined the energy and footwork of the 
 Scotch with the neatness and passing power of 
 the Welsh. In time, I have little doubt that such 
 a style will be in vogue in the great clubs in the 
 South of England. 
 
 Forward play may be roughly divided under 
 the following heads : — Scrummage play, dribbling, 
 tackling, following up, touch play, and kicking. 
 
 Scrummage Play. 
 
 First, then, let us deal with the play in the scrum- 
 mage, which, all things considered, is by far the 
 most important part of the forward game. I think 
 that the first thing which is impressed on the majo- 
 rity of school forwards is to remember, on entering 
 a scrummage, that their duty is to shove hard and 
 to watch the ball. If all forwards paid attention 
 
FORWARD PLAY. 71 
 
 to these two rules, how much higher would be the 
 general average of the play in the present day ! 
 
 Now, as to the formation of a scrummage. 
 With eight forwards — the usual number nowadays 
 — the best plan would appear to be to have three 
 in the front row. To this there is one exception. 
 When near the goal-line of the enemy, let four 
 place themselves in the front row, for by this 
 arrangement it will be easier to heel the ball out 
 to the halves, and, in addition, the front row will 
 be able to hold back the sides of the opposing 
 scrummage from rushing on to the halves, and 
 preventing their passing the ball when they do 
 receive it. When packing for the scrummage, no 
 loose spaces should be left ; and the front rank 
 should take great care that their opponents do not 
 get under them, for they will thereby lose half their 
 shoving power. It is like the undergrip in a wrestle. 
 
 When the scrummage is packed, the possession 
 of the ball is the next thing to be thought of, 
 and the front rank should try to obtain it by 
 getting the first shove. There must be no stand- 
 ing on one leg while attempts are made to hook 
 the ball back with the other. While forwards 
 are trying to do this, the other side, if worth their 
 
72 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 salt, will shove them back, and thus be able to 
 take possession of the ball. If your forwards have 
 got the first shove and the ball, the rest is com- 
 paratively easy. The ball is now carefully stowed 
 away in the second rank — not further back — and 
 the plan of attack must at once be decided. If 
 the ball is to be shoved straight through, honest 
 hard work alone will succeed. Every man must 
 work " all he knows." If, on the other hand, the 
 idea is to screw the scrummage, the word must be 
 given, and the front rank at once must commence 
 to shove in the opposite direction to which the ball 
 is to go. By this they are able to push their 
 opponents off the ball, and leave the way clear 
 for the remaining five who have the ball in their 
 possession. The front three thus act as a screen, 
 behind which the five can develop the attack. 
 When the five have started off with the ball, the 
 remaining three should whip round and fall into 
 the rear rank. Every one should carefully watch 
 the ball throughout, and be always ready to use 
 their feet to steer the ball to one side or the other, 
 as may be directed by the captain. 
 
 Perhaps diagrams will better explain what I 
 mean to those who know but little about the game. 
 
FORWARD PLAY. 
 
 73 
 
 In the first diagram we see an ordinary scrum- 
 mage. The A forwards obtain the first shove, 
 and, pushing the B forwards back, obtain the ball, 
 which is stowed away in their second row, which 
 is underlined. In the second diagram we see the 
 front row of the A forwards pushing in the direction 
 of the arrow, and sliding off the B forwards from 
 
 1ST POSITION 
 
 B. B. 
 B. B. B. 
 B. B. B. 
 
 M\m r\m r^m 
 
 A. A. 
 
 IIIRD POSITION 
 A 
 
 B-B. 
 B.^B. 
 
 A. ^* 
 A. A. Aj;/'A..B. 
 
 A.A.^ 
 
 B. 
 
 the second and third rank of the A forwards. In 
 the third diagram we find the B forwards dis- 
 organized by finding the A scrummage melt away 
 before them, while the second and third row of the 
 A forwards are off with the ball in the direction of 
 the dotted line ; their first row now falls in behind 
 them, as shown by the curling arrows, leaving the 
 B forwards floundering after them. 
 
74 rugby football. 
 
 Dribbling. 
 
 We now find our forwards, having successfully 
 screwed the scrummage, ready for a rush to the 
 enemy's goal-line. It is absolutely necessary that 
 they should be able to dribble. The lack of foot- 
 work and of men who can dribble fairly well 
 amongst the English clubs is most surprising. 
 It is true that to dribble a Rugby ball while 
 running fast is a matter of no little difficulty, 
 but with practice there is absolutely no reason 
 why every player should not become fairly 
 efficient. Boys should be taught to dribble well 
 at school. At the Universities players have 
 plenty of opportunities for practice, and in the 
 majority of clubs they could, if they choose, put 
 in a quarter of an hour's fast dribbling of an 
 evening, which will keep them up to the proper 
 standard. As they make the rush, the forwards 
 should spread out like a fan, and pass with their 
 feet — after the manner of the players of the 
 Association game — each player, however, taking 
 great care to keep behind the man dribbling, and 
 thus "on side." When passing a ball in this 
 manner the young player will find it more easy 
 
FORWARD PLAY. 75 
 
 to use the outside of the foot than the inside. On 
 nearing the enemy's goal-line, the ball, if bouncing 
 about knee height, should be picked up, and the 
 passing amongst the forwards be continued by- 
 hand instead of by foot. The ball should not be 
 kicked over the line if it is possible to avoid 
 so doing. Kicking the ball over the line in Rugby 
 is practically the same as kicking it out of play 
 in Association ; for it is ten to one that some 
 one amongst the opposing side touches it down. 
 
 Tackling. 
 
 In the open a forward should always tackle 
 low and hard. But when at close quarters, as 
 at the touch-line, it will be found much better 
 to take a man round the shoulders. The neck 
 looks very tempting under these circumstances, 
 but my advice is leave it alone, and go for the 
 shoulders. Tackling by the neck, or " scragging," 
 as it is often called, may lead to an accident, 
 and is almost certain to produce some ill-feeling 
 which, it is hardly necessary for me to say, should 
 be avoided at all costs. A forward should be 
 always ready to come to the assistance of his 
 
76 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 backs by running after a man and tackling him. 
 He will find that, if he breaks out of the scrum- 
 mage as soon as the ball emerges from it, he will 
 often be able to double across the field in time 
 to be of valuable assistance in breaking up one 
 of those machine-like pieces of passing so much 
 in vogue at the present time. There is always 
 a chance that the man he is pursuing may be 
 turned by another player, and that he may be able 
 to catch him up and tackle him. 
 
 Following up. 
 
 Another important part of a forward's duty 
 consists in " following up." A forward must 
 follow up every kick — whether it be kick-off, 
 drop-out, or free kick — as hard as he can run. 
 There must be no slacking, no waiting for the 
 opposing three-quarters to return the ball if it has 
 not found touch. He must set off at top speed, 
 converging slightly, but not too much, towards 
 the point where the ball will fall. If two or three 
 forwards come charging down on a back at the 
 same moment, he will evade them — if at all — with 
 the greatest difficulty. On the other hand, it is 
 
FORWARD PLAY. 77 
 
 the simplest thing in the world to dodge a single 
 man running at top speed. When a forward sees 
 that his own backs are off with the ball, he should 
 follow up hard, so that he may be at hand to "take 
 a pass. The same rule applies in the case of a 
 single player breaking away with the ball from a 
 line-out ; he should never be unsupported. 
 
 The Northern forwards can teach the South- 
 erners a tremendous amount in following up hard, 
 though it must be confessed that they do not 
 always keep on-side when so doing. The muddy 
 state of the grounds on which the Northern teams 
 play renders it impossible for the backs to be sure 
 of catching the ball, and gives many more oppor- 
 tunities to those energetic forwards who have 
 followed up hard, and who are upon the backs 
 before they can recapture the ball should it be 
 fumbled by them. A great deal may be done, 
 wet or fine, by keen following up ; a player often 
 finds that the opposing three-quarter has missed 
 the ball, and that he has it in his possession with 
 only the back to pass before the goal is reached. 
 In moments like this he will fully appreciate the 
 rich reward of keen " following up." 
 
78 rugby football. 
 
 Touch Play. 
 
 This feature of the game, which I consider one 
 of the most interesting, has been most seriously 
 attacked during the past two seasons, and indeed 
 threatened with extermination. There are very- 
 few hints to be given as to how to get the ball, but 
 it is quite easy to prevent the other side from 
 getting it. Let everybody, in the first instance, 
 mark his man. The best players generally seem 
 to jump up to catch the ball, and some, as Lohden 
 of Blackheath, can catch it in one hand, and with 
 the other ward off his vis-A-vis as he tries to tackle 
 him. This style of play is not, however, recom- 
 mended to the notice of those who take less 
 than nines in their glove measure. If a player 
 gets through the line, he should be ready to give 
 a pass, and this should, as a general rule, be given 
 on the open side of play. 
 
 Kicking. 
 
 I have now dealt with those duties of a forward 
 which are generally considered to be of most 
 importance. But beyond these a forward should 
 
FORWARD PLAY. 79 
 
 make a point of practising kicking and catching 
 the ball. Two or three forwards are nowadays 
 always deputed to stand back at the kick-off to 
 catch and return short kicks. A slight error on 
 their part, either in the catching or in the kick- 
 ing, may easily turn into a serious blunder, 
 materially affecting the fortunes of the contest. 
 Moreover, if a forward is a safe kick, a sure catch, 
 and a hard tackle, he becomes of additional value 
 to his side, for he can be called out of the scrum- 
 mage either if one of the three-quarters is injured, 
 or if the goal-line is threatened, and a helping 
 hand amongst the backs is needed. In fact, at 
 the present time, a forward to be really of the 
 first rank should not only be able to do the heavy 
 cart-horse work of the scrummage, but also be 
 prepared, at a moment's notice, to undertake the 
 lighter and more skilful work of an outside. 
 
 A few words as to place-kicking — that much- 
 neglected branch of the game — may be of use, 
 although little can be said which will teach players 
 to become really proficient. Constant practice 
 is the secret of success in place-kicking. If 
 possible, always get the same man to place the 
 ball for you. When a try has been obtained 
 
8o 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 between the posts, or but a yard or two outside 
 them, so that the kick at goal is a short one, I 
 should advise a player to have the ball placed 
 straight up like an egg on end. For longer 
 
 I. For close place-kick. 
 
 2. For long place-kick. 
 
 distances have the ball placed with the lace upper- 
 most leaning towards the goal, so that a line 
 drawn through the centre of the ball would pass 
 
FORWARD PLAY. 8i 
 
 over the centre of the cross-bar. To explain my 
 meaning more fully, I have given a diagram (p. 80). 
 Finally — and this is the most important thing 
 of all — never take your eyes off the ball as you run 
 to kick it. Watch the ball from the moment you 
 start to the moment you kick. To look at the 
 goal or anywhere else is as fatal in place-kicking 
 as it would be in driving at golf or playing a ball 
 at cricket. The run for the longest kick should 
 not be more than from six to seven yards. 
 
 General Remarks. 
 
 Perhaps it might be of some interest to the 
 readers of this book if I tried to enumerate some 
 of the most distinguished forwards of the past few 
 years. As to all-round forwards, the best of recent 
 date have undoubtedly been W. E. Bromet, R. G. 
 MacMillan, and T. Cream. All these men are ex- 
 ceedingly strong, fast, and clever ; able both in the 
 tight and in the loose to display their powers to 
 great advantage. Next to them I should place C. 
 B. Nicholl, W. McEwen, G. T. Neilson, J. O'Conor, 
 T. Broadley, W. E. Tucker, and G. M. Carey. All 
 these men are sterling workers, and are never found 
 far from the ball, wherever it may be. Perhaps 
 
 F 
 
82 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 the best scrummage-player I ever saw was W. 
 Yiend. I firmly believe that he would be able to 
 shove any two players of the present day. The 
 amount of work he managed to get through was 
 simply enormous. R. D. Budworth, C. V. Rooke, 
 L. F. Giblin, and A. W. Boucher are the best " out 
 of touch" men of my time. At the wing game 
 none have ever been the equal of Sam Woods 
 and F. Evershed. The best forward teams in my 
 football experience have been those that represented 
 Newport in 1892, Ireland in 1894, and Scotland in 
 1896. And here may I be pardoned if I state 
 that, in my opinion, the Cambridge forwards of 
 the Christmas term of 189S were as powerful as 
 any of late years, though perhaps not quite so 
 dashing as some of the other teams that I have 
 mentioned. 
 
 The ideal weight for a forward is thirteen stone, 
 and five feet ten inches is, I should say, the ideal 
 height. A captain should, in picking his team, 
 try, as far as possible, to get together forwards of 
 the same size. They will pack far better in the 
 scrummage than a mixed lot of varying statures. 
 Let him, as I have already stated, remember to 
 have one or more men that he can call out of the 
 scrummage if necessary. It is sometimes good 
 
FORWARD PLAY. 83 
 
 policy for him to have out a forward in his own 
 twenty-five, especially if he finds that his forwards 
 can hold their opponents. 
 
 Finally, as a forward should never slack or 
 "take a rest" for a single instant during the 
 game, it is absolutely necessary that he should 
 get into condition and keep fit throughout the 
 season. " Early to bed and early to rise " should 
 be his motto. A pair of Indian clubs swung for 
 half an hour a day will do a great deal towards 
 keeping the muscles in working order. Further, 
 he should, if possible, take a daily run with the 
 ball, and also practise dribbling. And here I 
 should like to enter a protest against the use of 
 heavy dumb-bells. They only stiffen the muscles, 
 and do not impart any of that elasticity which is 
 so necessary for a player. A famous member of 
 bygone English teams once told me that he has 
 for many years regularly used the clubs for an 
 hour every day. Even as late as the last Inter- 
 national match at Glasgow he was anxious to 
 wager that he could swing them for an hour 
 without stopping! And he must be nearly forty 
 years old. May all the forwards of the present 
 day be able to make such a challenge when they 
 have advanced well into the next century ! 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HALF-BACK PLAY. 
 By R. H. Cattell, 
 
 Oxford University and English International. 
 
 |INCE the sixties, when Rugby football 
 first became a recognized game, its 
 ^;a^ history has been a history of 
 change. Each development has 
 been in the direction of greater 
 speed and great skill. The rules 
 that govern the game, and the 
 position and number of the players 
 have been altered from time to time. From 
 these alterations the style of half-back play has 
 not been excepted. At first the half-back was 
 by far the most important member of the back 
 division. He did nearly all the running and 
 most of the tackling. He never thought of any 
 
HALF-BACK PLAY. 85 
 
 one but himself. Passing was unheard of, being 
 considered practically equivalent to "funking." 
 Everything in the nature of " gallery " play was 
 entrusted to him. But when the number of 
 players was diminished, and forwards no longer 
 stuck in the scrummage, oblivious of what was 
 going on around them, the half-back had of 
 necessity to change his methods. 
 
 It was not, however, till 1881 that J. Payne 
 started the system of passing the ball out to the 
 three-quarters. He was followed by A. Rotherham, 
 who absolutely revolutionized half-back play. It 
 was he who demonstrated that a half-back should 
 not play for himself alone, and that he is, before 
 anything else, a link between the scrummage and 
 the three-quarters. He showed, too, what valuable 
 assistance a half could render to the three-quarters 
 by affording openings for them. "Rotherham's 
 game " was, and is, a household word in the great 
 Rugby football family. 
 
 During the last four or five years the style of 
 half-back play has again changed, though not to 
 such a great extent as in the time of Rotherham. 
 This was brought about by the introduction of 
 four three-quarters, and the consequent reduction 
 
86 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 of the number of forwards to eight, an alteration 
 which tended to make the game still faster, and so 
 more tiring to the half-back. There are so many 
 different opinions about modern half-back play, 
 that I feel that whatever any individual writes 
 about it is almost sure to meet with a certain 
 amount of adverse criticism. However, this is 
 only to be expected, when it is remembered that 
 the game has developed, and is still developing. 
 
 The position of half-back always seems to me 
 to be the most difficult of any on the field to fill 
 satisfactorily. Its importance is immense, for the 
 efficacy of the three-quarters depends almost 
 entirely on the play of the half-backs. Yet in 
 no position is commendation so rarely bestowed. 
 In the old days of football amongst the Yorkshire 
 operatives, there was a general rule of " When in 
 doubt, mob the referee." So with a great many 
 football teams there is a habit that may be 
 summed up in similar words, as, " When you play 
 badly, blame the halves." When forwards are 
 being rushed, and three-quarters will not take 
 passes, the lot of the half, like that of the 
 policeman in Mr. Gilbert's song, "is not a 
 happy one." 
 
half-back play. 87 
 
 The Qualifications necessary. 
 
 The most necessary qualifications for a half-back 
 are quickness, unselfishness, and pluck. At the 
 same time a certain amount of weight is a great 
 advantage; for behind losing forwards the half- 
 back has a very hard time indeed. There is a 
 tendency to play half-backs too light. A light 
 man often has exactly the quickness and activity 
 required, yet, with certain brilliant exceptions, he 
 cannot stand the wear and tear of hard defensive 
 play. It is most important that there should be 
 perfect understanding between the two halves. 
 Two moderate players who thoroughly understand 
 each other's game, will frequently score off two 
 first-class men who are playing together for the 
 first time. By the introduction of bye-play, and 
 those tricks which experience has shown to be the 
 most effective, they are able to entirely bewilder 
 opponents who, tliough individually superior, are 
 yet strangers to each other and lacking in the 
 necessary combination. Combination is the oil 
 which allows the passing machine to work smoothly 
 behind the scrummage. 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 The Attacking Game. 
 
 As the attacking game is the most important for 
 winning matches, it will be best to discuss a half- 
 back's play under these conditions first. Perhaps 
 I can make my meaning clearer by appending a 
 diagram of the system I am about to describe. 
 
 OPPONENTS GOAL LINE 
 
 TOUCH 
 LINE 
 
 © 
 
 B. 
 
 '•>». 
 
 B. 
 
 WQ 
 
 c. C. C, 
 
 TOUCH 
 LINE 
 
 A, the scrummage ; B, B, the half-backs ; C, C, C, C, the three- 
 quarters ; -^ direction of the ball. 
 
 Now, when the ball is in the scrummage near 
 the opponents' goal-line, the forwards will, if they 
 know their business, try and obtain the ball and 
 heel it out sharply and cleanly. The first half- 
 back should " work " the scrummage ; that, is to 
 
HALF-BACK PLAY. 89 
 
 say, he should stand about two yards behind it in 
 such a position that he may pick up the ball and 
 pass it to his partner the moment it emerges. The 
 second half-back should fall back some eight or 
 nine yards, and be ready to receive the ball from 
 his partner, and then either run himself or pass 
 it on to his three-quarters as opportunity offers. 
 The pass from the first to the second half-back 
 must be made in one motion, the ball being 
 swept off the ground and thrown hard and low 
 about the height of the thighs. The half-back 
 who is " working " the scrummage must not stand 
 too near to it ; for should the ball be heeled out 
 swiftly, it may go between his legs before he has 
 time to stop it. To have to turn round and run 
 after it is fatal, for the opposing half will, in all 
 probability, reach it as soon as he does himself. 
 There are several other risks which are run by 
 standing too close to the scrummage. A half, for 
 example, may find himself penalized for picking 
 the ball out from amongst the legs of his forwards, 
 or, worse still, he may get badly kicked in the 
 face by some enthusiastic heeler-out in the back of 
 the scrummage — an accident which once occurred 
 to the writer, and resulted in a severe black eye. 
 
9° RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 The half "working" the scrummage should rarely 
 try to run himself. Good opponents will never 
 leave him unmarked. He must also remember 
 that there is another half and four three-quarters 
 waiting for the ball, who are put there for the 
 purpose of scoring tries. The half that is standing 
 back may, if he finds himself unmarked, run him- 
 self, as he will then be able to slip through the line 
 of opposing three-quarters, and have only the 
 full back to dodge. If this manoeuvre is tried, 
 his partner must take care to back him up closely, 
 that he may find a friend to whom he may pass 
 should the full back seem able to tackle him. 
 But if, as is usually the case, he finds himself 
 watched too closely, he must hand on the ball 
 as quickly as he can to the nearest three- 
 quarter. A half should remember two other 
 points which are of extreme importance. He 
 must always see exactly where he is going to 
 send the ball before he throws it. A wild pass is 
 terribly risky. His opponents may secure the 
 ball while his three-quarter is fumbling with it, 
 and thus put a very different complexion on the 
 game. He must, as the second point, make a rule 
 never under any circumstances to pass the ball 
 
HALF-BACK PLAY. 91 
 
 over his head, or, in other words, raise the ball 
 over his head, and then throw it while in that 
 position. The result is, nine times out of ten, 
 that the ball falls at the feet of the three-quarter 
 to whom it is sent, and it thus becomes practi- 
 cally impossible for him to secure it. This 
 method of passing has the further disadvantage 
 that, when the ball is despatched from such a high 
 level, it may be easily intercepted by an opposing 
 three-quarter, who rushes in to seize it. Let him 
 therefore throw it hard and low with an underhand 
 sweep, and, as I have said, let it reach the three- 
 quarter to whom it is directed at the level of his 
 thighs or waist. 
 
 When very near the opponents' goal-line a timely 
 dash by a fast half-back will often result in a score, 
 when a pass back to the three-quarters would only 
 lose ground. A man must of course rely on his 
 own judgment in such matters. At the same time, 
 I will give the plan (p. 92) of a combination between 
 the halves that may be tried once or twice during 
 a game when close to the goal-line of the enemy. 
 
 Here the second half-back, instead of retiring 
 eight or nine yards back from the first half-back, 
 who is taking the scrummage, stands nearer to 
 
92 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 him, and between him and the touch-line, instead 
 of outside of him, as shown in my first diagram. 
 When the first half-back gets the ball he gives it 
 to the second, who dashes in, keeping close to the 
 touch-line. It is a smart piece of play, but should 
 not be tried too often, as it is useless if the other 
 side are on the look out for it. 
 
 TOUCH 
 LINE 
 
 
 GOAL LINE 
 
 
 
 
 
 © / 
 
 B. B. 
 
 c. 
 
 c. 
 
 c. 
 
 c. 
 
 TOUCH 
 LINE 
 
 A, the scrummage ; B, B, the half-backs j C, C, C, C, the three- 
 quarters ; > path of half-back. 
 
 As an example of modern offensive play I think 
 I may say, without fear of contradiction, that that 
 of C. M. Wells, the late Cambridge half-back and 
 English International, is the most brilliant and in 
 every way worthy of being copied. 
 
HALF-BACK PLAY. 93 
 
 Defensive Play. 
 
 The hardest part of a half-back's duties consists 
 in defensive play. Defensive play to a half-back 
 generally means either stopping the rushes of the 
 forwards of the opposing team after they have 
 routed the forwards on his own side, or else watch- 
 ing the opposing halves to see that they do not 
 get away with or pass the ball when it is heeled 
 out of the scrummage to them. Stopping forward 
 rushes is a most unpleasant performance, and it is 
 hardly necessary to say that, like many other dis- 
 agreeable duties, it is often " more honoured in the 
 breach than the observance." Yet a half-back will 
 never be worth his salt until he can do what in 
 football language is known as " donkey work." It 
 is a very important part of the game, and every 
 half-back should pay particular attention to it, for 
 an inferior team has often been known to stave off 
 defeat by the persistent efforts of its halves, and 
 eventually win by a dropped or a penalty goal. 
 A half can only stop the rushes of the opposing 
 forwards by throwing himself on the ball. Never, 
 under any circumstance, must he try to stop the 
 ball with his foot, as he is naturally tempted to 
 
94 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 do. He may miss it, he may be pushed out of the 
 way, he may kick it straight into the hands of an 
 opposing three-quarter ; in a word, a flying kick is 
 to be strictly avoided by all good halves, for the 
 chances against its success are about three to one. 
 
 It certainly sounds both difficult and dangerous 
 to throw one's self on the ball at the feet of eight 
 burly forwards, but if it be done as the scrummage 
 is breaking up and before they' get their pace 
 up in the open it is fairly easy, and the risk of a 
 bad kick is but slight. I should advise a half to 
 read the hints given by C. J. N. Fleming in his 
 chapter on "Three-quarter-Back Play" in the 
 present book. He points out the danger of falling 
 " head on " to the feet of the advancing forwards, 
 and suggests that the best method is that of falling 
 as much as possible away from them, so that the 
 back and hips are turned towards them. But there 
 must be no hesitation and no funk. Funk is the 
 cause of the majority of accidents just as much in 
 football as in hunting or mountaineering. " He 
 who hesitates is lost," is a safe maxim for Rugby 
 football. 
 
 Of the players of the present day, W. P. 
 Donaldson, the Scotch International, gives the 
 
HALF-BACK PLAY. 95 
 
 best exposition of stubborn defensive play, and it 
 requires a brilliant set of forwards to keep the ball 
 out of his embrace. 
 
 I will now speak of the position of the halves 
 when the opposing forwards have obtained pos- 
 session of the ball in the scrummage, and are 
 trying to heel it out to their own halves, who are 
 waiting to receive it in the manner I have already 
 described in my remarks on the attacking game. 
 Perhaps I had again better give a plan that will 
 illustrate my meaning. 
 
 HOME GOAL LINE 
 
 A, the scrummage ; B, B, half-backs ; C, C, C, C, three-quarters ; 
 D, D, attacking half-backs ; E, E, E, E, attacking three- 
 quarters ; -^, — >, lines in which players must run upon D 
 getting the ball. 
 
96 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Under these circumstances the home halves, 
 B, B, must follow the ball round the scrummages 
 as they see it being passed backwards by the heels 
 of the attacking forwards. They must not, accord- 
 ing to the latest rules, get in front of it or hamper 
 the attacking half who is "working the scrum- 
 mage " before he has the ball ; but immediately 
 it comes out of the scrummage they must make a 
 rush for it, and try either to secure it themselves, 
 or so hamper the attacking half-back who is 
 " working " the scrummage that he cannot pass it 
 to his companion. If he is able to pass it, they 
 must run on and help their own three-quarters to 
 tackle their opponents. The arrow lines I have 
 drawn will show the right movements that must 
 be made by the home half-backs and three-quarters 
 the moment the ball is seen to be in the hands 
 of their opponents. 
 
 One of the elementary rules drummed into boys 
 at school is that they must never pass the ball in 
 their own twenty-five, for fear of the pass being 
 intercepted or some miscatch made that would 
 give the ball to the enemy. This style of play is 
 nevertheless practised by the Welsh players with 
 some success. Yet it is so extremely dangerous that 
 
HALF-BACK PLAY. 97 
 
 the rule should never be broken by any one who 
 is less skilful at passing than are the Welshmen. 
 On the contrary, if the half gets possession of the 
 ball in his own twenty-five he should always try to 
 punt into touch. He must be careful not to punt 
 into the open field, or he may present his opponents 
 with a dropped goal. It is thus absolutely neces- 
 sary that he should be able to punt well with 
 either foot. Nothing disheartens attacking forwards 
 so much as a good punt into touch, which regains 
 the ground they have worked so hard to win. 
 This was particularly noticeable in the England v. 
 Scotland match of 1895, when the punting into 
 touch by the Scotch halves went a long way 
 towards the victory of their side. 
 
 Throwing out of Touch. 
 
 Another duty falls to the half-back which I 
 wish to mention, namely, throwing the ball in from 
 the touch-line. Some teams adopt the plan of 
 each forward taking a particular place in the line- 
 out, but I do not think this advisable. The half- 
 back should have a good look to see where his 
 best forwards are standing, and then try to drop 
 
 G 
 
98 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 the ball into their hands. Some forwards are well 
 known for their good play in the line-out, amongst 
 •whom I should mention S. M. J. Woods, of 
 England, and C. B. Nicholl, of Wales. Players 
 who are famous for their skill in this branch of 
 the game adopt two methods. The one consists 
 in standing slightly back from the line of men, 
 and when the ball is dropped by a knowing half- 
 back just opposite to where they are standing, they 
 come at it with a rush that takes them through 
 the opposing line of forwards. The other consists 
 in simply taking the ball in an ordinary manner, 
 and then either ducking their heads and bolting 
 under the arms of their vis-d-vis, or attempting to 
 slip past him in the best way possible. It is 
 thus sufficiently obvious that the art of throwing 
 in the ball from the line-out should be made the 
 subject of careful study by every half-back. As 
 in everything else, proficiency can only come by 
 practice, and to that I recommend him. 
 
 Another important point must be mentioned, 
 although it has probably been known to every 
 half-back since he first arrayed himself in his 
 school jersey. When his own goal-line is threat- 
 ened, he must throw the ball but a short distance 
 
HALF-BACK PLAY. 
 
 99 
 
 into the field ; when, on the contrary, he belongs 
 to the attacking side, he should, subject to certain 
 circumstances above mentioned with regard to the 
 position of the players, throw it as far out as 
 possible. For this the reason is obvious. By 
 sending the ball into the middle of the field he 
 affords an opportunity for loose play amongst the 
 forwards and three-quarters, and also makes it 
 probable that, if a try is to be obtained, it will 
 be obtained in an advantageous position for kick- 
 ing a goal. To throw the ball far out when 
 near his own goal-line is simply suicidal. Much 
 ground may sometimes be gained at the throw-out 
 from touch by a combination between a half and 
 a forward who know each other's play. Thus a 
 half may throw the ball to a forward near the 
 touch-line, who thereupon turns his back on the 
 opponent who is marking him and passes the ball 
 again to the half, who has by this time run from 
 the touch-line to receive it. The forward may be 
 tackled, but if he is big and strong it is hard for 
 his opponent to prevent the pass. The half, when 
 he obtains the ball, can either pass to a three- 
 quarter, or slip through the line, or, best of all, 
 kick into touch further down the touch-line. 
 
loo RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Of course it is not meant that a half should 
 always adopt the same tactics, for the more he 
 varies them the more completely will he "bluff" 
 his vis-d-vis. Some half-backs seem to have a 
 natural genius for the game, and can see at a 
 glance what combinations are likely to prove 
 successful ; some, on the other hand, do not pos- 
 sess this gift, and then they must watch and 
 attempt to imitate those who are more fortunate 
 in this respect than they are themselves. 
 
( lOI ) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. 
 
 By C. J. N. Fleming, 
 
 Captain of Oxford University, 1890. 
 
 jjf N writing of three-quarter-back play, I 
 may safely assume that in the vast 
 majority of clubs four three- 
 quarters are played, although 
 the old style of three still 
 lingers in Scotland. As a 
 matter of fact, it does not make 
 much difference whether three 
 or four are played, for the style of game is 
 practically the same. Of course the four three- 
 quarter game is the more difficult, owing to its 
 complexity ; but a really good player is good 
 either as one of three or one of four. Nor does it 
 make much difference whether a player is on the 
 wing or in the centre, for a good player ought at 
 
102 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 once to adapt himself to his position. The first 
 essential in a three-quarter is that he should be a 
 good defensive player. This is a point which is 
 often overlooked, for people seem satisfied with 
 players who may be brilliant try-getters, but 
 whose defensive play is very weak. This, I feel 
 certain, is wrong, and there is no reason why a 
 player should not be equally practised in both 
 departments. For defence, a player must kick, 
 must save, and must tackle. 
 
 Kicking. 
 
 As for kicking, there are not many hints to be 
 given ; it can only be learnt by practice. A 
 player must learn to be a safe catch and safe 
 field, and then learn to kick quickly. Drop- 
 kicking is, I am sorry to say, rather at a discount 
 nowadays ; for unless a player is a very sure kick, 
 dropping at goal does not pay. When further 
 a-field, a punt is probably more accurate, can be 
 kicked rather quicker, and is just as effective. At 
 the same time, young players should practice 
 dropping assiduously ; for if a player can drop- 
 kick well, he will always get innumerable chances 
 
THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. 103 
 
 of making good use of this art. In punting, the 
 first thing to learn is to punt the ball to a par- 
 ticular spot. This is not hard in practice ; but, 
 of course, in a game it is not easy to accurately 
 land your kick in touch at the right place. 
 
 But kicking into touch, though the simplest form 
 of kicking and perhaps commonest, is by no means 
 the most important. Judicious kicking for follow- 
 ing up is i-eally the highest form of the art. In 
 kicking for following up, the idea is to kick the 
 ball in such a way that it will reach the ground 
 just as the kicker, or some one else on the kicker's 
 side who was not off-side when the kick was made, 
 arrives there, and either appropriates the ball 
 himself or prevents an opponent from returning 
 the kick. When playing against a strong wind 
 this usually proves most effective ; down wind, too, 
 when a back finds himself close to his own goal 
 a high kick into the field well followed up will 
 prove a good way of clearing his lines. 
 
 Then, again, there are short kicks just over an 
 opponent's head. Take, for instance, the case 
 of a player coming straight at a full back, unsup- 
 ported by any one to whom he may pass. In 
 such an emergency the runner may punt the ball 
 
I04 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 just over the back's head, catch it again either on 
 the bound or else before it touches the ground, 
 and go straight in and obtain a try without 
 slackening his pace. It is almost impossible for a 
 back to stop a man under these conditions, but it 
 is an extremely difficult bit of play. To learn it, 
 a player should constantly practise giving small 
 punts straight in front of him, following up and 
 trying to catch them. As a variant of this 
 manoeuvre, a player should study the trick of kick- 
 ing across to one of his own side. Thus suppose he 
 is well away, but is blocked in front, or is afraid to 
 pass through fear of having his pass intercepted ; 
 he should then kick across in front of his own 
 forwards, but taking care that the ball flies over 
 the heads of his opponents, so that one of his 
 own side may dash forward and secure it. His 
 opponents are helpless, for they have no time to 
 turn round and get the ball themselves. To 
 better explain my meaning, I will give a diagram 
 of the field of play (p. 105). 
 
 I mention these things to show what can 
 be done by neat, accurate kicking, and what 
 should be practised. On the other hand, young 
 players should remember that they must not 
 
THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. 
 
 los 
 
 attempt tricks to the detriment of more solid play ; 
 and that it is the first duty of a player, before 
 
 GOAL 
 
 TOUCH 
 LINE 
 
 B 
 
 B B/ 
 / B 
 
 B 
 
 // 
 
 TOUCH 
 LINE 
 
 c c c 
 
 A, player running with the ball. B, B, B, opponents waiting to 
 tackle him ; they block his path, and he is afraid to pass the ball 
 lest it should be intercepted. C, C, C, forwards backing up A, 
 but keeping just behind him, and therefore " on side." X , place to 
 
 which A kicks over the heads of B, B. ^, lines in which 
 
 C, C, C run on A kicking, and thus secure the ball at x before 
 any of the B players. 
 
 anything else is attempted, to learn to kick 
 accurately into touch. 
 
 Saving. 
 
 Now as to " saving," or, in other words, stopping 
 forward rushes when the ball is being dribbled 
 along the ground. Far the most effective plan to 
 
io6 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 stop forwards when they are close upon you is 
 to fall on the ball ; but it must be done in the 
 right way. A player must not kneel over the 
 ball, and present his head to the forwards' feet, 
 for that is most dangerous. He should He on the 
 ball, with the ball under his arm-pit, his head 
 turned away from the forwards, and his back 
 presented to receive what knocks may come ; or, 
 to put it in another way, he should really be 
 on the same side of the ball as that on which 
 the advancing forwards are, and the ball should 
 be jammed in his arm-pit. In this way there is 
 little danger of accident, and, usually speaking, 
 it is not a difficult feat. For instance, when the 
 ball is kicked just past him, it is quite easy 
 for him to turn round, throw himself down full 
 length, and gather the ball under his arm. As 
 a matter of fact, this is the only thing for him 
 to do when the ball has been kicked behind him, 
 for he will have no time to stoop down and pick 
 it up. But when the ball is in front of him, it 
 is quite another matter. Then he should certainly 
 pick up the ball when he can, though, if neces- 
 sary, he must not have the slightest hesitation 
 about falling on it. The difficulty under these 
 
THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. 107 
 
 circumstances is to decide whether to rush in and 
 pick up the ball, or whether to fall upon it in 
 the manner I have described. Of course, from the 
 spectacular point of view, it seems the smarter 
 play to make a dash and gather the ball ; but at 
 the same time there is no good his making a dash 
 if the forwards can kick the ball before he gets 
 to it. No coaching can show to a player when 
 is the right moment for him to dash in ; — it only 
 comes by experience. Yet, perhaps, the best 
 advice to give is this — dash in and try to pick 
 the ball up if there is but half a chance, for in this 
 case boldness is better than caution. 
 
 Of all points of three-quarter play, saving from 
 forwards demands the most pluck, the greatest 
 quickness, and the soundest judgment. A smart 
 three-quarter, who knows exactly the right moment 
 to make a dash for the ball, can nip it from under 
 the very feet of the forwards, and perhaps get 
 away himself. Yet few players can do this really 
 well, while I am afraid there are only too many 
 who bungle dreadfully. 
 
 A wing three-quarter should always be on the 
 look-out for dashing down on dribbling forwards 
 from the side. Above I have been speaking of 
 
io8 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 a player who is standing right in the path of a 
 forward rush, but a player who is at the side of 
 the line the forwards are taking is in a capital 
 position to stop them. His duty will be to rush 
 in at right angles to the line they are taking, and 
 gather the ball. If this is done well, he may pick 
 up the ball, fly before their very faces, and yet get 
 off. If he cannot do this, he may charge in among 
 them and upset them, and though he may not 
 actually stop them, he may so - throw them off the 
 run that another back has no difficulty in getting 
 the ball. Consequently a wing three-quarter 
 should always be on the look out for swooping 
 down from the side on to a forward rush. 
 
 Tackling. 
 
 And now to say a few words about tackling, 
 which is an all-important feature of three-quarter 
 play. The first thing that all must learn is to 
 tackle low. By that I mean putting down the 
 head, and charging straight at a man's waist, 
 throwing the arms round him at the same time. 
 The force of the charge alone will probably turn 
 the runner over, but if it does not the runner will 
 
THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. 109 
 
 come down as soon as the arms grip, especially 
 if the tackier give a pull at the same time. This 
 tackle, of course, is well known, and every boy and 
 young player should learn it. It is quite easy, you 
 will find, if a runner is running round you, and 
 he is not much faster or bigger than you are. You 
 should get close before you attempt it, and then 
 down with your head and go straight in. Once 
 you have done it successfully you will do it again, 
 and very soon learn to be a " dead " tackier. But, 
 unfortunately, nowadays this particular form of 
 tackle cannot always be used. It is all right when 
 a player is attempting to run round you or away 
 from you, but it is not easy if a player is coming 
 straight at you, and, just before he reaches you, 
 turns. If a player runs straight at you, hoping 
 you will funk or get out of his way, wait for him ; 
 then, as he gets quite close, open your arms, stoop 
 down, and throw yourself forward at his waist, 
 putting your head, not in his stomach, but by his 
 side. The result will be that the runner comes 
 right down on his back, with you on the top, or 
 if you have not managed it quite successfully, 
 or he has swerved to the side, you may yet bring 
 him down much in the way that you do when 
 
no RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 tackling a person running round you. If you 
 have to tackle a really good dodging runner, your 
 only chance is to rush him. By this, I mean that 
 you must not wait for him, but must dash straight 
 at him, and attempt to tackle him in a similar 
 manner to that which you would employ when 
 trying to stop the ordinary runner. If he is really 
 good you may very possibly miss him ; but it is 
 your best chance. 
 
 Moreover, as the game is played nowadays you 
 have to be very careful not to tackle the wrong 
 man. A runner will come up to you, and try to 
 entice you to tackle him ; as you make your rush 
 he passes the ball, and the two of you are left on 
 the ground, while another opponent is off down the 
 field. But this will be more obvious when we have 
 discussed passing and offensive tactics generally. 
 
 The Attack. 
 
 For the attack there is one golden rule, and 
 that is, when the ball is in your hands run as 
 hard as you can, and as straight as you can, but 
 the moment you find yourself blocked in front 
 pass the ball at once. Remember this, you young 
 three-quarters, and as soon as you see one of your 
 
THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. in 
 
 own side in a better position than you are your- 
 self, pass the ball to him. Now, this rule seems 
 very simple, and it is strange to find how badly 
 it is often bungled. To begin with, accurate 
 fielding and accurate throwing are necessary. A 
 player must be able to give and take a pass 
 while he is running full speed, and there must be 
 no stumbling or hesitation. A pass should be 
 low, that is, it should come to the waist of the 
 player to whom it is thrown. It should go straight, 
 not in a curve, and should be thrown rather in 
 front of the runner, though how much in front 
 depends of course upon the pace at which the 
 man who is to receive the pass is travelling. All 
 this can be learnt from practice on the field, and 
 should so be learnt and practised diligently ; for 
 passing will never be carried out successfully in a 
 match until it can be done successfully in practice. 
 But to resume. Having assumed that a certain 
 accuracy in giving and taking passes has been 
 attained, let us see how the three-quarters ought 
 to stand on the field, and what their duty is 
 to each other. Let us suppose, in the first in- 
 stance, that the scrummage is formed close to 
 the right touch-line. The right wing three-quarter 
 
it2 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 ought to Stand about three or four yards away 
 from the nearest half-back ; he should be well 
 behind the half-back, that is to say, quite a couple 
 of yards nearer his own goal ; he should also be 
 nearer the centre of the field. The right centre 
 three-quarter should occupy, with regard to the 
 right wing three-quarter, a relatively similar 
 position to that which the right wing three- 
 quarter occupies with regard to the half-back. 
 He should be well behind him, and rather further 
 towards the centre of the field. The left centre 
 and the left wing should occupy similar positions, 
 so that the three-quarter line is stretched right 
 across the field, one behind the other. 
 
 The diagram on p. 113 may help to make my 
 meaning clear. 
 
 Now, as soon as the ball comes out of the 
 scrummage into the hands of one of the halves, 
 the whole line should commence to run straight 
 forward ; the first half will probably pass straight 
 to the second half, and the second half almost at 
 once to the right wing three-quarter. He by that 
 time will have got well under weigh, and if he 
 sees an opening he should dash straight through. 
 If, however, as is more probable, he does not, he 
 
THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. 113 
 
 should at once pass to the right centre. The 
 latter may now see an opportunity of going 
 straight through, which he should take if he can. 
 If not, he must use his own judgment as to whether 
 he should at once pass to the inside left, which is 
 commendable, or whether he should run a bit and 
 
 C. C. c. 
 
 c. 
 
 B 
 B 
 
 o 
 
 n C C. 
 
 c. c. c. 
 
 B- 
 B- 
 
 A, A, touch-lines ; O, scrummage ; B, B, half-backs ; C, C, C, C, 
 three-quarter backs. 
 
 then pass, or whether he should kick. Supposing 
 he passes to the left-centre, if the passes have all 
 been smart, so that no time has been wasted, the 
 left-centre should have a good chance of getting 
 away. When he receives the ball he should be 
 running nearly at top speed, and he will probably 
 
 H 
 
114 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 find himself well clear of his opponents. If he 
 has a chance he should run on ; if not, he should 
 pass out to his wing, who will very likely have a 
 still better opportunity of running straight on. 
 
 Now, if a three-quarter should break through 
 or slip past the opposing three-quarters, he will 
 find himself with a field more or less clear of his 
 opponents. The full back may be in his way, or 
 able to get in his way ; there is, of course, the 
 further danger of his being cut off by some one 
 running across from the other side of the ground. 
 If, however, he is fairly fast, and has a good lead, 
 there is not much chance of his being tackled in 
 this way. The real problem is how to get past the 
 full back without slackening his speed to such an 
 extent as to give his pursuers, who are hard 
 on his track, a chance of getting up to him. 
 Well, a three-quarter should, in the first place, 
 go straight ahead as hard as he can, and on no 
 account slacken his pace. He then should at 
 once look out for some one to whom he may pass. 
 If he be the wing three-quarter, he should easily 
 find some one inside to whom he may pass. But 
 it is very often the case that a three-quarter gets 
 clean away, and none of his side back him up to 
 
THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. 115 
 
 take his pass ; so be it remembered that it is the 
 duty, particularly of the three-quarters, to back 
 up any one of their side, and so be in a position 
 to take the pass. If, however, he finds himself 
 unsupported, he must make up his mind to try 
 and dodge the back, or run round him, or, as I 
 have suggested, punt over his head. 
 
 For purposes of illustration, I took an instance 
 where the scrummage was situated at the side of 
 the field. But the system is the same wherever 
 the scrummage may be. Thus, if the scrummage 
 takes place in the centre of the field, there will 
 be two three-quarters on either side of it. If half 
 way between the centre and touch-line, there will 
 be one three-quarter on the side towards touch, 
 and three on the other side. In this way there 
 will always be a little shifting going on amongst 
 the three-quarters, and it must be left to the 
 players' own judgment to decide when and how 
 they shall change their positions. 
 
 The Defence. 
 
 But so far we have been assuming that the ball 
 is amongst our own forwards in the scrummage, 
 
Ii6 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 and is likely to be passed out by our own halves. 
 Under these circumstances the formation I have 
 explained is the right one. But when the reverse 
 is likely to happen, that is to say, when we see 
 that the ball will probably come out to our 
 opponents, our three-quarters — the two or three 
 nearest the scrummage, at any rate — must draw 
 up ; by that I mean they should stand as near 
 the attacking three-quarters as they can without 
 violating the rules. As soon as the ball comes out 
 to their opponents, they should rush straight at 
 the man to whom it will be passed, and try to 
 reach him as soon as the ball does, or even sooner. 
 That, of course, is the simple plan to stop machine- 
 like passing, but in practice it will never quite 
 work out smoothly. There is always a great 
 deal of scope left for the individual genius of 
 each player, which will impel him to dart at this 
 man instead of that, to dodge instead of pass, to 
 kick instead of run. I am thankful that it is so, 
 for this is the peculiar fascination of the game, 
 in that it does call forth and reward individual 
 effort, and that play which can only be termed 
 machine-like is more often beaten than not. 
 In defence, then, a player must use his judgment. 
 
THREE-QUARTER-BACK PLAY. 117 
 
 He will soon understand what the other side 
 intend to do, or will try to do, and he must 
 anticipate their plans as far as he can. If he sees 
 two players, one carrying the ball, coming straight 
 at him, he knows that one will come close up, and 
 try to draw his tackle ; that then, just before he 
 tackles him, the man carrying the ball will pass 
 it to his companion ; that his duty is to so con- 
 trive as to make one of them give this pass, and 
 then to tackle the other before he passes it in 
 turn. But above all things, he must remember not 
 to let the one who is originally carrying the ball 
 slip away without passing. He must bring him 
 down if thei-e is any chance of that, and must 
 not edge away from him as the runner approaches 
 without making up his mind. As soon as the 
 runner notices his hesitation, he will go straight 
 on, and a player will need to be very sharp to 
 catch him. 
 
 Qualities necessary. 
 
 Before I close these somewhat desultory re- 
 marks on three-quarter-back play, I should like 
 to say something about the qualifications for 
 
ii8 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 that position. Speed is what is usually supposed 
 to be the great desideratum, and by that is 
 usually meant speed on the racing-path. It is, 
 undoubtedly, very desirable that three-quarters 
 should have speed, but speed on a racing-path is 
 a very different thing to quickness on a football 
 field. At football you want a player to go thirty 
 yards, perhaps even fifty, very quickly, and often 
 a person who goes thirty or forty yards very fast 
 will only do a slow hundred. Thus it is a great 
 mistake to think a man is a born three-quarter 
 if he can run a hundred yards well under eleven 
 seconds. In a three-quarter you want quickness 
 and alertness, but above all, "head." In other 
 words, you want a player of decision, who never 
 hesitates, but acts promptly, and who also can 
 anticipate what another player, either on his own 
 or the opposing side, is going to do. In addition, 
 a certain amount of sturdiness is absolutely neces- 
 sary, for without bone and muscle it is rare to 
 find a player who is sound in his defensive 
 tactics. 
 
( 119 > 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 FULL BACK PLAY. 
 
 By Gregor MacGregor, 
 Scotch International in all Matches, 1890, 1891, 1893, 1894. 
 
 2 REMEMBER once overhearing a defi- 
 nition of a full back, which I thought 
 very much to the point. Two 
 schoolboys were watching a Rugby 
 game, and presently the younger 
 of the two inquired, pointing to 
 the player in question, " What do 
 they call that man standing over there ? " " Oh, 
 don't you know ? " came the answer ; " that's the 
 full back," "But why is he called full back.?" 
 continued his inquisitive companion. There was 
 a pause — the question evidently presented a diffi- 
 culty. At last the elder replied, " I don't exactly 
 know, but Uncle Bill says that he was given the 
 
I20 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 name because he was the fool on whose back all 
 the other players laid their mistakes." I cannot 
 say that in my heart I disagreed from the opinion 
 so forcibly expressed by Uncle Bill ! 
 
 Any player who wishes to become a really first- 
 rate full back should begin at an early age to 
 practise two of his most important duties, namely, 
 kicking and fielding the ball. He should' learn to 
 tackle, and must be by nature fearless in " saving " 
 the ball under the feet of rushing forwards. Ex- 
 perience will in time teach him where to stand as 
 the game swings backward and forward, and from 
 side to side of the field. Lastly, there are certain 
 general details on which I may be able to give him 
 a few useful hints. 
 
 Fielding. 
 
 The' quality of a full back is often judged nowa- 
 days by his ability to field the ball accurately on 
 every occasion. Fielding has become exceedingly 
 important, owing to the " kick-and-rush " style 
 adopted by so many teams ; especially is this the 
 case in the North of England, where the wet state 
 of the ball, consequent on the muddy grounds, 
 renders fielding most difficult. In the " kick-and- 
 
FULL BACK PLAY. i2i 
 
 rush " style of play, the brunt of the work falls on 
 the full back. He has to face two different 
 methods of attack. Sometimes the dribbling 
 forwards, instead of keeping the ball at their feet, 
 kick it in front of them as hard as they can, and 
 rushing after it, endeavour to tackle the full back 
 before he can get in his kick. Woe betide him if 
 he fumbles with the ball, as they come charging 
 down upon him ! Sometimes, again, one of the 
 three-quarters will kick the ball high into the air, 
 while the forwards race up under it with the same 
 purpose as before. When they are " off-side," as 
 is not unusually the case, they crowd up as near 
 to the full back, who is waiting to catch the ball, 
 as they think the referee will allow them, instead 
 of giving him his full five yards clear space. Un- 
 less the referee supports him, the full back is, 
 under such circumstances, in a most unpleasant 
 position. He may, very probably, if at all a 
 nervous player, lose his head, and fail to gather 
 the ball when it falls, in which case the forwards 
 are at once put "on side," and rush upon him ; 
 should he, on the other hand, make a fair catch, 
 they are so close to him that he has not room to 
 kick. While the full back is expostulating and 
 
122 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 demanding his legitimate "five yards," the three- 
 quarter who kicked the ball, or a player behind 
 him at the time, may run up and put the forwards 
 " on side." It is difficult to determine what rule 
 to formulate when a weak referee is controlling 
 the play, but I should strongly advise the full 
 back to make his mark the moment he sees there 
 is a danger of such untoward events occurring. 
 
 The full back should never, if he can possibly 
 avoid it, allow the ball to bounce. He should 
 endeavour to catch it as it is falling, for, owing to 
 the formation of the Rugby ball, it is impossible 
 to say with any certainty, when once it touches 
 the ground, in what direction it will twist. I once 
 had a very sad experience at Bradford, which has 
 impressed itself on my memory. It occurred in 
 one of the first matches in which I ever figured as 
 a full back. The London Scottish was the team 
 in which I was included, and I was standing in 
 my own " twenty-five " when the ball was kicked 
 to me. I waited, foolishly, to catch it on the first 
 bounce ; but the ball, with that maliciousness 
 peculiar to Rugby footballs, instead of coming 
 straight to me, shot off at an entirely opposite 
 angle. I must admit that I believe the ball to 
 
FULL BACK PLAY. 123 
 
 have been far more pointed than is usually the 
 case. After it I ran, and just as I thought I had 
 gathered it, it bounced again, and back it went to 
 the place I had just come from. How long I 
 should have pursued this I'efractory piece of leather 
 it is impossible to say, but the hunt was rudely 
 disturbed by a Bradford forward, into whose arms 
 it sprung, rushing off and gaining a try without 
 my ever having touched it at all. I hope this 
 story will be a warning to youthful players, who 
 are liable to put their trust in the philanthropic 
 nature of a Rugby football. I should advise any 
 one who thinks himself fitted to fill the position 
 to commence to learn this part of his work as 
 early as possible. Let him choose some friend 
 while at school, and let the pair of them practise 
 by kicking the ball backwards and forwards from 
 one to the other. It will teach them catching, 
 fielding, and kicking as well. 
 
 Kicking. 
 
 A full back must be able to punt and drop-kick 
 with either foot. When playing against the wind 
 he should always endeavour to make the ball 
 
124 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 land in touch. When playing with a strong wind 
 behind him, a back may sometimes find it ad- 
 visable to kick the ball high into the air, in the 
 hope that the wind will carry it far down the field, 
 and that the opposing players, when they get hold 
 of it, will not be able to return it to the place from 
 whence it came. Punting is far safer than drop- 
 kicking. In the early days of the game punting 
 was looked upon with disfavour, though the reason 
 for its unpopularity is hard to discover. Its value 
 has now long been recognized ; in fact, it is the 
 only safe form of kick available for a back when 
 he is penned by the advancing forwards of the 
 other side. Another method of kicking is some- 
 times termed " fly kicking," or taking a kick at 
 the ball as it is rolling on the ground. This is 
 a style of play which cannot be too strongly dis- 
 couraged in a full back. Let him always remember 
 that he composes the last line of the defence, and 
 that the play of a man on whom so much 
 depends should always be on the side of safety. 
 A sure game brings more credit to a player 
 than one which consists of occasional brilliant 
 sparkles. 
 
FULL BACK PLAY. 125 
 
 Saving. 
 
 This is probably the most dangerous part of the 
 game. It requires a man of great pluck and 
 resolution to fall on the ball under the feet of 
 dribbling forwards. A certain number of hacks 
 he must inevitably expect, bestowed, not inten- 
 tionally, but in their efforts to get the ball away 
 from him. I have always considered that the 
 development of this feature of the game was a 
 great mistake. It spoils dribbling, and seems to 
 put a premium on rough play. Forwards who think 
 of other things besides winning the game, often 
 refrain from hacking when it might be just possible 
 for them to get the ball away by so doing ; on the 
 other hand, players who have lost their temper, or 
 are disappointed in being robbed of the fruits of 
 a long dribble, may not be so scrupulous, and a 
 bad accident may be the result. However, it is 
 part of the game, and is greatly admired by those 
 members of the old school, who still have a sneak- 
 ing affection for the hacking system. There is no 
 doubt that an alternative means of defence would 
 be most difficult to find, and until found the full 
 back must continue to shield the ball with his body. 
 
126 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Perhaps the most fearless back that ever dis- 
 tinguished himself in this department was J. P. 
 Veitch, of the Edinburgh Royal High School and 
 Scotland. He was absolutely without fear, and 
 would dive at the ball and secure it from under 
 the feet of the roughest forwards that ever played. 
 He seemed absolutely impervious to the kicks 
 which he must constantly have received. 
 
 Tackling. 
 
 Tackling is as important as fielding and catching 
 in the play of a full back. Many a time has a 
 good tackier saved his side when an otherwise 
 certain try would have been registered against 
 them. A full back should always tackle low. In 
 any doubtful case he should go for the man with 
 the ball. This is a most important point, and 
 cannot be too strongly insisted on. Often the 
 modern full back has to face two or three men 
 who have got clear of his three-quarters, and come 
 speeding down towards him. He knows that the 
 man with the ball will in all probability run up to 
 him, and then pass it to one of his companions. 
 Yet, unless he actually sees the ball leave that 
 
FULL BACK PLAY. 127 
 
 player's hands, he should tackle the runner as 
 hard as he is able. Of course that man may pass 
 just as the full back tackles him ; but, on the other 
 hand, he may have delayed too long, and the full 
 back may secure both the man and the ball. Or, 
 again, the rush of the full back going strongly at 
 him, may cause him to make some mistake when 
 passing, and either throw the ball forward, or 
 make so bad a pass that the opportunity of scoring 
 is lost. Nothing appears more absurd to players 
 and spectators than the performance of the un- 
 decided full back, who cannot make up his mind 
 which of the runners to tackle, and having feinted 
 first at one, and then at another, is finally fooled 
 by them all — a just punishment for his indecision. 
 Probably the two finest tacklers that ever filled 
 the place of full back are H. B. Tristram, the 
 Oxford International, and R. B. Walkington, of 
 Ireland. These two men have made reputations 
 that will long be remembered in the football world. 
 I should say that the most brilliant piece of 
 tackling ever done by a full back was accom- 
 plished by Tristram in a match played between 
 England and Scotland at Manchester, in 1887. 
 The English team had not been expected to win, 
 
128 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 but " time " was rapidly approaching, and they had 
 scored a try to nothing against their opponents. 
 Five minutes only were left when W. E. Maclagan, 
 who throughout the game had been playing magni- 
 ficently, got possession of the ball. The Scotch- 
 man was, I think I may safely say, the strongest 
 man amongst the two teams, as he was also the 
 heaviest, scaling at this time fourteen stone seven 
 pounds. He slipped by Rotherham, and meeting 
 Lockwood, knocked over the little Yorkshireman 
 as if he had been a fly. He then found himself 
 but five yards from the goal-line, and although his 
 opponents hemmed him in on one side, while the 
 touch-line was but a few feet from him on the 
 other, there was nobody in front of him — save 
 Tristram. He had no room to dodge, even if he 
 had felt inclined to do so, and, putting on his full 
 pace, he charged down upon the Englishman. 
 Tristram did not wait the shock, but sprang to 
 meet him, and the most dangerous scorer near 
 the line that Scotland has ever produced met the 
 finest of English backs with a crash that literally 
 was heard all over the field. Down went the pair 
 of them, and the forwards swept round the pros- 
 trate figures ; then the spectators saw Tristram 
 
FULL BACH PLAY. 129 
 
 emerge, and cheered themselves hoarse in ad- 
 miration for a piece of play which will never be 
 forgotten by those who witnessed it. 
 
 Where to Stand. 
 
 A full back can only learn by experience where 
 to stand, as the game changes its position. His 
 judgment in this respect will probably make all 
 the difference between his turning into a good 
 player, or his remaining only a moderate one. 
 When he sees that his own back division are 
 hard at work tackling their opponents, who are 
 advancing, passing from one to the other the 
 while, he should come up close behind his three- 
 quarter line, so as to be able to immediately tackle 
 any opponent who breaks through it. Sometimes 
 the full back will see that the man with the ball 
 is hemmed in, but has a companion running by 
 his side, to whom he will be compelled to pass. 
 Under these circumstances he should mark the 
 second man, and rush at him the moment he 
 receives the ball from the first man, who naturally 
 passes just before he is tackled. If the full back 
 pursues these tactics, he will be able to stop the 
 
 I 
 
t3& 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 runners before they have got clean away from his 
 three-quarters, and have only himself to think about. 
 If a scrummage takes place nearer one touch- 
 line than the other, the back should hug that 
 touch-line, for if the ball is kicked by one of his 
 
 GOAL LINE 
 
 TOUCH 
 LIJ^E 
 
 ,B 
 
 TOUCH 
 LINE 
 
 OA 
 
 A, the scrummage ; B, the full back ; C, C, C, C, the three-quarters, 
 opponents, it will in nine cases out of ten be 
 directed towards the nearest touch-line. He will 
 have plenty of time to get across the field should 
 a passing run be started by the opposing three- 
 quarters. I give above a diagram of his position. 
 Yet, as I have said before, his own judgment, 
 born of experience, can alone tell him where to 
 
FULL BACK PLAY. 13 1 
 
 stand to receive a ball that is kicked over his 
 three-quarters' heads, or when to tackle a runner 
 on the best terms. 
 
 What to Wear. 
 I should advise every full back to have two 
 pairs of boots ready ; of these one should be 
 heavy, and one light. If the ground is muddy, 
 the ball will become heavy, and plenty of driving 
 power will be required for long kicking. Light 
 boots may be worn on dry grounds, for the ball will 
 be easier to kick and the game faster. I always 
 found chamois leather the best material for gloves. 
 It does not become greasy so quickly as do the 
 harder sorts of leather, and it gives readily to the 
 hand. I strongly advise a back never to wear a 
 "sweater," for by it he may easily be tackled. 
 He should, however, put on a couple of jerseys in 
 cold weather, for, on a winning side, full back has 
 often rather a chilly time of it. 
 
 General Remarks. 
 
 Good full backs are undoubtedly scarce. The 
 
 reason for this is not far to seek. Few people 
 
 care to play full back if they can obtain any other 
 
 position in the team. Although a full back enters 
 
132 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 into the game in a far less proportion than the 
 other players, he yet has the doubtful satisfaction 
 of filling the most responsible position on the 
 field. A good full back has tackling and kicking 
 powers, which usually make him a fair three- 
 quarter, and, as is perhaps only natural, he is 
 always trying to obtain a place there, or in some 
 other part of the team. 
 
 Of players of to-day, the best, in my opinion, is 
 A. R. Smith, of Oxford and Scotland, who com- 
 bines as nearly as possible all the qualities neces- 
 sary for the position. He is a fine field, and a 
 splendid kick, being able to drop the ball to 
 within a yard or two of the direction he wishes 
 it to take. Besides being a dangerous tackier at 
 close quarters, he is very fast, and is thus able to 
 pick up an ordinary runner who has slipped past 
 him. W. J. Bancroft, of Swansea, is also a fine 
 player, and has achieved a great reputation for his 
 success in placing and dropping goals from long 
 distances and at difficult angles. In fact, he is 
 probably equal to Smith in every point save tack- 
 ling. The writer has not, however, seen so much 
 of his play as of the Scotchman's, and is there- 
 fore hardly qualified to compare the two closely. 
 
( 133 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE REFEREE. 
 
 I. — His History. 
 
 Ai ^W^ *^ "°* *°° niuch to say that 
 
 .^^^ rv^^»^ the most important man at a 
 ^^% J •Sw' air modern Rugby football match 
 is the referee. Upon his firm- 
 ness and decision, his activity 
 and quickness of eye, the 
 whole game depends. Given 
 a man not fitted for the post, 
 you will find grumbling and dissatisfied players, 
 and too often, I am sorry to say, hooting spec- 
 tators. At the same time, there is no doubt that 
 the behaviour of both players and spectators has 
 improved and is improving. Even amongst the 
 roughest crowds the honesty of the referee is 
 rarely impugned, however much they may cavil at 
 
134 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 what they consider the appalling nature of his 
 mistakes. There is an old American story, that a 
 traveller observed a notice hung over the heads of 
 the two violins and an accordion which composed 
 the band at a Western dance. He strolled up to 
 it, and discovered that it read, " Do not shoot at 
 the band ; they are doing their best." That is 
 exactly the attitude assumed by North-country 
 football crowds towards referees. They are now 
 tolerated, and for that they are thankful, not being 
 a grasping race, and anxious only for the smaller 
 mercies. 
 
 Through the seventies the feeling had been 
 growing that the method hitherto adopted of 
 settling disputes arising in the course of the 
 games was becoming less and less adapted to the 
 needs of the situation. There are plenty of 
 players of the younger football generation who 
 will find it difficult to believe that a time ever 
 existed in the history of Rugby Football when the 
 captains of the respective sides had sole control 
 over the game. Like the inhabitants of the Scilly 
 Islands, who " earn a precarious livelihood by 
 taking in each other's washing," the captains 
 did each other's refereeing, though whether they 
 
THE REFEREE. 135 
 
 "took in each other" is an open question. To 
 parody one of Mr. Gilbert's songs, " together they 
 refereed as one individual." 
 
 When a dispute arose, a captain, who combined 
 a natural breadth of shoulder with a studied style 
 of oratory, was absolutely invaluable to his side. 
 The remainder of the team hung about as junior 
 counsel in the case, occasionally examining a 
 witness, or prompting their leader when he got off 
 the track of the argument. It was a method that 
 would have been extremely popular in Arcadia 
 or during the Golden Age, but it was hardly 
 suited to a civilization which boasts, as its chief 
 ornaments, the telegraph and the express train. 
 At the same time it must be admitted that the 
 warfare was usually confined to words alone. The 
 early football players were true sportsmen, who met 
 together on the football field to kick each other's 
 shins, and otherwise thoroughly enjoy themselves. 
 No thought of gate-money troubled their honest 
 souls. Cup-ties and professionalism were a cloud 
 on the horizon, a cloud but the size of a man's 
 hand. The matches in the " good old times " 
 were characterized by an honourable observance 
 of the rules, such as is nowadays only too 
 
136 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 conspicuous by its absence. In an account of a 
 match between twenty old Rugbeans and twenty 
 players selected from all other schools, which said 
 match was played at Oxford in 1872, we read, 
 " The last try, if not a goal was very near one, 
 but there were no umpires appointed." There 
 is something delightfully simple about this, some- 
 thing which may be described, in the words of 
 Horace, as simplex munditiis. 
 
 But as time went by, and the game grew in 
 popularity, the inconvenience attached to the 
 old method of deciding knotty points became 
 ever more apparent. The first step was taken 
 towards depriving the captains of their preroga- 
 tive, and placing the control of the game, with 
 the various incidents arising therein, in neutral 
 hands, by the appointment, with the consent of 
 the respective captains, of two umpires, one for 
 either side. This can, however, hardly be said to 
 have been a great improvement. The umpires 
 appear never to have comprehended the nature 
 of their duties, and in point of fact they became, 
 in the majority of cases, mere partisans, or, as 
 they were called in jest, " sixteenth men." 
 
 This unfortunate state of affairs naturally could 
 
THE REFEREE. lyj 
 
 not last, and in 1885 the Rugby Union Committee 
 took the matter in hand. At the October meeting 
 of that year a code of regulations was proposed 
 and adopted. They have never been materially 
 altered, although additions have been made to 
 them from time to time. It was in this year that 
 the "whistle and flag" system came into vogue. 
 In the old days the umpires or referees had the 
 greatest difficulty in making themselves heard. 
 Endless confusion was caused by the uncertainty 
 of the players, as to whether an appeal had been 
 granted. But with the whistle came a new order 
 of things. It could be heard all over the field, and 
 the men knew that once it had sounded they could 
 safely stop playing. There was a finality about 
 the whistle that pleased every one. Yet the whole 
 system required further remodelling. The referee 
 was compelled to partially neglect the game in 
 order that he might keep his eye on the flags held 
 by the umpires. Except in a few cases, he could 
 not grant an appeal without at least one of the 
 flags being raised. By the natural course of 
 events, the umpires, each appointed by one of the 
 opposing sides, continued, as in the pre-referee 
 days, to be "sixteenth men." If one team 
 
138 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 appealed, the referee knew that the umpire 
 selected by that team would, in nine cases out of 
 ten, support them. Thus umpires became of no 
 practical value in helping a referee. In one 
 famous case the umpire admitted that he had 
 given a wrong decision, but he excused himself 
 by saying that " he wanted to see what the referee 
 would say ! " 
 
 An amusing incident d, propos of the partisan- 
 umpire question occurred in a match between 
 Bradford and Dewsbury, A Dewsbury man ran 
 in and obtained a try, but the Bradford men, assisted 
 by their umpire, loudly appealed for a "dead 
 ball." The Dewsbury umpire was so intoxicated 
 with delight, that he sprang about waving his flag 
 wildly, to express his jubilation. In those days, 
 if both flags went up, it showed that both umpires 
 were agreed that the appeal made was justified, 
 so Mr. Maclaren, who was the referee, blew his 
 whistle. Up rushed the Dewsbury umpire in a 
 great state of expostulating excitement. "What 
 is the matter ? " said Mr. Maclaren, mildly. " You 
 held up your flag, didn't you? Both umpires 
 were agreed, and I gave it 'no try.' I am not 
 to blame, am I?" What the Dewsbury umpire 
 
THE REFEREE. 139 
 
 said is not reported, but his remarks are probably 
 in the note-book of the recording angel. 
 
 But the partisan-umpire was such an evident 
 contradiction in terms, that in 1889 the present 
 touch judge appeared in his stead. The practical 
 work of the touch judge simply consists in mark- 
 ing the spot where the ball crossed the touch- 
 line. The legalization of the touch judge was a 
 great improvement, fully appreciated by referees 
 and players alike. 
 
 I have now sketched the history of the referee 
 up to the time that he became sole arbiter of 
 the game. For the players the system was the 
 most perfect that could be devised. But two 
 difficulties had in the meanwhile arisen which 
 had to be faced by the Union Committee. In 
 the first place, referees were often insulted, and 
 their decisions disputed, by violent players, ^who 
 forgot their sportsmanship in their enthusiasm. 
 In the second place, it was extremely difficult to 
 find impartial men with a thorough knowledge of 
 the game, who would undertake these onerous 
 duties. Many of my readers will remember a 
 Punch picture which appeared not so very long 
 ago. Two stalwart forwards are marching along 
 
I40 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 a road with a pole resting on their shoulders, in 
 the middle of which a bag is slung. " What have 
 you got in that bag ? " asks an interested spectator. 
 " Oh, only the referee," is the reply. In defence of 
 the football players, I must point out that though 
 the practice of insulting and pelting the referee 
 was unfortunately once not uncommon, and even 
 to-day is not unknown, in nine cases out of ten 
 the spectators, and not the players, were and are 
 the chief offenders. I have myself seen both teams 
 close round the referee at the conclusion of the 
 game and escort him from the ground. It was a 
 pleasant sight to see thirty strong, determined men, 
 face a crowd of many thousands, and safely bring 
 their charge to the pavilion ; but that such an 
 incident should have occurred was disheartening. 
 It proved that betting, that curse of all athletics, 
 had driven out the Anglo-Saxon love of fair play, 
 and the true sportsmanlike feeling of which we 
 have always been so proud. 
 
 To protect the referee at all costs has always 
 been the policy of the Union Committee. In 1888 
 power was given to a referee to report to the Union 
 Committee any one who disputed his decisions. 
 This weis not sufficient, however, and in 1891 the 
 
THE REFEREE. 141 
 
 referee was allowed to order the disputant off the 
 field at once, and report him afterwards should 
 he be so minded. These new laws have had an 
 excellent effect. Moreover, the football public 
 have begun to realize the difficult position in 
 which a referee is placed, and I believe that his 
 treatment at their hands will steadily improve. 
 
 The second difficulty that had to be faced was 
 that of obtaining the services of a referee thoroughly 
 competent to carry out his duties. It was this that 
 ultimately led to the formation of various societies 
 that are now to be met with wherever Rugby 
 football is played. 
 
 The pioneers in this movement were the London 
 members of the Rugby Union Committee, and as 
 the result of their deliberations, a circular, signed 
 by Mr. Rowland Hill, was issued and sent round 
 to all the Rugby clubs playing in or near the 
 metropolis. It ran as follows : — 
 
 "Rugby Football Union. 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 
 " Your club is invited to join the London 
 Rugby Union Society of Referees. The following 
 are the regulations for its government." [Here 
 
142 RVGBY FOOTS ALL. 
 
 followed the rules as they were originally formu- 
 lated. Since then, however, several slight altera- 
 tions have been made, and I will therefore 
 append the present rules, which may be of use 
 to secretaries.] 
 
 " (i) That the name of the Society shall be the 
 London Rugby Union Society of Referees. 
 
 "(2) That the officers consist of the London 
 members of the Rugby Union Committee, and 
 one member nominated by each of the following 
 counties : — Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, Sussex, and 
 Eastern Counties Union, with power to add to 
 their number, who shall elect the secretaries 
 annually at the general meeting. 
 
 "(3) That every club belonging to the Rugby 
 Football Union within the jurisdiction of the 
 Society shall be eligible to join the Society on 
 payment of a subscription of Js. 6d. per annum for 
 one team, and 1 2s. 6d. for two teams. 
 
 " (4) That the duties of the Committee shall be 
 to use every effort to send a referee to act in 
 matches in which both the competing clubs are 
 members of the Society, or in home matches 
 against clubs which are outside the jurisdiction of 
 the Society, on receiving fourteen da;j/s' previous 
 
THE REFEREE. 143 
 
 notice from the home club. It shall be the duty of 
 the clubs applying for a referee in the cases in 
 which one is appointed by the Society to act, 
 to repay to him his out-of-pocket travelling 
 expenses. 
 
 " (s) That any subscribing club may object to 
 the referee nominated by the Committee; in 
 which case the officers will not bind themselves 
 to assist further in procuring one for the particular 
 match. 
 
 "(6) That each subscribing club shall submit 
 to the officers the name of one or more persons 
 who may be considered competent and willing to 
 undertake the post of referee. 
 
 " (7) That the officers shall be the sole arbiters 
 in settling all questions of dispute arising in the 
 general management of the Society." 
 
 The response to this circular, especially from the 
 more important clubs, was highly satisfactory, and 
 proved conclusively that the Society was looked 
 upon as supplying a long-felt want. The season 
 of 1889-90 was inaugurated by a general meeting, 
 at which the provisional set of rules set forth in 
 the circular were confirmed, and Messrs. A. Budd 
 
144 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 and R. S. Whalley were elected the honorary 
 secretaries. 
 
 During the season rather more than 150 
 referees were appointed by the Society, a state of 
 affairs which reflected the highest credit on those 
 concerned in its management. 
 
 At the commencement of the following season, 
 viz. 1890-91, Budd retired from office, and G. F. 
 Berney was appointed to succeed him, as joint 
 honorary secretary to Whalley, who stuck to his 
 post. There was a small accession to the ranks 
 of the subscribing clubs, and during the season, 
 out of a total of 263 applications for referees, 170 
 were supplied. The Society is now in a flourishing 
 condition. 
 
 II.— Hints on Refereeing. 
 
 I have already pointed out how responsible is 
 the position of a referee in a modern football 
 match. It is hardly necessary to say that no one 
 should attempt to fill that ofiice who has not a 
 thorough knowledge of the game. By this I do 
 not mean merely ,the knowledge to be obtained 
 by cramming up the rules, but the knowledge that 
 
THE REFEREE. 145 
 
 comes from practical experience. The player of 
 an "elder day" must remember that each year 
 there are changes in the rules, and that it is absurd 
 for him to stroll on to a football field with the 
 general idea that he can get on all right by the aid 
 of his previous knowledge of the game and the 
 light of nature. In nearly all cases it is just as 
 well for the referee to carry the book of rules 
 about with him. Not that he has time to examine 
 them on an appeal being made ; but he may 
 refresh his memory during a pause in the play, or 
 even point out a particular ruling to a discontented 
 player. 
 
 In his decisions he must be absolutely firm. 
 Right or wrong, he must never hesitate. Should 
 he make a mistake, " tell a lie, and stick to it," 
 is the only policy possible. A curious incident 
 occurred in a match between Cardiff and Swansea 
 n 1892. A goal was disputed. The referee 
 himself was uncertain, but said he thought it was 
 a goal. Subsequently he said he thought it was 
 not — giving the defending side the benefit of the 
 doubt. The Welsh committee, before which the 
 case was brought, decided that, as the decision of 
 the referee was " irrevocable," his first answer of " I 
 
146 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 think it is a goal " settled the matter. The Com- 
 mittee of the Rugby Union have also directed that 
 "a referee having given a decision after blowing 
 his whistle, cannot under any circumstances alter 
 it." The necessity of this is obvious to any player. 
 
 A nervous referee was often much troubled by 
 violent' appeals. Under such circumstances it was 
 very- difficult for him to keep his head. Dr. 
 Almond, the head-master of Loretto school, for- 
 mulated an excellent rule. " When in doubt," he 
 said, "decide against the side that makes the 
 most noise." At the present time, however, the 
 system of appealing has almost entirely disap- 
 peared. The Rugby Union in September, 1893, 
 decided that the referee could, by arrangement, 
 control the game without appeal. He was given 
 the power to blow his whistle whenever he saw 
 a rule broken ; but at the same time he was told 
 not to stop' the game when an infringement of 
 the laws by one side was calculated, in his opinion, 
 to benefit the other. In that case no appeal would 
 probably have been made. 
 
 A referee must remember that he is expected 
 to work hard, and must dress himself suitably. 
 With the great extension of passing and a faster 
 
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THE REFEREE. 147 
 
 game, both amongst forwards and three-quarters, 
 it takes a man who happens to be in poor con- 
 dition all he knows to keep up with the ball as 
 it flies from one end of the field to the other. He 
 must be level with it if he expects to be able to 
 see whether a pass is " forward " or no. Knicker- 
 bockers should be worn, and, — what is far more 
 important on a muddy day, — strong football boots. 
 Many a time have I seen an unfortunate referee 
 in ordinary brown boots, slipping about on the 
 greasy turf, and utterly unable to keep up with 
 the players. This naturally ends in a series of 
 wrong decisions, and a general loss of temper all 
 round. 
 
 Another point which a referee must keep always 
 in view is the necessity of his choosing the best 
 position possible for watching the play. He 
 should keep as near the centre of the field as 
 he can, for then he will be able to judge dropped 
 goals. It is impossible for him to do this from 
 the touch-line. He should stand about fifteen 
 yards from the scrummage, while that is in pro- 
 gress, and should pay especial attention to the 
 half-back who puts the ball amongst the feet of 
 the forwards. To get possession of the ball in 
 
148 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 the scrummage is nowadays half the battle, and 
 a tricky half will try to screw the ball amongst 
 his own forwards, or cannon it off the legs of 
 his opponents. The arch of the bodies will 
 allow the referee to see right through the centre 
 of the scrummage, and it is not very difficult to 
 detect these malpractices. At the same time the 
 play of the half on the side of the scrummage 
 farthest from him may cause him some trouble, as 
 it is sometimes very hard to see whether or no he is 
 infringing the rules. In such a case he can ask the 
 touch judge to assist him in an unofficial manner 
 by giving him some sign when that player is mis- 
 behaving himself, so that he can jump on one side 
 and catch him in flagrante delicto. When a ball is 
 being thrown out of touch, the referee may stand 
 at either end of the line he pleases. If he stand on 
 the touch-line side he can watch the doings of the 
 half-back who throws out the ball, for at that point 
 in the game there are many openings for unfair- 
 ness. If, on the other hand, he stands at the other 
 end, he is nearer the centre of the field, which is 
 useful for the purpose that I stated above. As a 
 matter of fact, many referees stay on one side of 
 the ground all through the play, taking the touch- 
 
THE REFEREE. 149 
 
 line when the ball goes into it on their side, and 
 vice versd. This has the advantage of simplicity ; 
 but it is rather a lazy method. The perfect referee 
 will always change his side of the scrummage as 
 play swings from right to left, or left to right, so 
 as to be as near the centre of the field as possible. 
 
 Above all things, let the referee procure a good 
 loud whistle. A squeaky little instrument that 
 cannot be heard, and allows players to continue 
 running and tackling each other after it has been 
 sounded, only annoys everybody interested in the 
 game. 
 
 To touch judges, selected by their respective 
 sides, I should make one mild suggestion. Pray 
 cheat as little as possible ! 
 
ISO 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 
 
 APTAINS, like poets, are born, 
 and not made. There are 
 some pepple who imagine that 
 it is quite easy to captain a foot- 
 ball team. Let them try and see. 
 Every season the Rugby game 
 becomes more scientific. It has 
 long ceased to be a hurly-burly rout, in which 
 brute strength and good luck were of the first 
 importance. (A first-class team is a complex 
 machine, and, like a smart engineer, a captain 
 must watch the various parts of it and see that 
 they are working properly together. There are 
 some ideal captains, whose mere presence in the 
 field encourages the players.\ They know that 
 their leader will make use of every advantage that 
 fortune or superior skill may send them. Amongst 
 
IfOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 151 
 
 such captains in the past I should place Leonard 
 Stokes and W. MacLagan, who looked when 
 cheering on a losing side "just like a pirate chief," 
 as a lady once was heard to remark ; of later 
 date the famous English International, S. M. J. 
 Woods, is the best example. " Sam's " broad back 
 on a Cambridge football field acted as a marvellous 
 stimulant to his men. 
 
 Sometimes, especially in schools, the captain is 
 also the secretary. In ordinary clubs, however, 
 two officials are appointed. The secretary must 
 back up the captain in every way possible. He 
 must keep a watchful eye over every detail of the 
 management, for without a keen, hard-working 
 secretary the success of a club will be, to say the 
 least of it, problematical. One of the chief reasons 
 that caused the rapid expansion of the great York- 
 shire Rugby football clubs was the enthusiasm 
 manifested by the early captains and secretaries, 
 who inspired their men with a like feeling. 
 
 General Management. 
 In the arrangement of matches the captain of 
 a club should exercise great care. Too many 
 matches will leave the men tired and stale. Three 
 
IS2 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 or four days' rest before each of the more impor- 
 tant fixtures of the season is excellent for the 
 players. The success of the University tours, and, 
 indeed, of the majority of club tours, is often 
 imperilled by the excessive number of the en- 
 gagements which have to be carried through. I 
 remember a celebrated occasion on which a Cam- 
 bridge team, of which I was a member, started 
 from Euston the morning after the Inter-University 
 match, with its accompanying festivities, and 
 journeyed to Coventry, where a match was played. 
 The next day the team proceeded to Holyhead, 
 and crossed the Irish Channel in a half gale. 
 We arrived tired out at seven in the evening. 
 On the next day we played Dublin University, 
 and won a desperate battle, in which the wounded 
 were as numerous as the excitement was intense. 
 A great banquet followed, and yet on the next 
 day — a Saturday — we met and defeated the 
 Lansdowne club fairly easily. That night we 
 recrossed the Channel, and were left stranded at 
 Crewe at two o'clock in the morning. After 
 various athletic sports, amongst which racing 
 luggage trucks up and down the interminable 
 platforms formed a popular feature, we caught a 
 
ffOlV TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 153 
 
 train and arrived at Manchester about four o'clock. 
 The next day was for the most part spent in bed. 
 On the Monday we were off again to Bradford, 
 and played that famous club on the Tuesday. On 
 Wednesday we went to Leeds and again turned 
 out against a strong team. That evening we left 
 Yorkshire and arrived in London about twelve 
 o'clock. The next day saw us separate for our 
 respective homes. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that a team becomes 
 demoralized under such a strain. However fit 
 and strong the players, the constant journeys and 
 the inadequate sleep must tell in time. No one 
 appears at his best. Indeed, at the Universities 
 a strong feeling has been manifested against pro- 
 longed tours, which cannot but result in rendering 
 it impossible for a team to maintain the reputation 
 it has won for itself during the season. 
 
 The captain and secretary must do all that they 
 can to encourage the esprit de corps of a club. It 
 is that feeling which causes school and college 
 teams to be so successful. When a man or boy 
 feels that the honour of his club is at stake, he 
 may be trusted to keep in condition, to shove hard 
 in the scrum though no one can mark his prowess. 
 
IS4 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 and to tackle fearlessly when out of sight of the 
 " gallery " ; in short, to play a hard and honest 
 game. Without esprit de corps players are sure to 
 be spasmodic in their exertions. Captains are dis- 
 appointed at the last moment by members of the 
 team who refuse to take the trouble to put in 
 an appearance if it entails the slightest incon- 
 venience to themselves. There is an amusing 
 story told of the meeting of two well-known foot- 
 ball players outside the Law Courts. " Well," 
 said the first, "how have you been getting on in 
 your matches lately ? " To whom the other, with 
 a scowling countenance, "Not so badly, my 
 friend, considering that our team usually con- 
 sists of nine men, five telegrams, and a letter of 
 apology that arrives the next morning ! " 
 
 A captain should remember to give hints to the 
 younger members of his team as to what to wear 
 in the field. In school teams this is especially 
 necessary. Boots without bars are worse than 
 useless. That is perfectly well known, I should 
 imagine, to every one ; but, at the same time, it 
 is a fact often forgotten by careless players. I 
 have sometimes heard the captain of a team order 
 his men to produce their football boots before 
 
HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 155 
 
 the game, and seen him subsequently despatch 
 one or two pairs post haste to the nearest boot- 
 maker. A propos of this, an amusing incident 
 occurred previous to the England v. Scotland 
 match which was played at Glasgow in 1873. 
 The ground was greasy, and the English players 
 adjourned to a local cobbler to have fresh bars 
 fixed on their boots. After the work had been 
 done, it was discovered that two boots were miss- 
 ing. One belonged to Freeman, and another to 
 Boyle, both Internationals of great reputation. 
 The shop was ransacked, but the wily cobbler 
 had hidden them so effectively that they were 
 not discovered until the next day. There was no 
 time to procure other football boots, and the two 
 Internationals had to get along as best they could 
 under the circumstances. Boyle, I believe, played 
 with a dress boot on one foot, and his remaining 
 football boot on the other. 
 
 Bars are undoubtedly better than studs of leather. 
 A stud soon wears away, and not uncommonly 
 leaves the long nail that fixed it projecting like 
 the spike of a running-shoe, to the great danger of 
 friends and foes alike. In the matter of jerseys, 
 a close-fitting garment of some strong material. 
 
156 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 made after the fashion of a vest, with two buttons 
 in front, is the most workman-like and durable 
 thing to wear. Rough woollen jerseys, that were 
 at one time universal, have almost disappeared. 
 They were very uncomfortable, difficult to put on 
 or take off, and dangerous for the dye they con- 
 tained. Of course the vest-jerseys are variously 
 coloured, and a captain should see that the firm 
 that supplies the club does not, for the sake of 
 economy, use cheap and poisonous dyes, which 
 may work through a cut and cause blood-poison- 
 ing. The same remark applies to coloured woollen 
 stockings. 
 
 There is another small point to which I 
 should like to draw the captain's attention. Do 
 not have a fresh ball for every match. The larger 
 clubs have realized that a ball that has been 
 frequently used is, if well cared for, far superior 
 for passing, kicking, and dribbling than a new 
 one. Ground men, possibly with the idea of a 
 percentage or for the sake of appearances, will try 
 to produce a new ball on every occasion. Don't 
 let them do it. 
 
 An Englishman's idea of hospitality is limited, 
 so it is often said, to the consumption of food. It 
 
HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 157 
 
 may be for this reason that football dinners have 
 increased in number of late years. When a team 
 goes on tour, it is dined every night by the various 
 clubs it encounters. When the latter, in their 
 turn, go touring about the country, it returns the 
 compliment. They are very pleasant functions, 
 and increase the " gaiety of nations " to a re- 
 markable extent. I do not at all object to the 
 mingling of all classes now and again, although 
 a member of the M.C.C. would be rather surprised 
 if he were set down to dine between a couple of 
 obscure professionals. An amusing story is told 
 of a certain International ■ football dinner, at which 
 a prominent member of Dublin University found 
 himself next to a worthy man, who took, indeed, 
 the greatest care of him, but who had rather a 
 poor idea of his experience in the art of dining. 
 " Now you stick to me," he said ; " I'll see you 
 through. You have not been at one of these 
 dinners before, and so of course you don't under- 
 stand all our little arrangements. I see that 
 card bothers you ; but don't you mind. Selle 
 de mouton, it says. That just means a saddle of 
 mutton — nothing else, I can assure you. Homard 
 aux caramels" ("ham-boned ox caramels," he 
 
158 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 called it) " is only pressed beef and turnips. Now, 
 don't you trouble yourself and get nervous ; I'll 
 tell you all about it as we go along." It is need- 
 less to add that they fraternized exceedingly. 
 
 While on the subject of dinners, I should like to 
 point out to a captain that large and expensive 
 feasts are absurd. It is merely gratifying the 
 desire for display. Firstly, it burdens young clubs 
 with needless expenses ; secondly, it is bad for 
 training.. Plain food is all that is necessary ; and 
 plain food will be fully appreciated by visiting 
 teams who have come on tour to play football, 
 and not, as it would seem is sometimes the case 
 to get the benefit of a cheap excursion. Hunger 
 is said to be the best sauce ; and the hunger that 
 comes from good condition and a hard game is 
 better than all the condiments ever invented by 
 the most skilful of chefs, or even the late Mr. Sala 
 himself. Of training, both in the matter of the 
 exercise to be taken and of the food to be eaten, 
 I will speak in another chapter. 
 
 Selecting the Players. 
 It is by no means an easy matter to choose a 
 team when the competitors for the vacant places 
 
HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 159 
 
 are numerous, and it is difiScult to give any advice 
 worthy of the name as to a theory of selection. 
 Let the captain or committee remember that a 
 man with sound judgment and presence of mind is 
 required for the position of full back, besides skill 
 in tackling and kicking. For wing three-quarter 
 mere pace is not sufficient. Because a man has 
 made a name on the running track, it does not 
 prove that he will be a first-class wing three- 
 quarter. For centre three-quarter, sure tackling, 
 good kicking, and, above all, plucky " saving " are 
 the qualities required. One half, at least, should 
 be a man of strength and weight, to bear the brunt 
 of a losing game behind beaten forwards. As 
 regards the front rank, weight is something, but 
 not everything. Thirteen stone is an ideal weight. 
 " Wingers " who play at the side or back of the 
 scrum should be treated with suspicion. Some 
 teams play one or two wing forwards, who make 
 themselves generally useful by breaking away 
 with a dribble, or hampering the opposing halves 
 and three-quarters. But a captain should see that 
 their example of slacking in the scrummage is not 
 followed by the other forwards. If the front rank 
 all become satisfied in their own minds that they 
 
i6o RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 are the equals of Sam Woods or Evershed, and 
 insist on attempting to copy their game, disaster 
 will inevitably follow. To be beaten forward in 
 nine cases out of ten means to lose the match, for 
 the backs will never get chances to display their 
 prowess, however brilliant they may be. A good 
 goal kick should always be included in the team. 
 It is extraordinary how little goal-kicking is 
 nowadays practised, although victory or defeat 
 may time after time depend upon the efforts of the 
 man to whom the duty is entrusted. I do not, of 
 course, recommend a captain to follow the example 
 of a celebrated Irish committee, who chose an 
 inferior player "because he could place goals," 
 when there was not the slightest chance of their 
 securing a try from which he might display his 
 skill. 
 
 As a second point it may be asked, " Who is 
 to do the choosing of the team?" In the big 
 matches of the year — the International, North and 
 South, and Inter-County — committees must of 
 necessity have the power of selection. In these 
 cases a committee becomes, so to speak, a football 
 parliament. Many members represent enthusiastic 
 constituencies, and the fact that grave dissensions 
 
HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. i6i 
 
 rarely occur, speaks highly for the sportsmanlike 
 qualities of English football players. But in clubs 
 I believe that, as a general rule, the captain 
 should be unfettered in his choice of the team. 
 To this one exception may be made. In schools 
 there is great danger that a captain, when left 
 entirely to his own devices, may show favouritism. 
 The mere suspicion that the captain is acting 
 unfairly is fatal. In the school republic absolute 
 honesty and fair play are the first essentials of 
 success. A boy will never forget his unjust expul- 
 sion from a fifteen in favour of some inferior 
 player. He will nurse the grievance, and air it 
 upon every possible occasion. Grumbling is most 
 contagious. It has always appeared to me that 
 the French nation are never so happy as when 
 they are shouting " treachery," and suggesting that 
 some one else is, all things considered, decidedly 
 perfidious. In the same way the average school- 
 boy is always on the watch for evidences of 
 favouritism. Great care should be taken that he 
 has no reason given him for raising that cry, which 
 he certainly will do if it be in any way possible. 
 
 Although, as I have stated above, I am in 
 favour of absolute monarchy, at the Universities 
 
 L 
 
i62 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 and in a large number of well-known clubs a con- 
 trary practice prevails. The players are selected 
 by a committee, and under certain circumstances 
 the system works very well. The committeemen 
 must not be cranks, nor so absurdly enthusiastic, 
 as to refuse to listen to their opponents' argu- 
 ments. In all hotly debated questions on the 
 respective merits of players, the captain should be 
 ultimately referred to for the final decision. Other- 
 wise disaster may follow, for, as Lord Macaulay 
 remarked, it is impossible for an army to be 
 successfully lead by a debating society. Members 
 of a committee have not the responsible feeling 
 of a captain. They can indulge in their parti- 
 ality for particular players, and for debate at the 
 same time. A captain, again, is deprived of half 
 his authority when offenders know that their 
 inclusion in the team does not depend on their 
 obedience to his orders on the field of play. Last, 
 and by no means least, the captain has oppor- 
 tunities, never afforded to the committee, of 
 judging the real value of a player. To know how 
 a forward shoves you must shove beside him ; to 
 know how a half passes you must take the passes ; 
 to know if a three-quarter is selfish you must be 
 
HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 163 
 
 close up to him when he is making the run, before 
 you can call his judgment in question. A com- 
 mittee is often composed of elderly players, 
 opposed to all " new fangled " notions. A captain 
 is probably the finest, or one of the finest, expo- 
 nents of the latest style of play. He can appreciate 
 the advantages or disadvantages of any improve- 
 ment long before the committee have recovered 
 from their surprise at the innovation. 
 
 A captain must find opportunities for coaching 
 his team. He can see that the players once or 
 twice a week meet and practise dribbling, passing, 
 and goal or place-kicking. Arthur Budd, in his 
 celebrated article, which dwelt on the advantages 
 that would accrue to a team from the extension 
 of passing and the combination of the players, 
 pointed out that any team might make for itself 
 name and fame in the football world, provided 
 that it started with good material, and constantly 
 practised on the lines indicated. The success of 
 Vassall's Oxford team, which is now a matter of 
 football history, proved the truth of his theories. 
 Vassall, as a method of training his men, adopted 
 a series of picked games, which, as he himself 
 subsequently stated, were " far more useful to the 
 
i64 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 team than the minor foreign matches." With this 
 view I do not agree. From experience in " picked ' 
 fifteens," both in University and county football, 
 I have come to the conclusion that the worst 
 possible football is exhibited by those who take 
 part in them. Each player plays for himself 
 alone. He knows that the eyes of the committee 
 are bent upon him, and reserves himself for oppor- 
 tunities of smart play where smart play can be 
 seen and admired by them. The game is invariably 
 rough, and the tempers of all concerned disappear 
 in a few minutes. It is far better for a committee 
 of a county to visit the leading inter-club matches ; 
 for a University captain or committee to watch the 
 inter-college matches, where the greatest keenness 
 prevails ; for a club captain or committee to super- 
 intend the matches of their second or third fifteens. 
 It is in games such as these where the honour of the 
 club is at stake, and players are not merely actuated • 
 by the desire for personal glorification, that the true 
 form of a man or boy may be observed and noted. 
 
 On the Football Field. 
 
 Let us now consider the position of the captain 
 when the match is fixed, the team chosen, and 
 
HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 165 
 
 amid the applause of his supporters, he leads his 
 men on to the field of play. Here he is absolute 
 — there can be no doubt about that. There 
 is no committee to suggest trivialities to him. 
 Perhaps the best description of the perfect football 
 captain in the field is that given by the late Judge 
 Hughes in " Tom Brown's Schooldays." f" Over 
 all," he wrote, "is old Brooke, absolute as he of 
 Russia, but wisely and bravely ruling over willing 
 and worshipping subjects, a true football king. 
 His face is earnest and careful as he glances a 
 last time over his array, but full of pluck and hope 
 — the sort of look I hope to see in my general when 
 I go out to fight."} You were right there. Judge 
 Hughes ! {There is but little difference between 
 the great general and the great f ootball captain. 
 The same spirit animates them both ; the same 
 qualities give them their victories, or help them to 
 stave off crushing defeatsN After all, football is still 
 a " friendlie kinde of fygnte," just as it was in the 
 year 1583, when Puritan Stubbes orated against it. 
 In the field the football captain is much in the 
 position of the cricket captain. As the latter 
 changes his bowling, and possibly the order of 
 going to the wicket, according to whether the day 
 
i66 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 is wet or fine, and the wicket slow or fast, so the 
 former should change the style of play of his team, 
 according to the vagaries of the weather. There is 
 nothing to be gained by " heeling out " a wet, greasy 
 ball, that neither halves nor three-quarters can 
 make certain of holding. Under these circum- 
 stances let the forwards wheel and rush, not pick- 
 ing up the ball, but dribbling all they can. On a 
 fine day let the backs have the ball more frequently, 
 and let the forwards occasionally try bouts of short, 
 sharp passes, instead of rushing dribbles. 
 
 The captain should take any advantage in wind 
 or slope that the toss may give him. In cricket, 
 to win the toss means to " go in," with few excep- 
 tions. In rowing, a crew can generally " hang on " 
 somehow to the finish if they have secured a good 
 lead. In Rugby football the team will, with the 
 wind or the slope, probably secure the first advan- 
 tage, and is naturally encouraged thereby. It is a 
 point worth remembering. In kicking off, let the 
 captain, if he takes that duty upon himself, attempt 
 high rather than long kicks. I do not mean short 
 kicks just over the nearest forwards' heads, for the 
 players are, nowadays, scattered all over the field 
 to prevent such tricks proving successful, but high, 
 
HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 167 
 
 long kicks, which will give his own forwards time 
 to rush up as the ball hangs in the air, and to 
 tackle the opponent who receives it before he 
 can return it with a drop or punt. Forwards are 
 apt to get slack in this " following up," and the 
 captain should keep them up to the mark. An 
 immense amount of ground is won if this piece of 
 play is brought off successfully, and I have, on 
 several occasions, seen it result in a try. At the 
 same time the captain must keep an eye on the 
 over-anxious forwards, to see that they do not 
 start running too soon, and get in front of the 
 ball and off-side before it is kicked. This means 
 a scrummage, and all the advantage of the kick-off 
 is lost. 
 
 I mentioned that it was now the practice to 
 send some forwards back just before the kick-off. 
 I append a plan (p. i68) showing the best arrange- 
 ment of the field on such occasions. 
 
 It is a difficult matter to decide which is the 
 place in the field most suitable for a captain to 
 occupy. If he is a three-quarter he can see that 
 the passing works smoothly, but then he is unable 
 to see how the forwards are behaving in the 
 scrummage, or if he sees they are playing badly, he 
 
l68 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 cannot get at them to tell them so. If he is a 
 forward he knows little of the play of the halves 
 and three-quarters. If the captain is a member of 
 the back division, I should advise him to appoint 
 a lieutenant from amongst the forwards who can 
 watch the play of his companions. Such a man 
 
 
 
 
 GOAL 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 B 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 T - 
 
 • 
 
 
 T 
 
 • 
 
 
 T 
 
 • 
 
 
 T 
 
 H 
 
 • 
 
 F 
 
 
 F 
 
 
 F 
 
 • 
 
 H 
 
 • 
 
 F 
 
 • 
 
 F 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 F 
 
 • 
 
 
 F 
 
 F 
 
 
 
 HALF 
 
 WAY 
 
 LINE 
 
 
 
 A, the kick-off ; F, F, the forwards ; H, H, the halves ; 
 T,- T, the three-quarters ; B, the full back. 
 
 can tell them when to heel out, and which way to 
 screw. He can see that they are marking their 
 men at the throw-out from touch, and have fallen 
 into their right positions at the kick-off When 
 a team consists of experienced players, who are 
 
HOW TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 169 
 
 certain to keep their wits about them and their 
 eyes on the ball, the less talking that occurs the 
 better. On the other hand, if the team is com- 
 posed of young and inexperienced players, the 
 lieutenant I have mentioned, or one of the half- 
 backs, should shout instructions as to "heeling" 
 and "screwing," the details of which have been 
 explained in the chapter on forward play. The 
 halves should also shout when the ball is away, 
 that the forwards may break up quickly. 
 C It is fairly obvious that a captain requires a 
 great deal of tact. A few judicious words of 
 praise will effect extraordinary improvement in a 
 young and keen player. He should be firm with 
 evil-doers, but, at the same time, should never 
 growl at his men until they get sulky. He must 
 never make use of stronger language than is 
 absolutely necessary. ) I cannot thus conscien- 
 tiously recommend the selection of a captain for 
 the reason given by a member of a rustic fifteen 
 in sunny Devon. " What did you choose him 
 for ? " I queried. " He isn't a bit of good." 
 " Well, zur," answered the rustic, " it's a treat for 
 to 'ear 'im — 'e do swear so ! " I I have always 
 found that the best coaches in all forms of 
 
I70 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 athletics temper justice with mercy. A bully 
 never teaches a man anything except to control 
 his temper. I well remember a famous Cambridge 
 rowing coach, with the kindest of hearts and the 
 most forcible of expressions, who pulled up his 
 horse, and gazed at the eight he was instructing 
 more in sorrow than in anger. We sat expecting 
 to be blasted by his winged words. Nothing of 
 the kind, however, occurred. " Do you know what 
 you men are rowing like .' " he asked quietly. 
 No one answered. " Well, you're rowing as if you 
 were rowing at a funeral, and were afraid of 
 bumping the hearse. Paddle on, cox ; " and we 
 went on our way sorrowing. Those few words 
 had a far greater effect than if he had used the 
 most powerful expressions in his well-stocked 
 vocabulary. Sometimes a captain or coach — 
 whether he figures on the football field, towing- 
 path or cricket ground it makes no matter — seems 
 to each neophyte to take a personal interest in 
 his individual improvement. Such a man is given 
 divine honours by the youngsters, and, as a natural 
 result, they make every effort to please him by 
 following out his instructions. 
 
 A great captain, then, is a man who thoroughly 
 
ffOJV TO CAPTAIN A CLUB. 171 
 
 knows the game, who by example as well as by- 
 precept expounds the best method of play, and 
 who has the power of keeping his men in hand. 
 He need not be a. great talker. Those who know 
 him will understand what he means without a long 
 explanation./ A story which exemplifies this is 
 told of a celebrated Cambridge International, whose 
 motto might well have been Facta non verba. 
 He once sent for his college team, of which he 
 was captain, in order that he might give them 
 a few last words of advice before an important 
 match commenced. When they arrived there 
 was a great silence. The team waited open- 
 mouthed for the words of the oracle, and the 
 oracle seemed in difficulties. At last the words 
 came : " When you tackle a man," said he, " don't 
 let him get up in a hurry ; " and the interview 
 closed. They obeyed him to the letter, and won 
 the match hands down. 
 
 The chapter has been a long one, but I hope 
 that the hints it contains will be of use to those 
 in authority who are as yet unused to the grave 
 responsibilities which they have taken upon their 
 shoulders in consenting to hold office in a Rugby 
 football club. 
 
172 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 HINTS ON TRAINING. 
 
 I EVERE training is impossible for 
 a Rugby football player. In 
 running or rowing, athletes go 
 through a careful preparation, but 
 then they have only one particular 
 race or series of races in view. 
 They can thus be trained "to the 
 hour," or, in other words, be ready 
 to run or row on a certain day, though, should that 
 day be suddenly changed to a week earlier, they 
 might not be "in condition," while a week later 
 they might be over-trained and " stale." The foot- 
 ball player, who has to play twice a week for four 
 or five months, could not stand the strain of severe 
 training during the whole period. The danger of 
 his becoming " stale " would be too great. At 
 the same time, he must take certain steps to keep 
 
HINTS ON TRAINING. 173 
 
 himself fit and well, for the tendency of the game 
 is to get faster every season, and " the fitter, the 
 faster," might be called a recognized football 
 maxim. The backs no longer .have time given 
 them to get their wind while the forwards are 
 mixed up in a ten-minute scrummage; the 
 forwards no longer saunter from scrummage to 
 scrummage, under the idea that to push hard is 
 the whole duty of man, for they know that they 
 are expected to be always on the ball, and show 
 the pace and tackling powers that were considered 
 the special attributes of the three-quarters. What 
 a football player requires is to keep in perfect 
 health during the football season, and in this 
 chapter I propose to give him a few hints on the 
 subject that may be of use to him. 
 
 For schoolboys no self-denial is necessary, as 
 far as the school diet is concerned. It is sure to 
 be simple and wholesome, and that is all that is 
 required. An energetic school captain should see 
 that none of his " men " indulge inordinate desires 
 for jam-puffs or sweetmeats of any description. 
 The digestion of a growing schoolboy is second 
 only to that of the ostrich, yet the occasional 
 tin-tack, which is supposed to be regarded as a 
 
174 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 bonne bouche by that eccentric bird, would do him 
 far less harm than the continual bull's-eye. Of 
 course, to a great extent, this abstinence from 
 " grubbing " must be left to the schoolboy honour. 
 It is impossible to watch each member of the 
 team in the same manner as did the backers of 
 pugilists in the old times, when spies were set 
 to observe if the noted " pets " ever sneaked into 
 a public-house. That each boy will get regular 
 exercise, I take for granted. This subject will, 
 however, be fully dealt with in the chapters on 
 school football, contained in the present book. 
 
 The Universities are somewhat in the same 
 position as the schools. Of course the University 
 man has many temptations, radically opposed 
 to all notions of training, from which the school- 
 boy is exempt. But he is in the first flush of 
 manhood, and his recuperative powers are marvel- 
 lous. He is much in the open air, he takes hard 
 exercise of some sort every afternoon, and he has 
 no cares — save his bills and the thought of his 
 next examination — to worry him. Even the 
 immediate prospect of the great football event of 
 the year — the Inter-University match — does not 
 send him into anything like strict training. He 
 
HINTS ON TRAINING. 175 
 
 turns out at eight o'clock, or thereabout, and has 
 a sharp walk ; his captain will sometimes suggest 
 to him that it would be well if he was not always 
 seen with a pipe in his mouth. There, however, 
 his training begins and ends in the majority of 
 cases, though there are a few zealous individuals 
 who make an effort to prepare themselves 
 thoroughly. With plenty of fresh air and plenty 
 of hard exercise it is not difificult to keep the 
 muscles hard and the wind good. At the same 
 time, there is little doubt that the play of a 
 University team might be improved by a more 
 regular training. Those who are keen enough 
 to take a little trouble with themselves while at 
 the University, might glance through the follow- 
 ing remarks, which, however, I wish particularly 
 to address to the large body of men who have 
 left school and college, and settled in some regular 
 business or profession. 
 
 It is naturally difficult for men, especially those 
 who have a tendency to lay on adipose tissue, to 
 sit in their office or chambers for five days in the 
 week, and then play a hard game of football on 
 the afternoon of the sixth. Yet a player, even 
 under these circumstances, can keep fairly fit with 
 
176 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 a little care. To begin with, he should make a 
 habit of early rising ; not the early rising recom- 
 mended by the intolerable William Cobbett, who 
 apparently considered that four o'clock in the 
 morning was the very latest hour at which a 
 virtuous and well-intentioned young man might 
 leave his bed, but the early rising which means 
 being down at a quarter to eight, so that there 
 may be time for a sharp walk before breakfast 
 at 8.30. That morning walk is of great import- 
 ance. I do not believe in running hard or 
 taking any very violent form of exercise. The 
 short, quick walk is the best "pipe-opener" on 
 which to commence the day. After getting out 
 of bed and just after the bath, five minutes' 
 exercise with Indian clubs, dumb-bells, skipping- 
 rope, or a machine for working the muscles should 
 always be taken. In the evening, a walk of some 
 two miles or so, varied by short sprints at top 
 speed, is also necessary. Of course, if a man can 
 walk or bicycle to his work, let him by all means 
 do so. If, again, he is skilled in boxing or fencing 
 let him keep up his practice in these forms of 
 exercise ; they encourage activity and harden, 
 without stiffening, the muscles — two important 
 
HINTS ON TRAINING. 177 
 
 points in football training. Rowing is, in my 
 opinion, fatal to football. It stiffens a man, and 
 materially reduces his pace. Many will probably 
 disagree with me on this question, but I think I 
 am correct. 
 
 As far as diet is concerned, the plainer the 
 food the better. This is a hard saying to strong, 
 healthy men with good appetites, but it is never- 
 theless true. If a man wishes to diet himself in 
 a proper manner, he should take fish or a chop, 
 with fruit to follow, for breakfast ; a light lunch of 
 some cold meat and lettuce ; and a dinner of fish, 
 fowl, or the lighter meats, concluding with a sweet 
 course of stewed fruit or rice-puddings. A man 
 who has the time, and wishes to actually train 
 hard, should take regular exercise every after- 
 noon in addition to the work previously suggested. 
 The best method of preparation both for his wind 
 and his skill consists in sprinting hard up and 
 down a field with one or two friends, either 
 dribbling or passing a ball from one to the other. 
 
 Then there is the question of smoking. Few 
 football players leave their pipes in the rack 
 during the season, yet tobacco undoubtedly affects 
 the heart and incidentally the wind. Oarsmen 
 
 M 
 
178 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 know this only too well, and the first rule in their 
 training is that no tobacco in any form or under 
 any circumstances shall be allowed. Of course 
 rowing a hard race is by far the most exhausting 
 form of exercise, and to it football cannot be for 
 a moment compared. The pipe, then, must remain 
 a matter for the individual conscience. 
 
 About drinks between meals there can be 
 no two opinions. I should not wish to impose 
 upon Rugby football players the strict training 
 rule, that only a certain amount of liquid shall 
 be consumed during meals. Let a man satisfy 
 his natural thirst by all means, but — and on 
 this I must insist — let him give up the drinks 
 between meals. If a player, who has to sit 
 on an office stool or in a heated law court, 
 drinks beer, it will cause him to put on fat at a 
 most surprising pace. Spirits are bad for the 
 digestion, and so hit him in another way. Many 
 men take a "night-cap" in the form of a stiff 
 whisky and soda. The word " night-cap " is ludi- 
 crously inappropriate, for spirits taken late at night 
 stimulate the heart's action just as that organ 
 should be slowing down for the night's rest, and 
 thus either prevent sleep altogether or keep the 
 
HINTS ON TRAINING. 179 
 
 sleeper restless and uneasy. Late hours are in- 
 evitable to many men, but they should be avoided 
 as far as possible. Lastly, make a point of sleep- 
 ing with your window open in all weathers, wet 
 or dry, warm or cold. Any hospital assistant will 
 tell you how necessary it is to have plenty of fresh 
 air in a sleeping room. 
 
 When a team is on tour, the heavy football 
 dinner which is so often hospitably but in- 
 judiciously provided should be avoided as far as 
 politeness admits. Let the men rise early, and take 
 a short walk before breakfast. In the morning, 
 the billiard-room with its stale and stuffy atmo- 
 sphere should be left severely alone. Moderate 
 sight-seeing may be indulged in ; but the men 
 must remember that few things will tire them more 
 than walking round with their heads in the air. 
 A substantial lunch should be eaten. Nothing 
 is gained, as some players seem to imagine, 
 by appearing on the field of play in a state 
 of semi-starvation. Of course the food must be 
 plain, and no pastry should be included in the bill 
 of fare. Above all things, let them avoid cheese 
 — the most indigestible of eatables. For drink, 
 draitight ale is the best. Bottled ale should be 
 
i8o RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 avoided, as should any mineral water of a gaseous 
 nature. After the match, they should change as 
 soon as possible. A hot bath is a necessity, but 
 they must not half boil themselves in it, for they 
 thereby incur a great danger of catching subse- 
 quent colds. It is perhaps almost unnecessary to 
 say that every member of the team should provide 
 himself with a really warm " sweater " and scarf 
 to wear on the ground before and after the game. 
 
 The tendency in modern Rugby football is, as 
 I have already stated, to make the game faster. 
 If professionalism increases to any great extent, 
 ^as increase I fear it must — the professional 
 players will, for the sake of the spectators who 
 pay the bills, see that the play gets no slower ; in 
 fact, the rules may tend to approach nearer to those 
 in vogue in the American game. However this 
 may be, it is certain that with faster play more 
 scientific training will become necessary. At 
 present Mr. Whitney, an American whom I 
 have previously quoted, writes, " It would be 
 utterly impossible to fit our football players on 
 the slight training done by the Englishmen, 
 whose season of preparation is very much shorter, 
 and whose game is simplicity itself compared 
 
HINTS ON TRAINING. i8i 
 
 to ours." But this is the beauty of our football. 
 It is at present an amateur game, which can 
 be played once or twice a week — and played 
 successfully — without any extraordinary amount 
 of training. The barrister or member of the 
 Stock Exchange can be at his work all the week, 
 and enjoy his game on the Saturday. This is 
 a point which Mr. Whitney notes and admires : 
 " It is in the lesser preparation and ' business,' if 
 I may use the word — and I hope I shall be 
 correctly interpreted — that lead up to and sur- 
 round our athletic contests that the Englishmen 
 set a good example." That is it. We amateurs do 
 not want to make a " business " of a famous sport. 
 
 The Welsh teams have a great reputation for 
 their magnificent combination and good condition. 
 A few remarks on what they consider to be suffi- 
 cient training from the pen of that celebrated 
 International forward, Mr. C. B. Nicholl, may be 
 of interest. 
 
 " It is a very general mistake," Mr. Nicholl writes 
 to me, " to suppose that Welsh football players do 
 an enormous amount of training. This is entirely 
 wrong. In an ordinary way the members of the 
 leading clubs train together for about an hour on 
 
1 82 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 one night only in the middle of the week. On 
 two or three occasions during the season, before 
 particularly hard matches, an extra night's work 
 may perhaps be indulged in ; but this is quite 
 exceptional. It is generally believed in Welsh 
 football circles that excessive training is not only 
 unnecessary, but detrimental. All that is required 
 is that the players look well after themselves in 
 the everyday habits of life, and take their moderate 
 amount of exercise regularly and thoroughly. 
 Every big club has its trainer, bath-rooms, and 
 gymnasium, and it is there that most of the work 
 is done. Newport, in particular, has a very fine 
 building for the men to train in. It is there that 
 their men take all their exercise, running up and 
 down at full speed, and passing the ball to each 
 other. This teaches a man to be in the right place 
 when waiting for a pass, and allows him to give and 
 take the ball while travelling at top speed. Then, 
 to finish up the night's work, they often have a 
 short game of football under the Association rules. 
 " Not a small factor in the success of Welsh clubs 
 is their good fortune in being able to keep the 
 same, or nearly the same, men together year after 
 year. Take, for instance, Newport. It is quite 
 
HINTS ON TRAINING. ,183 
 
 surprising how few changes have been made in 
 this team during the last four years. Indeed, 
 the marked success of this excellent club is in no 
 small degree due to the wonderful combination of 
 both forwards and backs, and to a thorough know- 
 ledge of each other's play. Of course, when play- 
 ing eight forwards against nine, it is obvious that 
 every man must be an honest worker in the 
 ' scrum,' in addition to being quicTc in the open and 
 good at handling the ball. Thus it is absolutely 
 necessary for the forwards to keep ' fit ' during the 
 season. The Welsh game may be at times risky, 
 and doubtless it has a tendency to increase 
 scoring; but I hardly think that any one who 
 has actually played, and had experience of both 
 systems in a first-class team, can doubt that it 
 naturally produces a far more exciting and inter- 
 esting game than when the three three-quarter 
 system was alone in vogue. The opinions of 
 critics who hold that, under the Welsh method, 
 forwards are reduced to mere heeling-out machines, 
 are worth very little. It will be found that these 
 critics are in almost every instance mere theorjsts, 
 with very little practical experience in the modern 
 game. 
 
i84 ■ RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 " Naturally the training for International matches 
 is more severe than for ordinary club games. Still, 
 provided the man lives a healthy life, really hard 
 training is quite unnecessary. It can be so easily 
 overdone, and this great danger should be guarded 
 against at all costs. A slightly under-trained man 
 is of very much more value to his side than one 
 who is ' stale.' 
 
 " Not a few of the Welsh International players 
 have been produced from Llandovery school. 
 Indeed, this institution has for many years been 
 justly noted for its football. It is a game naturally 
 well suited to the strong, sturdy physique of the 
 Welsh boy, and it is the game which he enjoys 
 and excels in. Here, again, the training is by no 
 means severe ; much the same, in fact, as that 
 at an ordinary English Rugby-playing school. 
 Numerous sides and Form-games are played during 
 the week, and generally a match on the Saturday. 
 Boys are thoroughly drilled in the rudiments of 
 the game when young, and as they grow older 
 they naturally improve in physique and the skill 
 which practice alone teaches." 
 
( i8s ) 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 
 
 I O talk of surgical matters in 
 connection with a popular 
 game seems rather lugubri- 
 ous ; yet I think that a few 
 practical hints may prove 
 useful to players. Although, 
 as has been stated pre- 
 viously, there is a tendency 
 in modern Rugby football to make the game 
 more gentle rather than more violent, accidents 
 will nevertheless occur even in the best regu- 
 lated football families. Not that the "butcher's 
 bill " is high, when the number of players is con- 
 sidered. According to an article which appeared 
 some years back in the East Anglian Daily 
 Times, compiled from statistics supplied by an 
 assurance society, the average is exceedingly low in 
 
1 86 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 comparison with other sports which do not arouse 
 a tenth of the outcry. "Here," says the paper 
 just mentioned, "are the statistics compiled by the 
 assurance company in respect of accidents at 
 various sports. Two months were taken — January 
 and June, 1890 — as representative of winter and 
 summer sports respectively. The January claims 
 were: Riding, 40; football, 23; hunting, 19; 
 shooting, 8 ; dancing, 5 ; boxing, 4 ; hockey, 2 ; 
 bowls, 2 (how in the world did they hurt them- 
 selves at bowls i*); skating, billiards, dumb-bells, 
 tennis, golf, i each — total, 108, The June claims 
 were : Riding, 40 ; cricket, 34 (compare that with 
 football, ye cricketers who talk about it as a 
 brutal game !) ; cycling, 31 ; tennis, 17 ; rowing, 10 ; 
 swimming, 6 ; rinking, 3 ; polo, 3 ; shooting, 2 ; 
 bowls (again !) and wrestling, i each — total, 148." 
 From a study of these statistics, I should 
 strongly recommend anxious parents to absolutely 
 forbid their children to play cricket. They should, 
 further, warn them against dancing and bowls, 
 pastimes which, under an innocent and harmless 
 exterior, carry death and destruction amongst 
 those who are attracted by them. The reckless 
 youth who indulge in billiards and dumb-bells 
 
A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 187 
 
 should also be instructed in the dangers they 
 incur while following those fascinating pastimes. 
 
 Joking apart, I think we may all conclude that 
 football is not such a very dangerous game, after 
 all. The majority of the accidents which occur 
 are, I believe, due to the carelessness of the players 
 themselves. A three-quarter tackles a man very 
 low, yet keeps his head well in front of him, and 
 gets " kneed " on the head by the runner. A half 
 falls on the ball " head on "to the rushing forwards, 
 instead of in the manner suggested in this book 
 by Mr. C. J. N. Fleming. A player — whether 
 forward or back it does not matter — tries to bring 
 off a piece of "gallery" play by jumping over the 
 opposing full back, or diving head first into the 
 midst of the forwards without looking or caring 
 where he is going. It may be that a captain or 
 committee anxious for gate-money insist on play- 
 ing a game on a frost-bound ground. The Rugby 
 Union have refused to delegate to the referee the 
 power to decide whether the ground is playable 
 or no. I think this was hardly wise on their part, 
 although, as it was argued, the players are the 
 men to suffer if accidents occur, and therefore the 
 right of veto should be in their hands. Last, but 
 
i88 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 not least, the player's football get-up may be to 
 blame. Buckles on belts may leave horrible 
 scratches; rings are dangerous in "handing off" 
 a tackling opponent; worst of all, perhaps, are 
 the nails which are sometimes left exposed in the 
 boots, owing to the leather of the bars they fasten 
 being worn away. A football player with what 
 is practically a running spike in his boot is a 
 dangerous friend or foe. 
 
 To take the commonest of the minor accidents 
 — that of a bruise. If it is really bad, an ice-bag 
 should be put on it to reduce the swelling ; other- 
 wise, cold water bandages are the best things to 
 apply. Do not bathe the place in warm water, or 
 rub on embrocations at first. Embrocations are 
 excellent things for slight strains or stiffness, but 
 they irritate bruises, and do far more harm than 
 good. If the skin is broken, and there is any 
 chance of dirt getting in, wash the cut at once with 
 water mixed with some antiseptic. Boracic acid, 
 which any chemist will give you, is perhaps the 
 best. 
 
 A propos of cuts, players must remember that 
 in wearing cheap woollen jerseys of brilliant hues 
 they run a great risk of blood-poisoning. If dye 
 
A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 189 
 
 gets into a wound, it may be a very serious matter. 
 I can myself remember one football team that 
 started to wear jerseys of a peculiar shade of green. 
 The faces of nearly all the forwards broke out into 
 strange eruptions that puzzled the medical men, 
 until at last it was discovered that they were 
 caused by the jerseys. The rough wool rubbed 
 their cheeks and ears in the scrummage, and the 
 poisonous dye gradually worked its way under the 
 skin. It is perhaps needless to say that the jerseys 
 were at once abandoned. Cheap coloured stock- 
 ings are equally dangerous. A hack breaks the 
 skin, and then the dye works into the wound. 
 The majority of football players will, in all pro- 
 bability, know themselves of such cases, which are 
 not of uncommon occurrence. 
 
 Players are often careless in selecting their boots. 
 A well-fitting boot is as important to a football 
 player as to a soldier, and in the service it used to 
 be said that the army won which had the soundest 
 feet. If the boots are too tight, corns are formed 
 very quickly, and, what is still more disabling, bad 
 blisters are raised. If a blister appears, prick it 
 with a needle and squeeze out the water, but be 
 careful to leave the loose, flabby skin to protect 
 
190 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 the new skin which is forming underneath. If this 
 loose skin is rubbed off, the sore will take a con- 
 siderable time to heal. If the feet seem too 
 tender, a nightly soak in strong salt and water 
 will harden the skin. 
 
 A sprained ankle is unfortunately a not un- 
 common accident. Though the sprain is but slight, 
 it must not be neglected. It is not so very long 
 ago that hot water was recommended to reduce 
 the swelling that comes from such a sprain. This 
 is absolutely incorrect. Hot water will relieve 
 the pain, but it will have no other effect on the 
 swelling. When a player sprains his ankle, carry 
 him home, taking great care that he does not use 
 the injured foot. Then put him on a sofa, and 
 apply an ice-bag to the sprained part. Cold water 
 and ice is the treatment required. 
 
 The knees of football players are, from the 
 nature of the game, peculiarly liable to injury. 
 Many a fine player — like the half-back, Martin 
 Scott — has been cut off almost at the beginning 
 of his career by a damaged knee, which forbade 
 his playing in the future. The commonest form 
 of accident is a bad sprain, followed by what is 
 known as water on the knee. The knee becomes 
 
A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 191 
 
 puffy and swollen. Under these circumstances, 
 let the injured man lie upon a sofa, keeping the 
 leg level with, or perhaps slightly higher, than his 
 body. Keep an ice-bag on the knee, and bandage 
 it so that he is not able to bend it. If ice cannot 
 be obtained, use lead lotion mixed with spirits of 
 wine. The spirits of wine rapidly evaporate, and 
 thus keep the knee cool. When the water has 
 quite disappeared, and the swelling has been 
 reduced, liniments may be used, and the knee 
 worked to regain its strength. But while any 
 water remains never rub the knee nor apply lini- 
 ments ; the only result of such a proceeding is 
 to increase the inflammation. 
 
 Another knee accident is the dislocation of the 
 cartilages of the knee-joint. This is caused by a 
 sudden twist, and may be done by the runner 
 himself without any assistance from a violent 
 tackier. Water will immediately form, and the 
 only thing to be done is to put a long back splint 
 of board or stick down the back of the leg, so that 
 the injured man cannot move the knee-joint, and 
 then carry him home and send for a doctor. The 
 worst feature of this is that once the cartilages 
 have been dislocated, the knee is never quite so 
 
192 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 strong as it was before, and the accident may 
 occur again at any time. Many players have 
 been compelled to give up football owing to the 
 constant recurrence of this knee trouble. If ever 
 you notice a runner suddenly give a half turn, 
 and then bowl over like a shot rabbit, you will 
 know he has been cursed by that terrible infliction 
 " a football knee." 
 
 A player is fortunate if he does not get 
 "winded" once or twice in a season. It is not 
 a serious matter, although the process of coming 
 round is decidedly painful. When a player . is 
 " winded," lay him on his back and stretch out his 
 legs, which he will naturally wish to double up. 
 Loosen his jersey about the neck, and undo a 
 button or two of his football shorts. Do not let 
 all the players stand round in a dense, stifling ring, 
 but let him have plenty of air. Then pull his arms 
 above his head, and press them down again to his 
 sides, continuing the process of artificial respira- 
 tion until he is all right again. As a matter of 
 fact, unless in a very bad case, the artificial respira- 
 tion is unnecessary. 
 
 The accidents of which I have hitherto spoken 
 have been of the simplest kind. I will now 
 
A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 193 
 
 mention a few of a more serious nature. In these 
 cases follow out the instructions I give, unless, 
 of course, there is a doctor present who can 
 assume all responsibility ; but the services of a 
 doctor will certainly be required, and the sooner 
 one can be found the better for the injured player. 
 It is not very difficult to see whether or no a 
 player has broken his collar-bone. The arm is 
 supported by the collar-bone, and if that bone 
 be fractured, the weight of the arm will pull the 
 broken piece down, and create a hole in the 
 bone which can be felt by the finger. Further, 
 the weight of the arm is painful, and the injured 
 man will probably hold his elbow up with his 
 other hand to ease the pain. As a general rule, if 
 you notice a player who has fallen heavily on his 
 shoulder, subsequently supporting his arm in this 
 position, you will know that his collar-bone has 
 " gone." All that can be done is to put the arm 
 in a sling, and then send him off to find a doctor. 
 It is more difficult to tell a broken rib, but if 
 the player seems in pain, give him the benefit of 
 the doubt and pack him off. If a doctor is not 
 at once to be obtained, bandage his side tightly, 
 and keep him as quiet as possible until he arrives. 
 
 N 
 
194 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 A broken leg can be told by the altered 
 shape. Lay the player on his back and obtain 
 two splints. Narrow boards are the best, for the 
 edges project, and the bandage grip them instead 
 of the leg itself, as is the case when sticks are 
 used. Place the splints one on each side of 
 the broken bone, and tie bandages round them so 
 that the whole leg becomes immovable. The 
 great danger to be avoided is that of a compound 
 fracture where the end of one of the broken bones 
 makes a hole through the skin. A simple fracture 
 may be turned into a compound fracture if care- 
 lessly treated. I may add that if no splints are 
 procurable, the two legs may be bound tightly 
 together, the second doing the duty of a splint. 
 Should the thigh-bone be fractured, a long splint 
 is required, reaching from under the arm-pit down 
 to the ankle. In the army a musket is used, the 
 butt resting under the arm-pit. In all these cases 
 the greatest care should be taken in moving the 
 injured man. A hurdle or a door, with men at 
 each corner, will make a fair improvised ambu- 
 lance ; or, again, two poles with a rug between 
 them on which the man may lie. 
 
 A broken arm must be treated in the same 
 
A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 195 
 
 manner as a broken leg. It should be placed in 
 splints, and then bandaged closely to the side. 
 When this is done the player can walk a short 
 distance, if it is necessary for him to do so, 
 without any further injury to himself. 
 
 Do not attempt to tamper with a dislocation. 
 Sometimes a man who has a superficial knowledge 
 of the subject will try to do so, but he generally 
 makes matters worse instead of better. Remember 
 that the sooner the bone goes back into its socket 
 the better, for when the dislocation has become 
 cold and stiff it becomes a dreadfully painful 
 affair to reduce it. Send, therefore, for a doctor 
 as fast as you can. 
 
 A finger is often broken or dislocated. If a 
 finger is broken there is deformity ; unusual move- 
 ment may be noticed when it is touched. If it is 
 dislocated there is no deformity, but the finger 
 becomes immovable and stiff, I may allow a 
 finger to be an exception from my rule on dis- 
 locations, for it may often be slipped back into 
 its socket with very little trouble. But let a 
 doctor do the necessary work if it be possible. 
 
 In cases of concussion of the brain, lay the 
 player on his back with some slight support under 
 
196 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 his head. Do not give him brandy. This should 
 be carefully remembered, for brandy is generally 
 kept in the pavilion, and administered whenever 
 an accident occurs as a matter of form. If an 
 ice-bag can be procured it may be put upon his 
 head ; but send at once for a doctor, and await his 
 decision. The rare case of a fractured jaw is occa- 
 sionally reported. If — though this is extremely 
 improbable — such an accident happens, tie a broad 
 soft handkerchief under the chin and round the 
 top of the head, supporting the jaw. 
 
 I do not think there is much more to be said. 
 I have written as simply as possible, avoiding all 
 medical terms. If football players will remember 
 these hints they will at least save the doctor a 
 great deal of unnecessary trouble, and the injured 
 man a great deal of unnecessary pain. 
 
 One fact that is worthy of notice is, that the 
 older the football player grows the more wary 
 he becomes. A novice invariably gets his ears 
 injured in the scrummage, or gets his wind taken 
 once in every ten times he is tackled. Not so 
 the accomplished player. He knows "how to 
 fall," and that is a great art. A fall to a man 
 who takes no further exercise than walking from 
 
A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. 
 
 197 
 
 his house to the railway-station may be a very 
 serious affair ; but let that man remember that 
 this is not the case with the football player, who 
 from his youth has been trained to fall lightly and 
 easily under any circumstances. 
 
198 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 /\^ BLEAK enough appearance has the 
 ^_^p£^C\ great Yorkshire town on this 
 December morning. To which of 
 the great manufacturing hives I refer 
 is not of supreme importance ; for 
 they all possess, with due deference 
 to enthusiastic "tykes," the same 
 characteristics in towering chimneys, 
 innumerable smuts, and huge barrack- 
 like buildings, from which pour the hollow mur- 
 murs or loud clangings of machinery. There has 
 been a nip of frost in the night, but not enough to 
 spoil the game — so the telegraph, at least, has told 
 our captain. Twelve o'clock strikes as we emerge 
 from the station and pile our bags on the hotel 
 omnibus. Two of the committee-men of the club 
 we are to encounter have joined us, and are now 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 199 
 
 walking ahead with our secretary, talking earnestly. 
 From the look of their backs, I should judge that 
 the " gate " is under discussion, and that they are 
 pleased with the financial outlook. After the three 
 we straggle up the street, laughing and talking 
 amongst ourselves. 
 
 It is not far to the hotel, and the old campaigners 
 amongst us press on to secure the best rooms. 
 Like the veterans that they are, they have learnt 
 to take matters comfortably between their battles. 
 By the time the young and inexperienced have 
 climbed to the top floor, these gentlemen, having 
 appropriated the rooms lower down, are engaged 
 in finding out the position of the baths, and 
 securing the keys to make doubly sure of obtaining 
 priority in ablutions, and the necessary quantity 
 of hot water ; the kitchen boilers not infrequently 
 give out under the strain put upon them, and 
 nothing is more disagreeable than a cold bath 
 after an hour's roll in the mud. By half-past 
 twelve all these arrangements are concluded, and 
 the majority of us stroll out to inspect the town. 
 Not that there is much to be seen. " It's all rot 
 calling this place a busy hive ! " says one of our men 
 to a friend who has ventured upon that metaphor. 
 
20O RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 "The men may work like bees — I admit that — 
 but no bees could stand this smoke ; they would 
 have their toes in the air in about three seconds." 
 
 However, if there is little to be seen, we have 
 the satisfaction of knowing that we attract con- 
 siderable attention. The great Welsh forward 
 stalks along, a giant in our midst, " the cynosure 
 of neighbouring eyes." Broad in the back, lean 
 in the flank, with a small head well set upon his 
 great shoulders, he looks the tower of strength that 
 we know him to be. " Gawd, Bill ! " we hear one 
 little boy remark to his companion as we pass, 
 with that profanity which is the most manly of 
 qualities in the youthful mind, " suppose 'e was to 
 fall on yer ? " Then there is the braw Scotch laddie 
 who, so rumour hath it, wore football jerseys in the 
 nursery, and was playing three-quarter for his 
 country at an age when most boys are struggling 
 with the Pons Asinorum. Best known of all, per- 
 haps, are the three thick-set English Internationals 
 who figure amongst our forwards. Their mighty 
 deeds are familiar to half the passers-by, and those 
 who recognize them stop and look back and criti- 
 cize in whispers. Amongst such a goodly com- 
 pany we, who are as yet unknown to fame, feel that 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 201 
 
 our feet are upon the bottom rungs of her ladder. 
 Basking in the radiance that springs from these 
 heroes, we become more confident, and walk with 
 a firmer step ; for when the demi-gods are with us, 
 how can the might of man prevail ? 
 
 At 1. 1 5 the team assembles for lunch in the hotel. 
 Cold beef and beer are provided in no stinted quan- 
 tities. After the beef is disposed of, cheese is 
 placed on the table, and two men help themselves 
 in a hesitating manner. But the captain's eye is 
 upon them. " Of course you men can eat what you 
 like," he says severely, " but, in my opinion, to play 
 football on cheese is — well, is the very deuce." The 
 argumentative member of the team joins in at 
 once. " Nothing of the sort," he says ; " it digests 
 the other food." "But it doesn't digest itself," 
 says the captain ; and the men who have taken the 
 cheese put it ostentatiously at the side of their 
 plates and call for butter. But the argumentative 
 man is not to be beaten like this, " My dear fellow," 
 he says, " you are a crank on training. Waiter, 
 bring me the cheese," and he helps himself to a 
 chunk. The captain makes a short reply, which is 
 scarcely worthy of minute description. Remember, 
 you gentlemen who row or run, training is almost 
 
202 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 unknown on a Rugby tour, and it is only enthusi- 
 astic captains who ever try to interfere with what 
 the men eat or drink. At the same time— I speak 
 from painful experience — cheese " is the very 
 deuce," as our friend the captain tells us, and so 
 will the argumentative man find out by half-time 
 this afternoon ; but advice is a waste of words to 
 a man of his temperament. 
 
 At half-past two we retire to our rooms, and in 
 a few minutes reappear in the workman-like outfit 
 of an English football player : jerseys — or rather 
 stout vests, — over which warm woollen sweaters 
 are drawn ; a " blazer " of the club colours ; a good 
 thick scarf twisted round the neck ; football 
 " shorts " of blue serge, without a belt or any such 
 dangerous contrivance for keeping them in posi- 
 tion ; stockings and boots with stout leather bars 
 across the sole to keep us from slipping. One or 
 two of the forwards come down swinging ear-caps 
 in their hands. These are contrivances for keeping 
 the ears close to the head. It not infrequently 
 occurs that a player has his ears pulled forward 
 and injured by the pressure of the scrummage. 
 Small blood vessels are broken, and the ear 
 becomes swollen and disfigured. These ear-caps 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 203 
 
 prove, to a certain extent, safeguards against such 
 accidents. 
 
 As we stand waiting in the hall, the captain 
 addresses a few words to us. He is a fine player, 
 and an International himself, so that what he says 
 is worth hearing. A captain who leads his men 
 and explains by example is worth a hundred 
 captains who go behind and shout their direc- 
 tions. "The ground is fairly dry," he says, 
 "though it will probably break up and turn 
 muddy later on, when our feet have churned it 
 up a bit. Anyhow we are strong behind, and 
 I want you to play a loose game. Spread out 
 when you dribble, tackle hard, and when you 
 do heel out, heel out clean. Don't let the ball 
 trickle out of the scrum so that their half gets 
 to it as soon as does our own. That's about all 
 that I've got to say." The drag with its four 
 horses comes rolling up to the door, we jump in, 
 and away we go. 
 
 I always used to feel, when driving to the ground 
 in a Yorkshire town, as if I was a member of, say, 
 the " Light Blue troupe of knockabout artistes — 
 for one matinie only." On this occasion there is, 
 undoubtedly, a suspicion of the circus about us. 
 
204 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 We are perched up on the drag in our conspicuous 
 club colours, and driven, by what I cannot but 
 believe to be a most roundabout route, to the 
 ground. As we pass the whispering groups of 
 spectators, I instinctively call to mind the proces- 
 sion which promenades the town of a morning to 
 advertise the arrival of the show. Every time our 
 driver cracks his whip he seems to be " saying, 
 " 'Ere they are, gents, as fine a lot of well-growed 
 young uns as ever you saw. Walk up, walk up ; 
 they're just a-going to begin." However, we get 
 to the big gates at last, and pass through a long 
 avenue of interested, though somewhat grimy, faces 
 to the pavilion, into whose shady depths we 
 plunge with a sense of relief. 
 
 Then for a quarter of an hour or so we lounge 
 about, the younger members of the team experi- 
 encing that indefinable sensation of nervousness 
 which is described at the Universities as "getting 
 the needle." We do not go out on to the ground, 
 for that would spoil the "entrance." The game 
 is to be partly football, remember, and partly a 
 knockabout entertainment. Like the circus troupe, 
 we have the spectators to think of, and as it 
 would never do for the bare-back rider to practice 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 205 
 
 his tricks while the gallery was filling, so our agile 
 three-quarters must not " cavort " about the ground 
 until time is up, and the seats are packed with 
 the audience. However, all things come to an 
 end in time, and presently our captain, who has 
 left us, returns with the news that he has won the 
 toss, and that we are playing with the wind. 
 " You must do all you know at first," he says, 
 " and try and hang on afterwards. The wind is 
 strong, but it may fail a bit after half time." A 
 minute later, and our wraps are off; the doors 
 swing open, and we walk on to the field of play. 
 
 There we stand, the gladiators of the nine- 
 teenth-century Colosseum. The great multitude 
 wraps us round with its dark embrace ; a silent 
 crowd, some twenty thousand strong, rising tier on 
 tier above us. There is something so business- 
 like in the concentrated stare of those forty 
 thousand eyes, that an ancient Roman, could he 
 be placed amongst them, would probably express 
 surprise that we did not turn to the central stand 
 and cry the " Morituri te salutant " to the com- 
 mittee. A young undergraduate, who has never 
 played in the North before, turns to me, half in 
 jest and half in earnest, and says, " I don't like 
 
2o6 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 this, old chap ; I feel as if I couldn't run away ! " 
 I tell him that I quite agree with him. But our 
 talk is interrupted by a mighty shout that goes 
 echoing away into the distance. What is it? — 
 ah, the " home " team. Conscious of their popu- 
 larity, the men come skipping and jumping on to 
 the field, throwing the ball they bring with them 
 from one to the other, and playing the practical 
 jokes which are the average Englishman's idea of 
 humour. Fifteen strong, square fellows, hard as 
 nails all of them ; short and dark for the most 
 part, such as the Yorkshire towns breed — a race 
 apart from their tall, fair, broad-shouldered brethren 
 of the dales. Three of them, indeed, are of the 
 latter class, immense towers of muscle and brawn, 
 but they are the exception, and quite dwarf their 
 sturdy companions. 
 
 They have the right to kick off, and presently 
 a tall forward steps from amongst them and 
 places the ball on the centre line. Our men fall 
 back into their proper positions. Their forwards 
 line up and stand like greyhounds — or rather 
 terriers — in the leash ; there is a cry and an 
 answering shout from our captain ; the tall forward 
 takes four short paces, and the ball shoots into 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 207 
 
 the air as if from a mortar — not a long kick, 
 perhaps, but high, as a kick-off should be. The 
 forwards rush up under it at full speed ; the crowd 
 cheer wildly, as well they may, for has not a game 
 commenced between two teams of no little repute 
 in this football world of ours ? 
 
 It was a near thing. The forwards were almost 
 upon our wing three-quarter when he caught the 
 ball. But they had no raw recruit to deal with. 
 The first and the second man he dodges, and then 
 punts high into the air. The tables are turned 
 with a vengeance. The wind catches the ball, and 
 carries it along toward the opposite goal, while 
 under it speeds the fleetest foot in Cambridge. A 
 Yorkshire three-quarter catches the ball, but as 
 he does so he is hurled over, and the pair roll 
 on the ground together, while round them swing 
 the opposing packs of forwards. " Let the men 
 out," is the cry, and out they both crawl, and trot 
 quietly back to their places. The ball is rolled by 
 a half under the arch where the front ranks of the 
 bending forwards meet, and the scrummage has 
 commenced. What have I been doing .' Nothing 
 much up to the present, but now I find myself in 
 the third row of the swaying mass. We have 
 
2o8 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 managed to get the first shove, which, being inter- 
 preted, means that by driving the enemy back we 
 have obtained the ball. It is now passed back by 
 the feet of the front rank to the second rank, and I 
 can see it as I lean in the scrummage just before 
 me ; so I shove steadily ahead. Are we to heel 
 out ? No ; we are rather too far from the enemy's 
 goal-line, our captain thinks, and he gives no sign. 
 They are holding us now, and we make no head- 
 way. We must change our tactics, and try to 
 " screw " them, which, translated from football 
 dialect, means that we must try and push them off 
 the ball, so that they will pass by us on the one 
 side, while we dash on with it at our feet on 
 the other. "To the right," whispers our leader; 
 at the word the men in the front rank begin to 
 push steadily towards the left, while we behind 
 shove slightly to our right, keeping the ball in our 
 midst. The '' screw " is, on this occasion at least, 
 successful. Our opponents, pressed out of the 
 direct line for the moment, sweep back our front 
 rank to the left. But the Yorkshiremen have not 
 got our whole scrummage routed before them as 
 they think. Quickly we on the right slip by them, 
 and before the majority can see what has occurred. 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 209 
 
 five of us are free from the scrummage, which is 
 now in a state of utter confusion, and are away- 
 down the field. A half-back makes an ineffectual 
 dash at the ball, but misses it. There are but two 
 opponents immediately before us now — a three- 
 quarter and the full back. Then our leading for- 
 ward, who has the ball at his feet, loses his head. 
 As the three-quarter comes dashing up, he kicks 
 past him, but, alas ! he kicks too hard. In an 
 instant their full-back has pounced upon it, and 
 we rush at him, only to see the ball go sailing over 
 our heads into touch behind our backs. "Awful 
 sorry," grunts the culprit, and we trot back to the 
 touch-line in not the most pleasant frame of mind 
 imaginable. 
 
 " Mark your men there ! " cries their captain, as 
 we line up in two parallel rows at right angles 
 to the touch-line ; for it is " our ball," and our half 
 will have the right to throw it out to us. Away 
 it flies, fair and true, about half-way down the 
 long line. Our huge Welsh friend leaps at it, 
 and has it in a moment. Will he get through? 
 No ; a little Yorkshireman has him round the 
 thighs, and rolls him over as if he were a baby. 
 Round them we sweep, and another scrummage 
 
 O 
 
2IO RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 is formed. " Let the backs have a show," whispers 
 our captain. For a second time we get the ball, 
 and then those behind straddle their legs an inch 
 or two wider and out it rolls, propelled by a back- 
 ward kick, right into the hands of the half 
 waiting to receive it. Like a flash he is off, 
 travelling, however, but a few yards before he 
 transfers it to his companion, who is running on 
 his right. Away goes number two, taking a 
 slightly slanting direction, and drawing the tackle 
 of the three-quarter and half in front of him. 
 As these two rush at him together, he again 
 passes the ball. A gap has been left in the 
 enemy's line of defence, and in an instant our 
 Scotch three-quarter, who now has the ball, dashes 
 through. Away he speeds down the field with 
 a capital start. He has only the back to avoid, 
 and two of our men are in close attendance on 
 him in case he should find himself in difficulties. 
 Out shoots the back, and sends him staggering 
 to the ground a dozen feet away ; but his effort 
 though magnificent is vain, for the Scotchman has 
 thrown the ball to one of his companions, who 
 runs in and grounds it between the posts. 
 
 There is a low murmur in the crowd, and 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 211 
 
 the light of battle glows in the eyes of the 
 Yorkshiremen as they walk sullenly into goal, and 
 line up ready to make a dash at our captain, who 
 has elected to take the kick himself. A half strolls 
 out with the ball under his arm, and, turning his 
 back to the enemy, digs a substantial trench 
 with his boot-heel. Then he drops flat on the 
 ground, and holding the ball at arm's length, looks 
 up at his captain, who stands but two paces away. 
 " How's that ? " he says. " About right," comes 
 the answer. " No — a bit straighter, I think. That's 
 it — put it down." The ball is placed in the hole ; 
 our opponents rush out with a shout ; but it is 
 all in vain. The ball rises fair and true, pass- 
 ing between the posts about six feet above the 
 bar. The referee blows his whistle, and back we 
 trot to the centre line, with a goal to our credit 
 in the first twelve minutes — not a bad perform- 
 ance that, gentlemen ! 
 
 But we must look to our laurels. These sturdy 
 bull-dog men mean business now, and no mistake 
 about it. A jeer or two is heard from the crowd, 
 which tokens of contempt they receive with rather 
 ugly looks. Off flies the ball, and under it race 
 their forwards upon one of our luckless wing 
 
212 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 three-quarters, who stands waiting to receive it. 
 The wind catches the ball, and it hangs in the 
 air. Will it never come down ? Yes — at length 
 it falls, but falls too late. The "tykes" are on 
 our man, and over and over he rolls. One of them 
 whips it up and dashes on. But, see, speeding 
 across the ground comes our Scotchman ; two of 
 their men are close together. Surely, if the first 
 is tackled, it will avail us little, for he is already 
 preparing to pass the ball to his companion. But 
 no ; at his topmost speed — and he has weight as 
 well to back him — the Scotchman takes them 
 both, an arm for each, and over go the three in a 
 struggling heap ; while we, who are in hot pursuit, 
 swing round behind the ball. Saved this time! 
 Yet we are in our own twenty-five, and perilously 
 near our goal. And now for some fifteen minutes 
 we struggle desperately to guard our lines. Time 
 after time our halves throw themselves on to the 
 ball under the feet of their advancing forwards ; 
 time after time our backs perform prodigies of 
 tackling and kicking ; but in our twenty-five we are 
 forced to stay, and there we remain till the whistle 
 proclaims that the welcome half-time has arrived. 
 Out comes a plate of sliced lemon, and many 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 213 
 
 of us are glad enough to suck the acid juice, for 
 the work has been of no light order. Our captain 
 strolls around, looking rather pleased with himself, 
 but anxious too ; for he knows that the real 
 struggle has now to come. A few hacks and a 
 cut or two have been received, but no accident 
 of a serious nature has yet occurred. The minute 
 or two of waiting soon passes, and we line up 
 again for the play. We have the kick-off — against 
 the wind ; but our captain is not so successful 
 as the Yorkshiremen were at their last attempt 
 under similar circumstances. The ball keeps low, 
 and their centre three-quarter has ample time to 
 catch and return it with a long kick into touch 
 before we can reach him. 
 
 At the line-out an incident occurs which raises 
 the wildest enthusiasm amongst the crowding 
 masses who watch the game. We are not far from 
 our twenty-five, and so our half-back throws the 
 ball to a stalwart forward standing but a yard or 
 two out, who is, however, marked by a still more 
 stalwart Yorkshireman — one of the men from the 
 dales that I have mentioned. Our man springs 
 and catches the ball, but, in the twinkling of an 
 eye, he is hurled to the ground by his gigantic 
 
214 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 opponent with quite unnecessary violence. The 
 crowd cheer loudly. You must not be surprised 
 at that. Remember, please, that half of them 
 have come in the hope of seeing a bit of 
 " scrappin'," and greet its appearance with all the 
 enthusiasm displayed by spectators at a cricket 
 match, when a ball flies out of the ground for 
 six ! But more is yet to come. The ball has 
 again rolled into touch, and their half-back, out 
 of pure bravado, drops it again just where the 
 two frowning combatants are standing. This time 
 the Yorkshireman receives it, and in an instant 
 thirteen and a half stone of bone and muscle flies 
 at him like a cannon-ball. Down he goes with 
 a crash — as the oak falls to the woodman's axe, 
 to use a metaphor from friend Virgil. The yells 
 are deafening ; a hoot or two may be heard, 
 but the vast majority of the shouting is con- 
 gratulatory applause. We are strangers from the 
 South, and since no cup is to be lost or won, and 
 no betting on the event has taken place, the spec- 
 tators do not seem to mind very much which 
 side gets the worst of the rough play. All they 
 ask is that an occasional bit of the aforesaid 
 "scrappin"' shall occur — not a very exorbitant 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL. 215 
 
 demand, after all, as things go nowadays. A 
 collar-bone has snapped, and the injured hero 
 walks off the field nursing his arm, and using 
 language which I am sure he will regret in his 
 calmer moments. 
 
 For some time the game sways backwards and 
 forwards, but is, on the whole, of a very even 
 character. At length, however, our forwards begin 
 to slack their work in the scrummage, and slowly 
 we are pushed back, past the half-way line, past 
 the twenty-five line, so that we are almost on our 
 goal-line. Here we pull ourselves together for 
 a desperate stand, and in scrummage after scrum- 
 mage gain a little ground. But it is our last 
 effort. The ball is heeled out to their half, and 
 our three-quarters dash forward to mark their 
 opponents. Yet the wily half does not pass, but 
 runs himself between the scrummage and the 
 touch-line, and drops over the line amid a roar 
 of cheers from the sea of waving hats and sticks. 
 However, we have not much to fear, for the kick 
 is at a most difficult angle. We watch the half- 
 back carry out the ball, and stand in line like 
 runners ready for a hundred yards' dash. He 
 has put it down ! Out we rush ; but stay — we 
 
2i6 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 were over-eager — he has done nothing of the 
 kind, " No charge ! " shouts the referee, and we 
 have to remain in goal while the half-back 
 arranges the ball in the hole he has made for 
 it without further fear of molestation. At last 
 the kick comes — a mighty one, and well-directed 
 — but the wind carries the ball aside, and "no 
 goal " is the cry. " Come on, you men ; play 
 up ! " says our captain ; and out we run to the 
 twenty-five, and off goes the ball, spinning through 
 the air towards our opponents' goal. 
 
 Blood is up on both sides now, and the hardest 
 of tackling and the fiercest of dribbling is in full 
 progress. Our full back catches the ball, but before 
 he can kick it he is knocked head over heels, 
 and slightly sprains his ankle. Another of the 
 players hors de combat. Our opponents have been 
 playing one man short; but matters are now 
 equalized. What is to be done? "Take a for- 
 ward out of the scrummage," says the captain, 
 looking rather blankly at us as we stand grouped 
 around him. "I wish you would let me go back 
 for a time," says one of the most stalwart of us, six 
 feet one in his boots, and forty-four inches round 
 the chest. He is a fine tackle and a fair kick. 
 
A MODERN GAME OF RUGBY FOOTBALL, ill 
 
 but it seems hard to lose him in the scrummage. 
 "It's just this," he continues, dabbing his head 
 sorrowfully with his handkerchief: ''I've got a 
 nasty cut in my head, and I'm making a beastly 
 mess of everybody in the scrummage, besides 
 hurting myself infernally every time I go into it." 
 " Oh, very well," says his commander ; and the 
 game proceeds. 
 
 And now occurs an incident that will never be 
 forgotten by any one who witnessed it. The 
 Yorkshiremen start a beautiful passing run down 
 the field. They are round our scrummage before 
 the forwards know anything about it. By brilliant 
 passing, the ball is carried past our halves and three- 
 quarters, although in so doing the hard tackling 
 grasses all of the runners save one — a burly man, 
 with a great reputation for a decidedly forcible style 
 of play. Our full back was a light man of no par- 
 ticular ability. This our friend the Yorkshireman 
 knows, and forgetting that a change in that position 
 has been effected, he makes no attempt to dodge, 
 but charges straight down on the player before 
 him, trusting that his strength and pace will annihi- 
 late him. Our man, nothing loth, meets him in full 
 career. There is a crash as of a railway collision ; 
 
318 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 without exaggeration it may be heard by the 
 spectators in the uttermost parts of the field ; " and 
 still stood all who saw them fall, while men might 
 count a score ; " then up goes a shout that rends 
 the listening air. It was a most gallant tackle, 
 and there is no one who does not cheer the pair as 
 they rise, blown it is true, but otherwise none the 
 worse for the encounter. Nothing more occurs 
 till the call of time, and we leave the field winners 
 by a goal to a try. 
 
 Such is a short account of a Rugby Union 
 football match as it would be played under modern 
 rules in the year 1896. Perhaps I have been 
 unfortunate in describing a game in which two 
 accidents occur. To those who know little of 
 football I will, therefore, say that for two to take 
 place in one match is a most unusual occurrence. 
 That the scene could scarcely be laid in a York- 
 shire club ground is a fact unfortunately true since 
 the formation of the Northern League. But such 
 a battle could have occurred in that great football 
 county not so very long ago, when disunion was 
 not thought of as a matter of " practical politics," 
 
( 219 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HINTS TO THOSE IN AUTHORITY IN ENGLISH] 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 fPORT," once wrote Whyte 
 fl ^V^<>i^^;j->^ Melville, "rouses manly 
 .^-^^j^BsN qualities of body and mind, 
 excites intellectual faculties 
 and muscular powers, braces 
 the nervous system, and 
 stimulates arm, heart, and 
 brain to healthful effort. 
 Few true sportsmen but are 
 frank of nature, kindly and generous." So a 
 great sportsman summed up the advantages of 
 sport. Rugby football can be included in the 
 term, for all athletics are forms of sport, and 
 football is, in my opinion at least, the finest form 
 of athletics. Its value in schools is immense; 
 its superiority over other games marked. Cricket 
 
220 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 does not provide the safety-valve for youthful 
 energy that is to be found in Rugby football ; 
 rowing may easily strain a weak heart if racing 
 is indulged in too early in life ; no other games 
 can be played regularly every day, and yet 
 excite the interest and -provide the exercise that 
 is to be found in Rugby football. Yet at first 
 many schoolmasters,sharing the prejudiced opinions 
 of the boys' parents, objected to the game. It 
 was considered rough and ungentlemanly. The 
 Brighton Academy, where poor little Dombey 
 dragged out his weary existence under the tutel- 
 age of Dr. Blimber, was the type of many of the 
 old schools. The exercise was limited to walks 
 after the fashion of the " crocodile " in the modern 
 girls' school. Now the smallest schools in the 
 kingdom have football and cricket teams, which 
 are considered just as much a part of their 
 educational .system as Latin and mathematics. 
 
 As its name denotes, Rugby football had its 
 origin in Rugby School. To the history of its 
 development at Rugby and other public schools, 
 I will refer in another chapter. All I now 
 wish to point out is that Rugby football sprang 
 from the schools. Many years elapsed before it 
 
HINTS TO SCHOOL AUTHORITIES. 221 
 
 found favour with the working classes, who in 
 many places were already playing some rough 
 form of game, which they designated football for 
 want of a better name. Gradually these working 
 classes have made the game their own, so that, in 
 the North of England at any rate, they have 
 almost crushed out the gentleman amateur. Into 
 the causes that brought about this unfortunate 
 condition of affairs I will not inquire ; they 
 have already been discussed in the present book. 
 But as the great North-country clubs, that have 
 in the past supplied so many of the most famous 
 International players, gradually are sucked into 
 the professional vortex, so will the public schools 
 rise in importance. It is to them that we shall 
 have to look to maintain the purity and high 
 traditions of the great game. In their hands will 
 be the training of the men who are to represent 
 England in its battles with what Lord Salisbury 
 has called the " Celtic Fringe." They will be 
 the nurseries of future Internationals. 
 
 It is thus very necessary that the game that is 
 taught at schools should be a sound and correct 
 game if England wishes to keep up her football 
 reputation. To do this requires constant attention 
 
222 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 from the elder boys and from those masters who 
 are themselves skilled in the game. An excellent 
 practice has sprung up within the last few years 
 of demanding from a master skill in games as well 
 as mental ability. It was discovered that the most 
 distinguished University scholars were often value- 
 less as teachers. They had neither the power to 
 command successfully, nor the strength of cha- 
 racter, to enforce obedience to the orders they 
 gave. Boys will cheerfully obey the celebrated 
 " blue " who has won for himself a great reputation ; 
 for amongst boys hero-worship, and especially 
 athletic hero-worship, flourishes exceedingly. His 
 power for good is therefore immense, for they will 
 follow his footsteps with an alacrity, and listen to 
 his advice with a respect that no dignitary of the 
 Church, preach he never so wisely, could command. 
 There is no reason, as Whyte Melville has told 
 us, why mens and moles should not be combined. 
 C. B. Fry, the Oxonian, has proved that he pos- 
 sesses great ability; C. M. Wells, of Cambridge, 
 was a first-class classic ; Adie, the light blue oars- 
 man, was a Senior Wrangler. These are facts 
 which the heads of the public schools have fully 
 appreciated. There is no doubt that the influence 
 
HINTS TO SCHOOL AUTHORITIES. 223 
 
 of athletic masters has invariably been for good, 
 both on the physical and moral welfare of the boys 
 entrusted to their care. 
 
 It is an established fact that the Scotch schools 
 turn out finer teams than their English rivals. 
 We find cases where boys, while still at school, 
 played for Scotland for two years in succession. 
 We see, again, that the Scotch boys who go up 
 to Cambridge or Oxford meet with a far larger 
 portion of football success than their brothers 
 of England. Old Fettesians and Old Lorettonians, 
 during the last ten years, have obtained their 
 "blues" in larger numbers than have the boys 
 from any two schools on this side of the border. 
 Yet their joint numbers amount but to some three 
 hundred and thirty boys all told. It is always 
 said at the 'Varsities that a man who turns out in 
 a pair of red stockings — the Fettesian-Lorettonian 
 colours — will certainly be tried for his University, 
 and will in all probability obtain his "blue." 
 What, then, is the reason of this ? Why are the 
 Scotch schools so much more successful in training 
 the young idea than our great English colleges ? 
 It is a difficult question to answer, but the high 
 standard of football in Scotch schools is, in my 
 
224 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 opinion, mainly to be accounted for by the enthu- 
 siasm aroused by the inter-school competitions, 
 in which Fettes and Loretto, Blair Lodge and 
 Merchiston, fight out an annual championship. 
 
 English head-masters have always been rather 
 afraid of inter-school matches. They seem to 
 imagine that the necessary keenness to win will 
 lead to innumerable cases of rough play. I do 
 not think that there is the slightest chance of such 
 untoward events occurring. Take, as an example, 
 the Scotch competitions, which have always been 
 marked by the most honest and sportsmanlike 
 play. In the Inter-University match, again, there 
 is never a suspicion of what the Americans call 
 " slogging " (which is quite distinct from hard 
 tackling) ; and, after all, undergraduates are but 
 schoolboys in disguise. Under the old style of 
 play, indeed, with its hacking and tripping, matters 
 were very different. The annual match between 
 Clifton and Marlborough under the old Rugby 
 rules, was found to be degenerating into a hacking 
 bout, and had to be abandoned. But tempora 
 mutantur et nos mutamur in illis. There is no 
 danger under the present altered circumstances 
 of a repetition of such unfortunate scandals. 
 
HINTS TO SCHOOL AUTHORITIES. 225 
 
 Wellington and Marlborough, Cheltenham and 
 Haileybury, Cheltenham and Rugby, Rugby and 
 Marlborough, and many other schools, now play 
 annual matches, which are in every respect distinct 
 successes. Why, then, should not a regular com- 
 petition be instituted ? The boys cannot be more 
 anxious to win than they now are, and if they 
 play a sportsmanlike game in the present, they 
 can surely be trusted to do the same throughout 
 an inter-school competition in the future, 
 
 Mr. C. J. N. Fleming, in his chapter on the 
 Nurseries of football in Scotland, has spoken of the 
 points in temperament and build, which will show 
 to the observer whether or no a boy has the 
 makings of a football player in him. I will 
 not, therefore, touch on this aspect of the question, 
 but rather give a few hints on the best method of 
 teaching a strong and willing boy the game. 
 
 Take a young forward, for instance. It is not 
 much good to tell him simply to push for all he is 
 worth when he enters a scrummage, and walk after 
 him with a stick to see that he does so. Tell him 
 to get his head down properly, and then to look 
 for the ball. When he sees it in front of him he 
 can push as hard as he likes. To be "on the 
 
 P 
 
226 RUGBY FOOTBALL, 
 
 ball " is the first requisite of a good forward ; and 
 this must be impressed upon him. To work 
 hard, to break away quickly from the scrummage, 
 to tackle his opponents with a rush — in short, to 
 play the old, hard forward game, is what he must 
 be taught. Afterwards he can be instructed in 
 "wheeling," and "screwing," and "winging," and 
 "heeling out," and the other tricks of the trade 
 which lighten the work of the men in the scrum- 
 mage, and give a young and not very keen player 
 countless opportunities of shirking his duty. Teach 
 him to pass and dribble by constant practice in 
 those accomplishments. An occasional afternoon's 
 Association football, with a Rugby ball instead of 
 a round one, is an excellent method of teaching 
 the dribbling game to young forwards. The 
 famous Welsh clubs believe in it, and practice 
 this hybrid game for half an hour or so once or 
 twice during the week. 
 
 Many players declare that the success of the 
 modern passing is due to the fact that the tackling 
 of forwards and backs alike is neither so hard nor 
 so keen as in the days gone by. Our cousins across 
 the sea declare that an American team would 
 break up our finest combination by their hard 
 
HINTS TO SCHOOL AUTHORITIES. 227 
 
 tackling. The success of our passing is solely 
 to be accounted for by the slowness of the men in 
 getting into play. " It is well enough," one of them 
 writes, " to be able to pass the ball from one three- 
 quarter to another if there is only one opponent 
 who has been fast enough to closely follow it ; but 
 I need not tell American University men that such 
 a condition in the game could not exist with our 
 football players, for with their rapidity of getting 
 into play every one of those three-quarter backs 
 would certainly have down on him one determined 
 tackier, who would not be likely to give the back 
 a chance to pass the ball. The slowness (as com- 
 pared to our game), therefore, of the men getting 
 into play I consider to explain why the passing 
 is so successful in the Rugby Union game." There 
 is much in what he says. Teach the forwards 
 to break away quickly from the scrummage, and 
 teach backs and forwards alike to " down " their 
 men. Let there be no scrambling on, and half- 
 hearted tackling, which is worse than useless. 
 
 One other point is worthy of mention. Be 
 careful to coach the team in place and drop- 
 kicking. When players leave school they have 
 little or no time, unless they enter one of the 
 
228 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Universities, to practise these most effective accom- 
 plishments. I should strongly advise all school 
 authorities to found competitions for place and 
 drop-kicking, and to see that the number of entries 
 in them is large. Accurate kicking is declining 
 every year, and it is the duty of the schools to see 
 that the evil does not spread further. Let the 
 boys learn it at school, or they will never learn it 
 at all. 
 
 I agree with Mr. Marshall, who stated, in a 
 recent article published in the "Football Hand- 
 book," that "amongst boys the encouraging of 
 individual play is what is required." Take, for 
 instance, a lad who has all the makings of a fine 
 half-back, a lad who can get away like lightning 
 with the ball, and can pass swiftly and surely. 
 Suppose that the captain of the school team is a 
 selfish three-quarter with indifferent pace, he may 
 insist, for what he calls the benefit of " combination," 
 on the half passing to him on every possible and 
 impossible occasion. Indeed, he may check and 
 spoil his game in a hundred ways. It is the same 
 with a three-quarter, who might turn into a dodgy 
 runner of remarkable ability, but is thwarted by 
 continual orders to pass the ball. Neither a half 
 
HINTS TO SCHOOL AUTHORITIES. 229 
 
 nor a three-quarter is a mere conduit pipe, what- 
 ever theorists may say on the matter. Let the 
 boys develop each his individual game at school 
 as long as they keep within the recognized limits 
 of honest, hard-working, unselfish football ; and 
 let those in authority over them leave the final 
 polish to the University or the first-class club. 
 This may seem a hard saying, but as a matter of 
 fact schoolboy players will, if individually brilliant, 
 combine naturally into a formidable team. What 
 I mean is, that manufacturing fine individual 
 athletes is better than winning school matches by 
 what I may describe as precocious combination. 
 
 It is obvious that football is of the greatest 
 assistance to a schoolmaster in teaching the boys 
 to love the fresh air, to desire to keep fit and well 
 rather than to go smoking surreptitiously under 
 neighbouring haystacks, and to regard with con- 
 tempt the flabby youths who hang around the 
 inevitable "tuck-shop." It has, of course, its 
 disadvantages. One accident will set a crowd of 
 fanatics howling. As I have stated elsewhere, 
 it is not a dangerous game ; but fanatics are 
 impervious to reason. On one point, however, I 
 would insist. Make the game compulsory if you 
 
230 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 like, play it as often as you like, but see that each 
 boy is examined by a medical man. There is 
 nothing gained by endangering heart or lungs, if 
 either are at all in a doubtful condition. This 
 examination is all the more necessary, as the game 
 grows faster every year, and with a faster game 
 comes a greater strain on the organs I have 
 mentioned. 
 
 To encourage esprit de corps amongst the boys 
 is most important. To be keen on the success of 
 the school is, however, one thing, and to neglect 
 the game itself in order to watch the doings of 
 the first fifteen is another. The growing tendency 
 amongst boys to delight in acting as spectators 
 rather than players must be vigorously checked. 
 Now and again exceptions may be made when 
 one of the great school matches of the season 
 is in progress ; but, generally speaking, each boy 
 should take his own regular exercise every day, 
 and not spend his time strolling about and 
 applauding the exertions of others. 
 
 Masters should do everything in their power to 
 assist the school captain to coach his men. At 
 the same time I am strongly opposed to any 
 interference on their part in the selection of the 
 
HINTS TO SCHOOL AUTHORITIES. 231 
 
 teams, as grievances spring up so easily under 
 such circumstances. Yet they can give friendly 
 advice, and, should they be men with great foot- 
 ball reputations, this advice will in all probability 
 be readily listened to by the boys. One thing, 
 above all ! Let there be no " favouritism " by the 
 boy, or boys, who select the team. I do not 
 think that in the larger schools there is much 
 danger of it, for public opinion is too strong ; but 
 in the smaller schools the danger is not incon- 
 siderable. Remember, ye captains, as I, have 
 said in a previous chapter on you and your ways, 
 favouritism is fatal! The team take sides, the 
 injured boys grumble in corners, the favoured one 
 is shamefaced, and then good-bye to all good- 
 fellowship apd esprit de corps. 
 
 House matches are an absolute necessity in big 
 schools in England where the number of " foreign " 
 matches is limited. They alone will keep up the 
 necessary keenness for the game, which otherwise 
 may tend to disappear, I do not believe in com- 
 pelling the boys to play too many times a week. 
 It may have a similar effect to the lack of house 
 matches in causing the boys to grow tired of the 
 game. Three times a week is, in my opinion. 
 
332 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 sufficient. On other days let them practise kick- 
 ing and passing, if they like, or, still better, try 
 some other form of exercise. The volunteers may 
 drill, or runs across country be organized. In the 
 gymnasium I put great faith. The first physical 
 qualities necessary for a football player are lithe- 
 ness and activity, combined with strength. A 
 series of light gymnastics will give a boy a chance 
 to develop the qualities required. Boxing, fencing, 
 and wrestling are also of assistance ; they teach 
 the hand to obey the eye. All feats of strength, 
 such as weight-lifting, should be avoided by boys. 
 They run considerable risk of straining themselves 
 and, in addition to this, such exercise stiffens the 
 muscles, so that what a boy may gain in strength 
 he must lose in activity. 
 
 An interesting article has recently appeared in 
 the Daily News, on the scholarship and athletic 
 records of public schools. I should advise the 
 opponents of Rugby football in schools to note the 
 quotations I shall extract from it. The materials for 
 the article were supplied by the head-masters them- 
 selves, and it can thus be safely assumed that they 
 are correct. " In passing into the Campus Martins," 
 says the writer, "are we leaving the scholarship 
 
HINTS TO SCHOOL AUTHORITIES. 233 
 
 winners behind, and will none of them be winners 
 of future Waterloos ? With a view to settle that 
 question, we asked the head-masters to be so kind 
 as to state whether the boys were athletes ; whether, 
 in particular, they were members of the cricket or 
 football teams. We had expected to find this 
 very rare. What with over-pressure and over- 
 work, the fierce competition, the bait, the bribes, 
 we thought it impossible. But, in fact, we con- 
 stantly find that these scholars elect are in the 
 school eleven or fifteen, or if not are athletes of 
 other kinds. It is quite common to find both the 
 cricket and the football captain in the scholarship 
 list. In fact, the schoolmaster seems quite as 
 proud of the athletic as of the scholastic feats. 
 We hear of a batting average of forty ; of a Balliol 
 scholar being at once captain of cricket and foot- 
 ball ; of a Trinity scholar who ' is the best forward 
 in our school team, and runs the mile well under 
 4-50 on grass ; ' and of a Corpus (Oxford) scholar 
 who ' was in the football fifteen, and won the open 
 quarter in fifty-three seconds.' Putting the infor- 
 mation we have received together, we find that 
 about 40 per cent, of these scholars are in one or 
 other of the two teams. And it is not only in the 
 
234 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 large schools where the scholars are also athletes, 
 but is rather the other way. If we take only the 
 schools which win one or two scholarships, we 
 find the percentage rises to 60. A curious contrast 
 is the following : Both Rugby and Bradford get 
 seven scholarships. No one at Rugby is in either 
 team ; all the seven at Bradford are." 
 
 Such is my answer to those who would have us 
 believe that if an attempt is made to develop 
 matter as well as mind, the former must obtain 
 complete mastery over the latter. 
 
 I cannot conclude this chapter without one 
 further quotation, from an article by Dr. Almond, 
 the father of Scotch football. Of football in schools 
 he writes : " It is perhaps, under all modern cir- 
 cumstances, their best instrument of ' education ' 
 in the true and wide sense of the word ; for I 
 cannot conceive of any school making a good 
 stand-up fight against the soft and indulgent ways 
 of living in which town boys, at all events of the 
 richer classes, are usually brought up, in which 
 football is not a flourishing institution." 
 
( 235 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 
 
 iNE of the proudest 
 boasts of every Eng- 
 lishman should be 
 the English public 
 school. Without wish- 
 ing to rival the exag- 
 gerated platitudes of 
 a continental patriot, 
 I think I may safely assert that no system of 
 education has been so successful as our own in 
 turning out honest, well-mannered gentlemen. 
 Young men often explain the bad temper, the 
 inability to stand " chaff," or the social fatix pas 
 of a companion by the remark, "You see, he 
 was never at a public school." What, then, is the 
 reason of this } It is due in a great measure to 
 the popularity of manly games, such as football 
 
236 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 and cricket. To be a fine athlete, a boy must be 
 plucky, he must practise self-denial, he must learn 
 to keep his temper, and, above all, he must possess 
 the Anglo-Saxon bulldog endurance which has 
 done so much for England in the past. There is 
 another point worthy of notice : despite the intense 
 athletic hero-worship in schools, it is a rare thing 
 to find a really distinguished boy cricketer or 
 footballer who, in schoolboy parlance, "fancies 
 himself." It is the mediocre player who "puts 
 on side." The great athlete is usually a quiet, 
 modest young fellow, disinclined to orate on the 
 subjects of his own achievements. There are, of 
 course, black sheep in every school ; but if loafers 
 and snobs and tuft-hunters are to be met with 
 amongst boys, they cannot be said to be so popular 
 or to be so well received as in the great world 
 outside. In the majority of these little republics 
 the highest and most manly ideals prevail, and, in 
 my humble opinion, athletics have had much to 
 do with putting these ideals upon their pedestals. 
 Whatever those worthies may say who think that 
 to win a fat scholarship is the end and object of 
 school life, it seems to me that the making of 
 honest English gentlemen is of infinitely more 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 237 
 
 importance ; boys who delight in the great deeds 
 of their chosen heroes are stages above the 
 members of our modern society who appear to 
 think only of the money-bags of their millionaires. 
 The qualities we all admire in the schoolboy hero 
 are conspicuous by their absence in the character 
 of the latter much-worshipped individual. 
 
 It seems almost a pity that the English schools 
 are so divided in their allegiance to the various 
 forms of football. But so they are, and so it seems 
 they must ever remain. There is the Rugby 
 football group, with Rugby, Cheltenham, Hailey- 
 bury, Clifton, Marlborough, Wellington, Tonbridge, 
 and a host of others ; there is the Association 
 group, amongst whom Charterhouse, Westminster, 
 Repton, and Shrewsbury stand conspicuous. 
 Lastly, there is a small group of schools each of 
 which play a different game of football ; amongst 
 them are Eton, Harrow, Winchester, and, until the 
 last few years, Shrewsbury, Charterhouse, and 
 Westminster. The games developed by this group 
 were, there is little doubt, originally intended to 
 suit the capacities of their individual playgrounds. 
 It must be remembered that the great playing 
 fields, without which a modern public school can 
 
238 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 hardly be imagined, are in the majority of cases 
 quite modern. 
 
 It is not my purpose to speak at any great 
 length of these varying forms of football, for this 
 is a Rugby football book, and should deal with 
 Rugby football schools. At Eton, as every one 
 knows, there are two styles of football played — 
 the one termed the "wall," and the other the 
 " field " game. The " wall " game, as its name 
 denotes, is played against the wall, about eight 
 feet high, of the Slough to Windsor road. To 
 the uninitiated it can scarcely be said to appear 
 very attractive. Its origin was probably the 
 passage football, which most schoolboys play, in 
 defiance of authority, in study and dormitory pas- 
 sages. The goals are — on the one side a door, and 
 on the other the marked trunk of a large elm, 
 neither of which are within the field of play. The 
 players are eleven a side, and three of their number 
 who come in frequent contact with the walls are 
 protected by " sacks," or, in other words, padded 
 sweaters and caps, which protect the head and 
 ears. The " field " game is played on a field about 
 a hundred and twenty yards long, and ninety 
 yards wide. Without going into details, I may 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 239 
 
 mention that it is a dribbling game, but, as in 
 Rugby football, the off-side rule is enforced. The 
 majority of Etonians, who are keen on football, 
 play the Association game on leaving school, and 
 the excellent teams turned out by the Old 
 Etonians bear witness to the value of the Eton 
 " field " game in teaching dribbling and kicking. 
 
 The Harrow game is also of ancient extrac- 
 tion. It differs from both Rugby and Asso- 
 ciation, in that the ball may be handled, but 
 only when it is kicked from below the knee, 
 and caught by another player before it touches 
 the ground. The cry of " Yards " is then called, 
 and the catcher may run three yards, and drop, 
 punt, or dribble it. No player may be tackled. 
 The game further differs from Association in 
 possessing an absolute off-side rule. 
 
 The Winchester game is of a somewhat com- 
 plicated nature. The ground is blockaded on 
 one side by a netting about ten feet high, to 
 keep the ball within proper limits. This is, in 
 reality, an innovation, for the old custom was 
 to plant a line of " fags " outside the ropes on 
 that side to recover the ball when it was sent 
 out of bounds. The "hot," which is a form of 
 
240 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 scrummage, is very like the old Rugby football 
 scrummages of the seventies, being a hard, push- 
 ing match. The ball must be kicked as hard as 
 possible ; there is no dribbling as in Association. 
 No passing is allowed, nor off-side play, which is 
 penalized by a "hot." Matches of twenty-two, 
 fifteen, and six a side are played. 
 
 The Shrewsbury and Westminster games closely 
 approached Association, and only a slight change 
 was necessary when the school authorities decided 
 to adopt that game. "Dowling," as the old 
 Shrewsbury game was called, differed from Asso- 
 ciation mainly in allowing a' fair catch to be 
 made, to be followed by a punt. The off-side rule 
 was also enforced. Neither running with the ball 
 nor tackling were allowed. It was, in my opinion, 
 very wise of these schools to accept the Association 
 rules. While granting that these various forms of 
 football require skill and afford exercise, a young 
 man, nevertheless, finds himself in a most un- 
 pleasant position when on leaving school he is 
 confronted with the fact that he must either 
 give up football altogether, or learn a new game. 
 Either at a University, should he enter one, or 
 in any profession that he may choose to adopt. 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 241 
 
 he will, of course, find that there are many other 
 forms of athletics which he can select for a recrea- 
 tion ; yet for a man who is thoroughly devoted 
 to football this can scarcely be described as an 
 adequate consolation. 
 
 I will now shake off this Association dust 
 from my feet, and turn to the Rugby schools, 
 the fons et origo of the Rugby football game in 
 England, as they have well been called. 
 
 Rugby School! First by right of title, at 
 least, amongst all competitors. Few men exist, I 
 should imagine, who have not, as boys, revelled 
 in "Tom Brown's Schooldays," that immortal 
 book from the pen of the late Judge Hughes. In 
 our time we must all have found a hero in the 
 great Pater Brooke; we must all have laughed 
 at Crab Jones, with his straw in his mouth, the 
 "coolest, queerest fish in Rugby;" we must all 
 have echoed in our hearts the "bravos" that 
 greeted the charge of little East, an alias that, so 
 rumour tells, hid the boy whose name, during the 
 wildest times of the wild mutiny, was to become 
 another word for reckless valour throughout the 
 length and breadth of India. There are, I have 
 always maintained, few more stirring pieces of 
 
 Q 
 
242 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 descriptive writing than that which tells of the 
 last charge of the school-house at the end of the 
 long football fray. It was not the football that 
 we know, but it was, as Judge Hughes wrote, some- 
 thing " worth living for." As we read we can pic- 
 ture that advancing mass, one hundred and twenty 
 strong ; " reckless of the defence of their own goal, 
 on they come across the level Bigside ground, the 
 ball well down amongst them, straight for our 
 goal, like the column of the Old Guard up the 
 slope at Waterloo. All former charges have been 
 child's play to this. Warner and Hodge have met 
 them, but still on they come. The bulldogs rush 
 in for the last time ; they are hurled over, or 
 carried back, striving foot, hand, and eyelids. Old 
 Brooke comes sweeping round the skirts of the 
 play, and, turning short round, picks out the very 
 heart of the scrummage, and plunges in. It 
 wavers for a moment — he has the ball. No, it 
 has passed him, and his voice rings out clear 
 over the advancing tide, ' Look out in goal ! ' 
 Crab Jones catches it for a moment, but before 
 he can kick the rush is upon him, and passes over 
 him ; and he picks himself up behind them with 
 his straw in his mouth, a little dirtier, but as cool 
 
< 
 
 •s. 
 
 Hi 
 
 o 
 
 z 
 3 
 O 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 243 
 
 as ever." And so the stirring tale runs on, until 
 the prsposter in goal saves the try by touching the 
 ball down, and Tom gets all the wind knocked out 
 of his small body by the avalanche of rushing 
 forwards. Hacking there may have been in those 
 days, hacking which we in our sober senses must 
 admit was often of a cruel, almost brutal nature ; 
 but there is no one with true English blood in his 
 veins who cannot, after reading the whole of that 
 famous chapter, realize the wild delight in the 
 exercise of strength and endurance and skill which 
 fascinates the players of Rugby football as much 
 to-day as in the time that Judge Hughes wrote of 
 more than sixty years ago. " The whole sum of 
 schoolboy existence gathered up into one straining, 
 struggling half-hour, a half-hour worth a year of 
 common life." 
 
 It was from Rugby that the game spread, 
 carried by Old Rugbeans to other schools where 
 they went as masters, or to clubs which they 
 founded to keep alive the game they had learnt 
 to love at school. Rugby and Marlborough sup- 
 plied three-fourths of the famous players of the 
 sixties. In 1865 Old Rugbeans and Old Marl- 
 burians formed the entire Richmond team — 3 
 
244 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 team which did not suffer a single defeat. After 
 the foundation of the Rugby Union the first 
 five presidents were all Old Rugby boys. The 
 new rules of that body differed to a certain 
 extent from those of the old school. Hacking 
 and tripping were abolished ; the ^ball was to 
 be thrown back into the field of play from 
 the spot where it entered touch ; lastly, the com- 
 plicated rules which governed the bringing out 
 of the ball after a try had been obtained, and 
 before the kick at goal was attempted — for a 
 description of which go to " Tom Brown " again — 
 were done away with. 
 
 It was not until i8go that the school accepted 
 the Rugby Union rules en bloc. Hacking died 
 hard. An Old Rugbean once told me that school- 
 boy disputes were often settled by an appeal to 
 shin-kicking. The method was somewhat the same 
 as that adopted, according to the traveller's tale, 
 by the South Sea Islanders, who have alternate 
 whacks at each other's heads with stout cudgels 
 until one owns himself vanquished. The famous 
 footballer, Mr. Arthur Guillemard, has mentioned 
 a tradition which " points to a notable match for 
 the honours of 'Cock House' some thirty years 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 245 
 
 ago, when the losing twenty were so severely 
 punished forward, that their house-master actually 
 sat down on the grass in touch and cried like 
 a child." However, as Molifere's doctor remarked, 
 " nous avons change tout cela ! " both at Rugby 
 School and in the Rugby Union. It was due to 
 the keenness of Old Rugby boys that the game 
 found its way to the Universities. At Oxford 
 one of the original rules of the club was that the 
 captain, secretary, and at least one of the three 
 committeemen must be a Rugbean. This rule 
 remained unaltered for seven years. At Cam- 
 bridge an attempt was made to blend the Eton, 
 Harrow, and Rugby games under one code of rules. 
 The result was, however, by no means satisfactory, 
 and the games separated never to meet again. 
 
 At the present moment Rugby, under the Rev. 
 H. A. James, has about 550 boys on its books. 
 The keenness for football is well maintained, both 
 by outside matches and the competition between 
 the various houses for the proud position of " Cock 
 House," There is no special training as regards 
 diet. J. J. Dobie, who was captain in 1895, 
 writes to me stating that he considers training as 
 far as food is concerned quite unnecessary at 
 
246 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 school. Fixed meals and the rules forbidding 
 smoking practically insure good training. At the 
 beginning of the season he believes in cross-country 
 runs, which get the men into hard condition. 
 
 The boys play on half-holidays — that is, on 
 Tuesdays, Thursdays; and Saturdays. On every 
 third Monday there is an additional half-holiday, 
 so that in ordinary weeks they play three times, 
 but in every third week four times, "Big side," 
 which consists of two teams picked by the cap- 
 tain from all the houses, which are ten in number, 
 is played twice a week. Those boys who are not 
 playing on " Big side " have sides made up for 
 them by their house captains. Each house has 
 a first and second team, exclusive of the "Big 
 side" players, and matches are arranged between 
 them while " Big side " is going on. On the half- 
 holiday on which "Big side" is not played the 
 rounds in the competition for the position of " Cock 
 House," between the full first fifteens of the -ten 
 houses, are fought out. In these matches the 
 referee must be a member of the first fifteen 
 of the school, and his selection is the result 
 of an arrangement between the captains of the 
 two competing teams. "Little sides" are also 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 247 
 
 arranged between the smaller boys in the various 
 houses. 
 
 Mr. H, C. Bradby has rendered invaluable 
 service to the football at Rugby. Matches be- 
 tween the first fifteen and the next twenty-two, 
 or the first fifteen and the masters, are arranged, 
 and during their progress he coaches the school 
 players, stopping the game and pointing out faults 
 when necessary. As he also referees in " foreign " 
 matches, he is able to render informal assistance 
 to the captain of the fifteen in the selection of the 
 players. The captain and secretary this year are 
 united in the person of H. G. Pearson. 
 
 After Rugby, MARLBOROUGH is more closely 
 associated with the early history of the game than 
 any other school. As I have already stated, the 
 Richmond team in the sixties was often entirely 
 composed of past members of the two schools. 
 At Oxford and Cambridge Old Rugbeans and 
 Old Marlburians worked hand in hand to secure 
 a firm footing for the game. In 1872 four Old 
 Marlburians were included in the team that played 
 against Scotland. The Marlborough Nomads were 
 among the original clubs which joined the Rugby 
 Union in 1871. 
 
248 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Marlborough at the present time, under the 
 Rev. G. C. Bell, is in a most flourishing condi- 
 tion, with some 600 boys on its books. It has 
 never waivered in its allegiance to the Rugby 
 game, and the famous Blues and Internationals 
 which it has produced are legion. Amongst them 
 I feel that I am bound to mention Harry Vassall, 
 the celebrated captain of the celebrated Oxford 
 team, which, with its passing system, revolutionized 
 the game as played throughout the football world. 
 
 The boys are expected to take steady exercise 
 every day. On four days a week football is 
 played, and on the other two days a two-mile run 
 is compulsory for all. The interest in football 
 is well maintained by a cup, which is competed 
 for every year by the nine houses into which 
 the school is broken up. The winning house 
 fifteen is allowed to wear their house crest on 
 their caps — a much-coveted distinction. Each 
 house has an upper and lower game on football 
 days, and the boys from each house not included 
 in these teams are combined, and display their 
 energies in a " pick up," which is dignified by the 
 name of "Remnants." As there is not sufficient 
 room in the playing-fields for these upper and 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 249 
 
 lower games to be in progress at the same time, 
 the upper games are played in the first hour after 
 dinner, that is to say, between 2.30 and 3.30, and 
 the lower games take place subsequently between 
 3.30 and 4.30. The respective house captains 
 keep an eye on these lower games to see that 
 there is "no slacking" amongst the boys that 
 are learning their football therein. 
 
 To discover the individual merits of the best 
 players, " Big sides " are arranged. In these 
 the school fifteen is equally divided, and the 
 remaining places filled from the ranks of the 
 second fifteen. Valuable assistance in coaching 
 the boys is rendered by Mr. C. H. Wood. The 
 team in 1895, under M. B. Scott, had a fairly 
 successful season. The two chief school matches 
 of the year are those played against Wellington 
 and Clifton. Wellington was defeated, but Clifton, 
 who had an excellent fifteen, were victorious, 
 chiefly through the brilliant play of W. N. Pilking- 
 ton at three-quarters. G. H. Adams combines the 
 offices of captain and secretary for the season of 
 1896-7. 
 
 Amongst the first clubs that joined the Rugby 
 Union on its foundation we find the name of 
 
250 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Wellington College, and for that reason I give 
 it the third place on my list. Wellington College 
 hasTisen in numbers to about 450 boys, under the 
 Rev. B. Pollock. It was celebrated in the seventies 
 as a great football school, and Old Wellingtonians 
 were amongst the strongest supporters of the 
 game, both at Oxford and Cambridge. Amongst 
 the distinguished players it produced in those 
 early times were F. R. Adams, of Richmond (who 
 played in no less th!|n seven International matches), 
 M. W. Marshall, and the Hon. H. Laurence. 
 
 Football is not played so frequently at Wellington 
 as at some other schools, and on the whole I think 
 this is wise. Boys are apt to get stale and tired 
 of a game that becomes monotonous in its daily 
 regularity. The whole school plays twice a week, 
 and once a week the house matches for the usual 
 house cup are fought out. Some 390 boys are 
 on the regular playing lists. Masters join in the 
 school games, and render valuable assistance in 
 coaching the teams. The match of the year at 
 Wellington is that against Marlborough. In 
 1895 Marlborough were victorious, beating Wel- 
 lington on their own ground for the first time since 
 the inter-school match was a recognized fixture. 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 251 
 
 H. M. Davies was captain during the Christmas 
 term of 1895, and A. W. White took his place as 
 captain for the following Lent Term. 
 
 Cheltenham College is another famous 
 Rugby football school. There are about 580 
 boys there, under the head-mastership of the 
 Rev. R. S. de C. Lafifan. The famous players who 
 have learned their football at Cheltenham are too 
 numerous to mention with any particularity. It is 
 worthy of note, however, that the year 1880, when 
 A. J. Forrest, McEwan and Crawford left Chelten- 
 ham for Ireland, has been called the "turning 
 year " in the football of that " disthressful nation." 
 After a heavy defeat in 1881, the Irishmen were 
 able to make a draw of the English match in 1882 
 — a draw, too, considerably in their favour. 
 
 Like the other schools I have mentioned, 
 Cheltenham possesses a house challenge cup, 
 which is the subject of an annual competition. 
 In addition to this, the school has a junior chal- 
 lenge cup for the house second fifteens. This is 
 a system worthy of adoption by those schools 
 where it is not already in operation. It teaches 
 the game to the younger boys, and puts additional 
 keenness into their play. At Cheltenham the 
 
252 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 captains of the first house fifteens, whenever an 
 opportunity occurs, watch these second teams, and 
 coach them up to a proper standard. 
 
 From the house first fifteens the captain of the 
 college team chooses men to play in the college 
 "pick ups." In these games the college fifteen 
 meets the next twenty, or scratch teams including 
 the masters. There are three of these " pick ups " 
 each week — that is to say, on Mondays, Wed- 
 nesdays, and Saturdays. On Tuesday and Friday 
 there are the house matches to be decided for the 
 cup. Thursday is usually an off-day, but if the 
 captain of a house thinks that his house second 
 fifteen have been "slacking," or that a game 
 would be of advantage to them for the sake of 
 the additional practice, he makes up two scratch 
 teams out of his own house. 
 
 Cheltenham boys have many opportunities 
 afforded them of learning good football. The 
 school has matches with Oxford teams on the 
 one side, and the South Wales clubs on the other. 
 In 189s, foi" instance, Newport A and Cardiff A 
 sent over strong teams early in the season. Oriel 
 and Trinity Colleges were met in February. 
 
 The first fifteen go to the gymnasium for regular 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 253 
 
 exercise every evening during the winter months. 
 Dumb-bell and Indian-club exercises last for about 
 an hour. In the coaching of the team, Mr. H. V. 
 Page, Mr. E. Scot-Skirving, and Mr. G. G. Pruen, 
 render valuable assistance. These masters take a 
 great deal of interest in the game, and to them 
 is due much of the success that has followed 
 Cheltenham football during late years. Rugby 
 and Haileybury, the two great inter-school matches 
 of the season, were both won by the Cheltenham 
 boys in 1895. Talbot and Dick Cunyngham 
 amongst the forwards, and Bateman-Champain 
 outside, were the mainstay of the team. 
 
 Cheltenham is, as every one probably knows, a 
 great army school. In 1895, fo"" instance, no less 
 than seventeen cadets at Woolwich had passed 
 direct from Cheltenham. The standard of age is 
 high, and there are plenty of boys of eighteen in 
 the school who are invaluable on the football 
 field. B. W. Talbot, who captained the team in 
 189s with great success, in a letter speaking of 
 the prowess of the college, writes, " We have 
 never yet been beaten by any school. We are 
 never going to be if we can help it." I think 
 he probably prophesies correctly. Labor omnia 
 
254 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 vincit is the college motto, and Cheltenham boys 
 seem to apply it as much to hard work in the 
 scrummage, as to hard work in the army classes. 
 
 "When I played as a schoolboy at Clifton," 
 writes Mr. Arthur Budd in Mr. Marshall's excel- 
 lent history of Rugby football, "the number of 
 players was twenty a-side in an ordinary match, 
 and in the Sixth and school game the latter 
 were allowed forty to the twenty of their sturdier 
 seniors." " Hacking over," he says later, " was 
 permissible, and tripping over a runner was quite 
 as much practised as tackling. A player who 
 could not take and give hacks was not considered 
 worth his salt, and to put one's head down in a 
 scrummage was regarded as an act of high treason. 
 We were frequently boxed in a scrummage for 
 three or four minutes together, only to discover 
 that the half-back had by that time absconded 
 with the ball to the other side of the ground." 
 The rapid change from irresponsible irregularity to 
 combined co-operation has indeed been astonishing. 
 
 The captain of the school at Clifton is ex-officio 
 captain and secretary of the team. To many 
 schoolboys this system will appear strange, but it 
 has worked and is working well at Clifton. When 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 255 
 
 it happens that the head of the school is physically 
 incapable of playing football, or not good enough 
 to figure in the first fifteen, the member of the 
 team who is highest in " call over " amongst the 
 Sixth Form captains the - school in the field. 
 Thus R. V. Vernon was captain in 1894, but as 
 he did not play in foreign matches, J. T. Whitty 
 was captain in the field. L. B. Fyffe was captain 
 in 1895, but A. M. Simpson captained in the field. 
 No regular coaching is given, but the houses play 
 regularly amongst themselves, and the masters, 
 who umpire, do a good deal of incidental coach- 
 ing. Amongst them Mr. W. W. Vaughan, the Old 
 Oxford blue, is especially worthy of mention for 
 his exertions in this respect. There are school 
 games on Thursday and Saturday afternoons, con- 
 sisting of two " Big sides," one " Middle side," and 
 six " Little sides " — nine games in all. Each house 
 plays house " Little sides " twice a week after 
 morning school. During the term the first fifteens 
 of the various houses play seven rounds in a cup 
 competition, and the second fifteens play ten 
 rounds. The former are decided on Tuesday 
 half-holidays, specially given for the purpose. The 
 latter take place once a week. The only school 
 
2S6 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 played last season was Marlborough, and Clifton 
 won the match. 
 
 " As you have doubtless gathered," L. B. Fyffe 
 writes to me, " house football is the foundation of 
 all Clifton football. The object of our system is 
 not to turn out a first-rate fifteen so much as to 
 ensure a thoroughly high level of football all 
 through the school. I do not know how it strikes 
 the outside observer, but it has answered excel- 
 lently, and is dear to all Old and Present Cliftonians 
 who are keen on the game." 
 
 It is interesting to notice that, like its great 
 rival Cheltenham, Clifton has great success as an 
 army school. In 1895, of the cadets then in 
 Woolwich twelve were from Clifton, to the seven- 
 teen from Cheltenham ; but of the Sandhurst 
 cadets Clifton had supplied no less than seventeen, 
 to the seven of Cheltenham. 
 
 HAILEYBURY has been the football nursery of 
 many famous players, and can reckon amongst them 
 E. T. Gurdon, and his brother Charles. It was in 
 1 878 that E. T. Gurdon first appeared for England. 
 He subsequently played no fewer than seven 
 times against Scotland, five times against Ireland, 
 and four times against Wales. He is universally 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 257 
 
 considered to have been one of the best forwards 
 that ever represented England. Charles was the 
 taller and heavier of the two. He played six 
 times against Scotland, five times against Ireland, 
 and three times against Wales. He was never, 
 however, quite so brilliant as his famous brother. 
 
 At the present time Haileybury, under the head- 
 mastership of the Hon. and Rev. Edward Lyttelton, 
 is composed of some 400 boys. The system of 
 training and the arrangement of the school games 
 are the same as those in vogue at Rugby. "Big 
 side " consists of the best thirty players ; new 
 players are introduced into it as soon as they 
 have proved their ability in the junior games. 
 "Little side" is the generic term for all the 
 remaining boys, who, during "Big side," play 
 inter-house matches. There is also an inter-house 
 competition, when " Big side " players join in and 
 make the teams fully representative. There are 
 eleven houses, and each house has a first, second, 
 and third fifteen. Everybody in the school plays 
 three times in each week. 
 
 Whenever it is possible members of the college 
 fifteen take charge of the "Little side" games, 
 doing what coaching they can. Mr. C. E. Hawkins 
 
 R 
 
258 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 has proved of great assistance in coaching "Big 
 side," and the well-known Oxford blue, R. H, 
 Cattell, who is an Old Haileybury boy, has done 
 much to help him. Last season was not quite 
 satisfactory as regards the winning of matches. 
 In the inter-school contests between Haileybury 
 on the one side, and Bedford Grammar School, 
 Cheltenham and St. Paul's on the other, the 
 Haileybury team suffered defeat on each occasion, 
 but won the match against Dulwich. N. S. A. 
 Harrison will captain the fifteen during the 1 896-7 
 season, taking the reins of office from J. F. Carter. 
 
 Rugby football was introduced into Tonbridge 
 School early in the sixties. The rules were very 
 much the same as those in use at Rugby School 
 itself. In 1873 Tonbridge followed the excellent 
 example set by Wellington, and joined the Rugby 
 Union. Old Tonbridge boys were of great assist- 
 ance in the formation of clubs at both Oxford and 
 Cambridge. In 1882, for instance, no less than 
 four of the Light Blue fifteen hailed from the 
 school. 
 
 At the present time there are some 440 boys at 
 Tonbridge, under the Rev. Dr. Wood, as head- 
 master. The first two fifteens play regular games 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 259 
 
 two or three times a week, but scrummaging and 
 passing are regularly practised nearly every day. 
 There is a system of league games, which are 
 played by all the school, with the exception of 
 the first and second fifteens. The masters have 
 always been very keen in coaching the teams, 
 and giving general advice. Mr. R. L. Aston,, the 
 celebrated Light Blue International three-quarter, 
 has done much to raise the standard of play 
 throughout the school. Under his careful teaching, 
 Tonbridge boys have had every opportunity of 
 learning sound football. 
 
 The chief inter-school matches are those against 
 Dulwich, St. Paul's and Sherborne. During a 
 period extending from 1874 to 1895, Dulwich has 
 been beaten ten times, and has won fifteen times, 
 while six matches have been drawn. From 1890 
 to 1895 St. Paul's has been beaten three times, and 
 has won three times. Sherborne was played for 
 the first time in 1 895, and suffered defeat. Dover 
 College, Haileybury, Leys School, and Bedford 
 have been played at different times in the last few 
 years, but were not encountered in 1895. 
 
 The Leys School has always maintained a 
 high football reputation. Situated on the outskirts 
 
26o RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 of Cambridge, it has been able to constantly 
 meet college teams, and so to learn the best foot- 
 ball. The Old Leysians, the Old Boys' football 
 club of the school, has had a great record in 
 the past. A few years ago it was the premier 
 London club. The Leys School has never been 
 of any great size ; the present numbers only 
 reach 170. Yet their record is a splendid one. 
 St. Paul's has been played six times ; two matches 
 were won, three lost, and one drawn. Tonbridge 
 has been twice defeated, and has won once. 
 Oundle has been played four times, and beaten 
 four times. Merchant Taylors' has been beaten 
 four times, and has won once. Seventeen matches 
 have been played against Bedford Modern, fifteen 
 of which have proved wins for the Leys. Mill 
 Hill has been beaten twice, and has won once. 
 The school is naturally very keen on the game. 
 Twice a week is the minimum number of practice 
 games. On off days the school fifteen practise 
 passing and kicking. J. C. Isard is the chief 
 manager of the school games. 
 
 In Devonshire there is a knot of schools 
 amongst which the football rivalry is very keen. 
 The oldest in foundation, and the largest in 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND. 261 
 
 numbers, is Blundell's School. Next comes 
 Newton College, a school which, under the Rev. 
 G. T. Warner, a thorough sportsman, and member 
 of the Rugby Union Committee, rose to 1 80 boys. 
 Between Newton and Blundell's the competition 
 has always been exceedingly keen. Other Rugby 
 schools are the United Services College, Westward 
 Ho! and All Hallows' School, Honiton. Of 
 course I am unable to treat of all the Rugby- 
 playing schools at any great length. Many I 
 have not mentioned. There is Dulwich, for 
 instance, with 610 boys, under Mr. A. H. Gilkes. 
 Dulwich joined the Union in 1872, and is thus one 
 of the oldest Union clubs. Amongst the well- 
 known players that have learnt their football there 
 are N. F. Henderson, an Oxford International ; 
 W. R. M. Leake, a Cambridge International ; 
 and, of later date, C. M. Wells, whom Mr. R. H. 
 Cattell in the present book rightly describes as one 
 of the finest half-backs that England ever produced. 
 St. Paul's School has over 600 boys on its books. 
 It was an original member of the Rugby Union, a 
 representative being present at the meeting which 
 founded that great society. At Bedford there 
 are two great football schools, Bedford Grammar 
 
262 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 and Bedford Modern, which turn out many fine 
 players. Oundle also follows the Rugby game 
 as does Sherborne, Mill Hill, Epsom, and the 
 Merchant Taylors'. Two of these schools have 
 famous "old boy" clubs in the Old Millhillians 
 and Old Merchant Taylors'. Mill Hill gave -the 
 celebrated International, J. H. Dewhurst, to Cam- 
 bridge. Epsom has been steadily improving, and 
 has now the benefit of Mr. Norman Gardiner's 
 advice in football matters. 
 
( 263 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND. 
 By C. J. N. Fleming, 
 
 Late Captain, Oxford University. 
 
 THINK it advisable in com- 
 mencing an account of foot- 
 ball at Scotch schools to state 
 shortly a few reasons why the 
 Scotch schools have acquired so 
 high a reputation in the foot- 
 ball world. To many this may 
 seem unnecessary, for the reasons 
 are obvious to those who are, 
 or who have been, connected 
 But to those who know little or 
 nothing about them, a few facts may not be 
 uninteresting. 
 
 To begin with, there is a very keen competition 
 
 with them. 
 
264 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 among the schools for the championship, an 
 honour which, it should be noticed, is its own 
 reward, for it brings no cup or other tangible 
 memento to the winner. As a natural conse- 
 quence of this rivalry, the football played by the 
 schools reaches a high standard, and for a proof 
 of this I ask you to look at the performances 
 of Scottish schoolboys after leaving school. You 
 will always find the Scotch International fifteen 
 composed almost entirely of men who learnt 
 their football at one or other of these great 
 nurseries of football. Thus of the fifteen which 
 defeated England at Glasgow, in March, 1896, 
 Fettes, Merchiston, Loretto, the Edinburgh 
 Academy, and George Watson's, had each two 
 representatives, composing in all two-thirds of the 
 side ; a proportion quite large enough to prove the 
 excellence of the football played at the schools 
 from which the players came. With the exception 
 of Fettes and Loretto, very few of the Scotch 
 schools send boys on to the Universities ; but 
 though Fettes and Loretto are not of any great 
 size, as judged by English standards — for between 
 them they have only about 350 boys on an average 
 — yet the success of Fettes and Loretto boys at 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND. 265 
 
 the English Universities has been remarkable. In 
 the University match of the season 1888-89, for 
 example, no fewer than ten of the players were 
 from Fettes or Loretto. In the season 1882-83 
 seven old Lorettonians were included in the 
 famous Oxford team captained by Harry Vassall. 
 For five years — from 1887-88 to 1891-92— the 
 captain of the Cambridge Rugby team was a 
 Scotch schoolboy, three out of the five hailing 
 from Fettes. Lastly, in the Scotch team which 
 so thoroughly beat England at Raeburn Place, in 
 1 894, two of the nine forwards were actually still 
 at school, namely, W. McEwan, of the Edinburgh 
 Academy, and G. Neilson, of Merchiston. 
 
 It would be superfluous to add more to show 
 how thoroughly the men must have been taught 
 their football while at school. I will now attempt 
 to point out why it is that these schoolboys reach 
 so high a standard of football excellence, and 
 what it is that develops their keenness for the 
 game. 
 
 It is sometimes thought that the boys are older 
 at the Scotch than at the English schools. But 
 this is not the case. It is true, however, that 
 a school team will probably contain two or three 
 
266 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 boys who will be nineteen before they leave. Yet, 
 at the same time, any one who will take the 
 trouble to inquire will probably be astonished to 
 discover how young some of their best players are. 
 It is no uncommon thing for a boy to get into his 
 school fifteen before he is sixteen years of age, and 
 in another couple of seasons — that is to say, before 
 he is eighteen — he will probably have developed 
 into a big strong lad, and a capital player besides. 
 Again, it is thought that the Scotch boy is 
 naturally bigger and stronger than his English 
 confrhe. Without admitting that such is in- 
 variably the case, it certainly would seem that 
 the majority of Scotch boys develop faster than 
 English, and, as is perhaps of more importance, the 
 Scotch boy is, as a rule, capitally reared. Before 
 he comes to school he will probably have spent 
 a great deal of time in the open air and in manly 
 pursuits, such as fishing, boating, golfing, walking, 
 and in many cases shooting. Of course such a 
 training is the best possible basis for athletic 
 excellence. It may not make the boys very 
 clever, but it gives them a fine physique. Yet, 
 after all, any exceptional advantage that may thus 
 accrue to a Scotch boy is but slight, for many 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND. 267 
 
 English boys must be brought up under similar 
 conditions. 
 
 What really gives the Scotch schools an advan- 
 tage over the English is, as I have already stated, 
 the competition for the school championship ; and 
 that is only possible through the fortunate accident 
 that practically all the schools are clustered round 
 Edinburgh. It is scarcely necessary to enlarge 
 upon the effects produced by this competition. It 
 is easy to imagine the keenness to represent the 
 school, the trouble taken to get fit, the cheerful- 
 ness to train which does not merely affect a few 
 of the bigger fellows at the top, but goes right 
 through the school to the very bottom ; all are 
 possessed of the great truth that if the small 
 boys get slack and do not train, the future school 
 fifteens will suffer. In addition to this, not only 
 do first teams of each school compete, but the 
 second and third as well ; occasionally, I believe, 
 there have been as many as ten fifteens from one 
 school playing ten of another. To get even into 
 a third fifteen a boy will make every effort possi- 
 ble ; while such enthusiasm exists amongst the 
 players, it is scarcely a matter of surprise that 
 the football is of a very high order. 
 
268 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Many people may wonder why Scotch school 
 cricket is not better than it is. There is the 
 same inter-school competition at cricket as at 
 football, but somehow neither the enthusiasm nor 
 the result is the same. The truth is that Rugby 
 football seems to suit the Scotch genius, and 
 cricket does not. Football is, in my opinion, the 
 best game for schools in Scotland, or anywhere 
 else for that matter. It can be learnt after a boy 
 is fourteen or fifteen years of age, while cricket, 
 like golf, should be learnt as young as possible. 
 As an exercise and a safety-valve cricket cannot 
 compare with football in schools. I feel that I 
 am certainly right in saying that the main element 
 in the success of Scotch football is the school 
 competition, although school cricket does not im- 
 prove in a like manner under like circumstances. 
 Without this competition, it would be like attempt- 
 ing to keep up Oxford rowing without the eights. ' 
 
 Another advantage gained by the fact of the 
 schools being grouped round Edinburgh is that 
 they never want for club matches. Not only on 
 Saturdays will first and second fifteens from each 
 school have matches with clubs, but very often 
 the school fifteen will have a match against a 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTS ALL_ IN SCOTLAND. 269 
 
 scratch team during the week as well. In this 
 way a school team will play, perhaps, eighteen 
 matches in the season. The advantage gained by 
 playing so often together is obvious. It teaches 
 the boys the correct game, for more is learnt 
 in one match against good players than in weeks 
 of practice alone. Finally, the boys on off days 
 and at odd times see a very fair amount of club 
 football, not to mention the more important 
 matches, such as Trials and Internationals. 
 
 When all these things are considered, it is not 
 surprising that the Scotch schools are able to play 
 the Rugby game so well. 
 
 Now of the schools themselves, Fettes College, 
 an imposing building just on the north side of 
 Edinburgh, is the leading boarding school. Mer- 
 chiston, on the south side of Edinburgh, is an 
 older school, though not so large. Loretto is at 
 Musselburgh, seven miles from Edinburgh. There 
 are two great day schools besides — the well- 
 known Edinburgh Academy and George Watson's 
 School. These schools are much larger than the 
 boarding schools I have mentioned, George 
 Watson's having well over a thousand pupils. 
 Besides these schools encircling Edinburgh, there 
 
270 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 are two other boarding schools — Blair Lodge, at 
 Polmont, half-way between Glasgow and Edin- 
 burgh ; and Trinity College, Glenalmond, in 
 Perthshire. The latter, though they enter into 
 the competition by playing all the schools, have 
 never yet attained a high place, owing mainly to 
 their isolated position. I must also mention 
 Craigmount School, which is now defunct, but 
 which in its day turned out many famous players, 
 two of the best known in the South being the 
 brothers Mason and Martin Scott, of Cambridge ; 
 while in 1896 two old Craigmount boys played 
 for Scotland — T. Scott, of Langholm, and J. H. 
 Cowper, of the West of Scotland. 
 
 The inter-school competition has now been going 
 on for more than twenty years. Football was played 
 at Merchiston and the Academy in the sixties, and 
 they were the first to set the example of an annual 
 match. Loretto, Craigmount, and Fettes joined 
 in, and by 1875 the school competition was in full 
 swing. These five schools all play one another 
 twice a year, once before Christmas, and a return 
 match afterwards. The struggle to finish the 
 season as champion school has, from the founda- 
 tion of the competition, been extraordinarily keen. 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND. 271 
 
 In the early days, the Edinburgh Academy had the 
 greatest reputation, but its success gradually de- 
 parted from it, and after Craigmont had fallen out 
 of the competition early in the eighties, it was left 
 to Fettes, Merchiston, and Loretto, to fight out 
 the battle. Blair Lodge, however, and George 
 Watson's within the last ten years have come to 
 the front. The Edinburgh Academy, too, has 
 regained its prestige, and the championship now 
 lies between Fettes, Merchiston, Loretto, Blair 
 Lodge, George Watson's, and the Edinburgh 
 Academy. The school which suffers the least 
 number of defeats is the victor, though, of course, 
 this sometimes leads to a division of honours. In 
 the season 1894-5, for instance, Fettes, Loretto, 
 and the Academy were reckoned equal, as they 
 had each sustained one defeat. The two matches 
 a season which are arranged between each school 
 cannot always be played, owing to frost, epidemics, 
 or some other reason. But whenever there is 
 a close fight the best of good sportsmanship is 
 always shown ; if a match falls through at the 
 date appointed between two schools, who are 
 running a neck-and-neck race, they invariably 
 manage to bring off the postponed game, and 
 
272 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 avoid taking any advantage at the hands of 
 fortune. 
 
 It would be rather invidious to attempt to 
 classify the schools in order of merit. Indeed, it 
 would be impossible, for they vary from year to 
 year, but Merchiston certainly merits the place of 
 honour, not only for the number of times they 
 have been champions, but for the high standard of 
 football which, despite their small numbers, they 
 have invariably maintained from the very start 
 until now. 
 
 I should not feel that I had completed this 
 sketch of the Scotch schools without giving a few 
 details of the method they pursue in the organi- 
 zation of the games, and pointing out what we 
 may learn from their management. The system 
 followed at all the schools is practically the same, 
 though, of course, each school differs in its minor 
 arrangements — differences which usually are due to 
 variations in the hours of school or want of space 
 in the playing fields. In the following remarks I 
 will therefore speak more especially of the system 
 pursued at Fettes, with which I happen to be 
 familiar, though, as I said before, it does not essen- 
 tially differ from that which is followed elsewhere, 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND. 273 
 
 The fundamental principle, which is the basis of 
 all the athletic training, is that every boy, unless 
 prevented by illness or other good cause, must once 
 a day at least change into flannels and take 
 exercise. After football has commenced, which it 
 usually does about the beginning of October, the 
 boys play that game three days a week, and on 
 the other days go for runs. These runs are fixed 
 "grinds," of the average length of two and a half 
 to three miles. As alternatives to these runs, they 
 may play fives, or games at hockey, or Association 
 football. Frequently they are sent to the field to 
 punt about, or practise kicking before they go 
 their run. In addition to this every boy has two 
 classes a week in the gymnasium, in which he 
 goes through Swedish drill and gymnastics ; the 
 swimming bath is open every afternoon. Volun- 
 tary gymnastics are also popular, both in the 
 gymnasium in the afternoon, and, more especially, 
 in the dormitories at night, where dumb-bells and 
 Indian clubs are in constant use. In this manner 
 every boy in the school gets through a consider- 
 able amount of physical exercise, both in the open 
 air and within doors — a good all-round training 
 not devoted to one particular set of muscles. 
 
 s 
 
274 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Football is played by games in which the boys 
 are arranged according to size and merit. Care is 
 taken not to let big hulking boys, who are not 
 much good, play in a small game, where they 
 would be able to bully or damage the others. For 
 these games to be successful, it is absolutely 
 necessary that they should be supervised. This is 
 generally done by the bigger boys, who will 
 referee for part of the game, and get relieved for 
 the other part. The fact that a good player is 
 refereeing will keep the game keen and up to the 
 mark. Further, the referee sees that the rules are 
 enforced, for it is wonderful what rules small boys 
 play when left to themselves. He also is able to 
 do a great deal of coaching. There is one school 
 where the bigger boys, so 'tis said, are armed with 
 sticks, and if they find any loafer in a lower game, 
 they apply that stick in a merciless manner. 
 Though such Spartan methods are somewhat ex- 
 treme, it is all important that the lower games 
 should be kept clear of the loafer. It is an ex- 
 cellent practice to recognize and reward merit at 
 once by putting the enthusiastic boy up into a 
 higher game, and putting down any slacker into 
 the place he has vacated. 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND. 275 
 
 As most schools will have three teams at least 
 playing on a Saturday, it is not diflficult to find 
 out the real worth of a player, nor is it difficult 
 to select a representative fifteen. 
 
 The training of a fifteen need not be thought 
 much about. When the boys play in so many 
 matches as they do in the Scotch schools, they 
 do not need systematic training. Two, or at the 
 most three, games a week is amply sufficient to 
 keep them fit, and even at that there is a consider- 
 able risk of the boys getting stale. The fifteen, 
 as at Fettes, should go through some gymnastics 
 every day, though they do not absolutely need those 
 forms of exercise. The work should be simple, 
 such as climbing ropes, or the bridge ladder, or 
 easy work on the parallel bars. Once football has 
 fairly started, long runs are not necessary for the 
 team, though if the weather is very wet, they may 
 be substituted for a game. On the days that foot- 
 ball is not played, the entire team should practise 
 sprinting, the forwards dribbling and passing 
 while running as fast as they can, the backs both 
 passing and kicking. This sprinting must take 
 place regularly, and there must be no slacking 
 while it is in progress. Very light work should be 
 
276 RUGBY f 00TB ALL. 
 
 done the day before a big match. It is, however, 
 quite impossible to state the quantity necessary, 
 for that will depend upon circumstances. Either 
 the captain or some master must take upon himself 
 the duties of trainer, and decide what additional 
 exercise is required, and when the team must 
 take it. 
 
 I have but a few more suggestions to make to 
 those, whether masters or boys, who manage the 
 games of a school. There must be regular coach- 
 ing, not only of the team, but of the younger boys 
 as well. The games must be organized and care- 
 fully looked after, and young players who show 
 any promise must be at once taken in hand, en- 
 couraged, and coached. It would, perhaps, be not 
 uninteresting to add the characteristics of a young 
 boy, who may develop into a good player. A 
 boy of twelve to fourteen, who is fat, clumsy per- 
 haps, but big jointed, with big feet and hands, 
 should at once be marked. He will probably 
 develop into a big fellow, and should make a 
 forward. Yet while he is young, he will probably 
 show up badly beside a smart little fellow who has 
 been set up by a too early training. You want 
 for a football player a good rough colt, not a 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND. 277 
 
 dapper little park hack. The characteristics are 
 wide hips, broad shoulders, and plenty of flesh in 
 a young boy. Of course there is another type of 
 build — lithe and wiry. This in a young boy will 
 probably appear as loosely jointed, tall, and thin, 
 and will be remarkable for quickness and activity 
 — a very useful type for either a forward or a back ; 
 but it is a type that wants strength, and until it 
 gets strength it will not be of much value in a 
 school team. Strength often does not come until 
 development has stopped, which is too late for a 
 schoolboy player. Thus I should advise you, as 
 a general rule, to keep an eye on the stout, fleshy 
 type. 
 
 As for moral qualities, of course, pluck, intelli- 
 gence, and plenty of resource are required ; but 
 these are as nothing, strange as it may seem, when 
 compared to bad temper. By bad temper I do not 
 mean a form of obstinate sulkiness, which is the 
 mark of weakness, but the passion which bursts 
 forth into uncontrollable fits of rage. This is a 
 quality which most people check in a young boy, 
 as perhaps it is necessary that it should be checked. 
 Yet, as a matter of fact, it is the one great quality 
 which will make a football player. A boy who 
 
278 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 possesses such a temper will soon learn to control 
 it, and it is that which will drive him to play with 
 dash and energy. Indeed, football is the salvation 
 of such a character. This mass of latent energy, 
 which might otherwise form a somewhat dangerous 
 ingredient in a man's character, finds in football 
 an excellent safety-valve. 
 
 Before closing this article on Scotch school 
 football, I feel it a duty to mention the name of Dr. 
 H. H. Almond, the head-master of Loretto, for it is 
 to him more than to any other that the success 
 which the Scotch schools have attained in athletics 
 is due. His influence for good on the Scotch 
 schools has been enormous, and I believe it has 
 not by any means been confined to the Scotch 
 schools. When the spirit of athleticism was but 
 weak and young, he fostered it, reared it, and 
 fought for it. For many years he has held before 
 us the ideal of manly pluck and physical vigour, 
 which is the crown of athleticism. He has shown 
 us how necessary are such games as Rugby foot- 
 ball if we are to lead a healthy life in this age 
 of refined civilization. It is the earnest wish of all 
 who know him that Dr. Almond may long be 
 spared to carry on his good work at Loretto. 
 
NURSERIES OF FOOTBALL IN SCOTLAND. 279 
 
 I append the results of the Scotch Football 
 Championship since its institution. 
 
 1889-90. Fettes. 
 
 I880-I. 
 
 Merchiston. 
 
 I88I-2. 
 
 Loretto. 
 
 1882-3. 
 
 Merchiston. 
 
 1883-4. 
 
 Merchiston. 
 
 I884-S. 
 
 Fettes. 
 
 i88s-6. 
 
 Fettes. 
 
 1886-7. 
 
 /Fettes ^ 
 iMerchiston/ ^1"^' 
 
 1887-8. 
 
 Merchiston, 
 
 1888-9. 
 
 Merchiston. 
 
 1890-1. 
 
 Merchiston. 
 
 
 1891-2. 
 
 Loretto. 
 
 
 1892-3. 
 
 Blair Lodge. 
 
 
 1893-4. 
 
 Blair Lodge. 
 
 
 1894-5- 
 
 No championship 
 
 owing 
 
 to the number 
 
 of 
 
 matches abandoned 
 
 on 
 
 account of the frost. 
 
 
 1895-6. 
 
 Merchiston, 
 
 
28o 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE FOOTBALL SUITABLE FOR SCHOOLS — A 
 VOICE FROM SCOTLAND. 
 
 By H. B. Tristram, 
 
 Oxford University and English International, 1883-4-5. 
 
 F it were not for football, 
 I wouldn't be a school- 
 master." So writes a 
 modern head - master ; 
 and any one who knows 
 anything about schools 
 recognizes the fact that foot- 
 ball is one of the most 
 ;"^ valuable institutions we have. 
 ^ It is a mere truism to say 
 that boys ought to have regular daily exercise. 
 They have an exuberance of animal spirits, 
 
THE FOOTBALL SUITABLE FOR SCHOOLS. 281 
 
 which they must work off somehow. If the 
 ordinary system of a school does not provide a 
 sensible and satisfactory way of doing this, boys 
 will find out a way for themselves, foolish probably, 
 and certainly unsatisfactory. Of course they can 
 hardly play football six days in the week, especially 
 if they play the game as it ought to be played. 
 But football is an admirable nucleus, round which 
 all sorts of other games may cluster. It is easy 
 to write any number of platitudes about its ad- 
 vantages in schools — how it encourages pluck, 
 endurance, and the like ; how it improves the 
 physique, and strengthens the constitution ; how, 
 even if it does occasionally give the surgeon some 
 work to do, it takes away a great deal more from 
 the physician ; how it develops a readiness of 
 resource, and a quickness in seeing and grasping 
 opportunities. All this is undoubtedly true, and 
 of great importance; but the value of football 
 rests almost more on the fact that it is such an 
 excellent safety valve. Cricket in its season is a 
 poor substitute, and I know of nothing else that 
 fulfils all the requirements of a good school game 
 so well as football. 
 
 Of course there are a certain number of boys 
 
282 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 who are physically unable to play ; and for this 
 unfortunate class the schools must do the best 
 they can. People who do not sympathize with 
 the game will continue to harangue against its 
 brutality and roughness ; but it is the duty 
 of schoolmasters to see that it is not brutal, 
 and that the robustness, which is one of its 
 greatest charms, never degenerates into coarse- 
 ness. If football is to be compulsory in schools, 
 parents have the right to demand that there 
 shall be no unnecessary danger. But really the 
 danger is much exaggerated. Boys with supple 
 joints and muscles are far less liable to sprains 
 and breaks than firmly-set men. It is, perhaps, 
 against injuries to the head that we have to 
 guard most carefully. They are the most dan- 
 gerous and the most subtle, and their effects last 
 the longest. 
 
 Now, in this respect — though I am inclined to 
 think in this respect only — Association football has 
 an advantage over Rugby as the chief game of a 
 school ; though I must confess I have had no ex- 
 perience of the working of Association as such. 
 Accidents to the head are almost unknown under 
 Association rules \ but, unfortunately, it is not so 
 
THE FOOTBALL SUITABLE FOR SCHOOLS. 283 
 
 in Rugby, Whereas a broken leg will probably 
 be all right again in a couple of months, a boy 
 may feel the effects of concussion of the brain for 
 years. Nevertheless, Rugby is a better form of 
 physical training than Association. It exercises 
 the upper limbs far more. Following the remark- 
 able statistics of chest measurements at Mer- 
 chiston, which has certainly produced some of 
 the best scrumraagers in Scotland, we find that 
 since that school has to a certain extent given 
 up the old style of tight scrummaging, the average 
 chest girth of the boys has most distinctly gone 
 down. 
 
 Further, the practical consideration of space 
 and numbers makes Rugby more convenient for 
 schools. In a school of two hundred it is very 
 much easier to find room for six games of thirty 
 a side than for eight or nine games of twenty- 
 two a' side. And though, perhaps, a Rugby full 
 back may not get very much exercise, he always 
 gets a good deal more than an Association goal- 
 keeper. 
 
 But whatever kind of football is played, there 
 are two points which ought to be impressed on 
 every boy as soon as he begins to learn the game. 
 
284 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 The first is to keep his temper. And that for a 
 boy is often an uncommonly hard thing to do. 
 Boys are very quick to resent anything that seems 
 like unfair treatment. Say that a player tackles 
 with unnecessary vigour when the runner is 
 already held. Some one retaliates, and very soon 
 the gulf which exists between hard play and 
 rough play is bridged over. In Rugby football 
 weight and strength confer advantages enough 
 on their possessor without being used to knock 
 an opponent out of time by hurling him against 
 the boundary palings. 
 
 The second is to accept the referee's decision 
 without a grumble. Referees make mistakes, and 
 a good one is generally the first to admit the fact. 
 If a boy is too fond of finding fault with the 
 decisions, it is not a bad plan to get him to take 
 charge of the whistle for a day ; and after one 
 experience of a scrambling game, he will probably 
 be more lenient in the future. 
 
 But it is quite hopeless to expect football to be 
 of real use in schools unless boys are keen on it. 
 To make boys keen on it, there must, in the first 
 place, be plenty of matches. In this the Scottish 
 schools are exceptionally fortunate. They can 
 
The football suitable for schools. 285 
 
 get matches regularly every week, not only for 
 their first, but also for their second and third 
 fifteens ; besides occasional matches for still lower 
 teams. Some of the Edinburgh schools play each 
 other with nine fifteens on the same day. These 
 frequent foreign matches, combined with the 
 intense rivalry between the schools, maintain 
 the interest in football ; and the competition 
 for places in any team, especially if the team 
 be a successful one, is naturally very keen. But 
 sometimes, if the season is a long one, and 
 the fifteen has a run of bad fortune, there is 
 a danger of football beginning to drag. The 
 games get slack, the play gets worse, and the 
 school suffers in more ways than in its football. 
 If keenness is to be kept up in a bad year, the 
 game must have an interest of its own, apart from 
 the extra excitement of matches. It must be 
 remembered that many boys turn out on the 
 football field, not because they like the game, 
 but because they are obliged to play. And so, 
 if football is to fulfil its mission, it must be 
 made as interesting as possible for the ordinary 
 player. 
 A good deal of the modern legislation seems 
 
286 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 designed to attract spectators. But the schools are 
 entirely independent of spectators, and ought not 
 to be influenced in the least by such an element. 
 Their duty is to maintain the interest of the players. 
 Now I am not by any means prepared to say that 
 the old-fashioned tight scrummaging was more 
 interesting to the boy-player than the fast modern 
 game. That it was a better physical training for 
 boys I am sure ; and the Merchiston statistics, to 
 which I have already referred, go a long way to 
 prove the use of scrummaging. But of this I am 
 certain that the game at present played by the best 
 clubs in England and Wales is not adapted for 
 boys. It is too fast, and puts too great a premium 
 on mere pace. In the first place, it is a heavy 
 strain on growing boys, and makes it impossible 
 for them to play as often as they used to do in 
 days gone by. Secondly, the inferior and slower 
 players on a side get disgusted with futile efforts 
 to overtake an opponent, who, as wearisome 
 experience has already taught them, is far too 
 speedy for them. It is no wonder that mediocre 
 forwards do not care for a game in which they 
 have only got to shove hard till one side or 
 the other has heeled out, and then limber up, 
 
THE FOOTBALL SUITABLE FOR SCHOOLS. 287 
 
 and trot quietly off to the scene of the next 
 scrummage. 
 
 Scotland has not yet fallen in love with four 
 three-quarters. She still puts her chief trust in 
 her formidable forwards. And it is the same, for 
 the most part, among the schools. Year after 
 year Merchiston sacrifices everything for the for- 
 wards ; and though in numbers all the leading 
 schools, save Loretto, have been larger, Merchiston 
 has been beaten fewer times than any other 
 of them. Those who have played against Mer- 
 chiston teams know that their victories are entirely 
 due to their forwards. It is worth noting that 
 while that school has furnished a great many 
 forwards to the Scotch teams, it has turned out 
 comparatively few backs. I believe it is a very 
 difficult thing for a school to produce good 
 scrummagers and good backs at the same time. 
 If the forwards are to be exceptionally brilliant, 
 the backs must be to a certain extent sacrificed \ 
 while if the backs are to become expert, the 
 forwards must play to them. Scotland, with her 
 limited number of clubs from which to draw, is in 
 rather the same position. But Scotland has of 
 late years been exceptionally lucky in being able 
 
28'8 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 to get her forwards from Scotland, and her backs 
 very much from England, where they have a better 
 chance of obtaining opportunities of learning the 
 meaning of combination. 
 
 Now I have been told by boys who have gone 
 up from Scotch schools to the English Universities, 
 or who have joined clubs in the South of England, 
 that the forward game played there seems dull and 
 uninteresting compared with the game they were 
 accustomed to play at school. If a respectable, 
 average forward considers the game dull, what are 
 we to expect from the inferior players ? And the 
 forwards are the people whose interests we have 
 got chiefly to consider. They form the great 
 majority of the players ; and, besides, backs will 
 always have plenty of work — and interesting work 
 — to get through, whatever the style of play; 
 though they may find it more difficult to make 
 chances for themselves, and will certainly not have 
 the same number of easy chances made for them, 
 as they have when all the forwards are locked in 
 the scrummage. 
 
 As I have already said, I do not think the four 
 three-quarter game is suited for schools, though, 
 if you get the right men, it will undoubtedly 
 
;«i 
 
THE FOOTBALL SUITABLE FOR SCHOOLS. 289 
 
 win matches. But the winning of matches is not 
 the primary object of football in schools. We want 
 a game that is interesting for all the players, and 
 at the same time is a sound physical training. 
 
 The abolition of heeling out — horribly reac- 
 tionary though it may sound — would, I believe, 
 do a great deal towards this. Of course, under 
 the old rules all the forwards on the heeling- 
 out side were off-side as soon as the ball was 
 played by the half-back behind them, and 
 so they had no right to be in the way of their 
 opponents. 
 
 The Americans soon understood this, and 
 eventually found it necessary to legalize inter- 
 ference which they could not easily prevent. As 
 soon as the off-side rule was abrogated the com- 
 plicated "wedge" and "tandem" formations of 
 American football came into existence. This 
 " tandem " play is not entirely unknown with 
 us, I have seen a half-back with the ball run 
 round the back of the scrummage, and be so 
 covered by his companion on the other side, that 
 neither the half-back on that side nor the nearest 
 three-quarter could get at him ; and yet it would 
 have been hard for a referee to say that he was 
 
 T 
 
290 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 more guilty than any of his forwards who had 
 " heeled out " to him. 
 
 I am conservative enough to think that the first 
 great mistake of the new legislation was the 
 legalization of off-side play in the scrummage ; 
 and the second, the penalizing of the natural 
 antidote, the half-backs coming round to their 
 opponents' side of the scrummage. According to 
 the old and excellent rules of off-side, as long 
 as the opponents were playing the ball, a player 
 could never be off-side, and could stand and play 
 where he liked. 
 
 I am sure that if we could here retrace our steps 
 a little, we should make a better game of it for 
 schools. And in this I have the support of Mr. 
 Burgess, who has been most closely identified with 
 Scotch school football for the last sixteen years, 
 and who is undoubtedly the best coach of forwards 
 in Scotland. It would not be a return to the 
 long and tight scrummaging — though I fancy 
 Mr. Burgess would be glad enough if it were, for 
 he is a firm believer in the value of the scrummage 
 in the physical training of boys. We can get 
 plenty of forward play without that. There will 
 be more foot-work and more dribbling among the 
 
THE FOOTBALL SUITABLE FOR SCHOOLS. 291 
 
 forwards, and they will begin to regard themselves 
 as something more than a screen behind which 
 their backs can develop the attack. Those who 
 remember a somewhat famous match between a 
 strong team of the Edinburgh Academicals and 
 Loretto, in 188 1, will be ready to admit that the 
 art of taking the ball away at the side of the 
 scrummage, either by screwing it or by merely 
 sliding off the opponents, was not unknown even 
 in those dark ages. The feat was more diflficult 
 then, for no one was allowed to get in front of the 
 ball in the scrummage, and so the ball had to be 
 kept in the front row, and not stowed away at the 
 back as it is now. 
 
 One other point there is, which would improve 
 the school game— for forwards certainly, and pro- 
 bably for backs also. Banish the practice of 
 falling on the ball. I believe it to be dangerous. 
 And the chief reason why more accidents have 
 not resulted from it is that players are chivalrous 
 enough to dislike the idea of risking kicking a 
 man lying on the ground. At the same time, it 
 is for this same reason that it is so successful. 
 If dribbling forwards did kick hard at the ball 
 when an opponent was falling on it, I believe 
 
292 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 they would sometimes be able to get it away, 
 but there would very often be a serious accident. 
 A method of play which depends for its success 
 on an appeal ad misericordiam can hardly be 
 considered in accord with the spirit of football. 
 The practice, I fancy, only dates from about 1882 
 or 1883, and was probably introduced to meet 
 the growing tendency towards shorter scrummages 
 and more dribbling. But this is the sort of game 
 that we want at school ; for my experience leads 
 me to the conclusion that it is the game which 
 boy-forwards will like best ; and that, I maintain, 
 is one of the two great objects we ought to have 
 in view. 
 
 In conclusion, whatever may be the style of 
 play in a school, there are always sure to be a 
 certain number of boys, especially on the lower 
 sides, who do not like the game, and will only 
 play it under compulsion. A few of these, from 
 a sense of duty, may play up fairly hard, but the 
 majority will not, unless the game is absolutely 
 compulsory. It may sound rather brutal, but 
 these boys never will like the game until they do 
 play up ; and so the only thing to be done is to 
 have some one there who will not only show 
 
THE FOOTBALL SUITABLE FOR SCHOOLS. 293 
 
 them how to play, but will also make them play. 
 There are lots of boys who used to hate football 
 when they always slacked, but found out, when 
 they began to play hard, that it was not such a 
 bad game, after all. 
 
 • «.• 
 
294 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL ABROAD. 
 
 Perhaps no evidence can be adduced that will 
 more surely prove the intrinsic worth of the 
 Rugby Union game than its growing popularity 
 abroad. The majority of players are, it is true, 
 of English blood. Despite of difficulties of 
 climate and dangers of fever, wherever our race 
 penetrates the goal-posts spring up like the mango 
 tree under the hands of an Indian conjurer. In 
 our colonies the interest taken in football has been 
 fostered by a series of tours. English teams of 
 no little repute have travelled to Australia, New 
 Zealand, and the Cape, and shown to the colonists 
 the latest developments of the game as it is played 
 in the great football centres at home. Undis- 
 mayed by their defeats, our kinsmen across the 
 seas have remodelled their antiquated style of 
 play on the lines suggested by the good football 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL ABROAD. 295 
 
 shown to them. Every year they advance in 
 skill, while their enthusiasm remains unabated. 
 In China, in India, in Buenos Ayres, scattered 
 clubs prove that whether the members be hardy 
 "tykes" or canny Scots, dashing Irishmen or 
 tricky Welshmen, they are one in remembering 
 the game they have learnt to love at home. 
 
 But Rugby football is finding devotees amongst 
 other nationalities besides our own. The keenness 
 for athleticism which changed the social life of 
 England in the sixties is now steadily growing 
 in France and Germany. It is eagerly fostered 
 by the authorities, who rejoice in national amuse- 
 ments which tend to improve rather than weaken 
 the physique of the army. Already our supremacy 
 is threatened in rowing, in cycling, and in running ; 
 in a few years we possibly may find ourselves 
 struggling to maintain our premier position in 
 the football field. Shall we ever be forced to take 
 a secondary place amongst the athletic nations of 
 the world ? " No ; the idea is ridiculous," nine 
 out of ten Englishmen would answer. But is it 
 so ridiculous ? Military training is of immense 
 advantage in developing the national thews and 
 sinews : in one sense it broadens the national 
 
296 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 chest, though, as political economists tell us, it 
 reduces it in another. As our towns grow bigger — 
 and they are vast enough as it is — more children 
 will be bred in them, to the great disadvantage 
 of the poor little weaklings. Childhood will pass 
 into youth, and youth into manhood, in the same 
 close atmosphere. "But what of our games?" 
 you ask. Sad to relate, with the growth of pro- 
 fessionalism, there is a noticeable tendency amongst 
 the working classes to prefer watching the matches 
 to playing in them. They like to assemble in 
 masses to do a bit of betting, and cheer their 
 favourite team to victory on a Saturday ; but exer- 
 cise for thirty men is a poor return for the idleness 
 of thirty thousand. Here foreigners will hold us 
 at a disadvantage. The much-despised military 
 system, which we are never tired of pointing at and 
 jeering at, while thanking our stars that it does 
 not exist in England, pulls this mass of humanity 
 out of the narrow streets. It drills them and 
 punches them in the back till they stand up 
 straight, and shows them how to square their 
 shoulders and step out from the hips ; it feeds them 
 on healthy food and gives them good clothing ; 
 it lodges them in spotlessly clean and perfectly 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL ABROAD. 297 
 
 sanitary barracks ; it teaches them discipline — a 
 most necessary quality nowadays, for it is still 
 true that no man can command who cannot obey ; — 
 in short, it turns them into respectable members 
 of the human family. However, this chapter is 
 on football abroad, and to that let us return with 
 what speed we may. 
 
 America numbers almost as many enthusiastic 
 supporters of football as we do ourselves. Their 
 national game, however, differs considerably from 
 ours. " An improvement," they term it, but 
 Englishmen can hardly be expected to coincide 
 with their view of the question. Probably the 
 foundation was the Rugby Union game, and 
 the "improvements" are the work of American 
 ingenuity. In some of the Western districts 
 Rugby football is played. But with these excep- 
 tions the American game is universal. Without 
 entering into details, it will be enough to say 
 that the chief object of the players is the pro- 
 tection of the man who runs with the ball. There 
 is no off-side rule, and the forwards form a line 
 or a wedge in front of him, and charge down the 
 field. The tackling is of the hardest. That " all 
 is fair in love, war, and American football," might 
 
298 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 have been a revised version of the old proverb 
 a few years ago. Although since then there has 
 been a change for better, the great Inter-University 
 matches are fought out with a terrible determina- 
 tion. The "butcher's bill" is a long one; and, 
 unlike our English game, substitutes are held in 
 waiting to take the place of the injured players. 
 The enthusiasm is immense; it is not too much 
 to say that on the day of the Yale v. Princeton 
 match all New York is worked up to a pitch of 
 extraordinary excitement. Horns blow and flags 
 wave ; carriages clatter through the streets carrying 
 cheering loads of the college " boys " ; all the hotels 
 and half the houses are draped with the colours 
 of the contesting Universities ; and the vast throng 
 which gathers to see the game numbers amongst 
 it the smartest members of New York society. 
 
 The training of the teams is very severe. For 
 some months all their meals are taken at a com- 
 mon training table, and the food is supplied from 
 the funds of the club. The "expenses" of an 
 American football team would indeed make an 
 English amateur stare. To learn the game is no 
 easy matter. A code of signals is established. 
 On the captain shouting a prearranged number, 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL ABROAD. 299 
 
 the field changes like a kaleidoscope. The 
 moment he hears it, each player knows what is 
 expected of him, and in what direction he has to 
 run. It is easy to imagine that such a perfection 
 of drill is not quickly acquired. During the day; 
 when no match is being played, the team practises 
 in an enclosed ground. Great care is taken that 
 no member of the enemy's forces shall spy out the 
 formations under rehearsal. An amusing story is 
 told of a certain University team that had been 
 practising for many weeks a system, never pre- 
 viously attempted, which they felt convinced would 
 astonish and puzzle their opponents in the great 
 match of the season. However, a week before the 
 date fixed for that important event a casual under- 
 graduate, while inspecting a neighbouring water- 
 tower, was horrified to discover two of the foe 
 concealed near the top, armed with field-glasses 
 and note-books. They were quickly routed out ; 
 but the chance of springing a surprise on their 
 foes was lost to the home team. The tribula- 
 tion that ensued can better be imagined than 
 described. 
 
 The members of the University football teams 
 are most important personages. They can easily 
 
30O RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 be distinguished in private life by their long hair 
 and their self-conscious bearing. A propos of 
 this, I once heard of an incident worth relating 
 which occurred to a friend in an American hotel. 
 It was in New York, and the hotel was among 
 the largest and most splendidly appointed of them 
 all. My friend was lounging in the hall, when 
 a quiet little man came in and sat down in a 
 corner. There was some watching and whisper- 
 ing amongst the Americans present. He looked 
 round to discover what was the cause of the com- 
 motion, and, seeing his curiosity, a tall, thin man 
 arose from a neighbouring chair, and, stalking 
 solemnly up to him, remarked, " I reckon, sir, that 
 you aire a stranger t " He admitted the fact. 
 " Then you do not know who that is, perhaps ? " 
 No — my friend did not. The Yank looked grieved. 
 " That man, sir," he said slowly, " can write a 
 cheque for ten million dollars ! " Without waiting 
 for the diverse expressions of surprise with which 
 he was evidently convinced his communication 
 would be received, he retired to his seat. The 
 excitement soon subsided ; then suddenly a door 
 was flung open, and in walked a vast speci- 
 men of humanity, with a mass of hair over his 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL ABROAD. 301 
 
 eyes that would not have disgraced a buffalo. He 
 seized a chair with one hand, banged it down, and 
 called loudly and somewhat profanely to a waiter 
 for liquid refreshment. The wave of excitement 
 that went round the circle was almost tidal in its 
 intensity. Again my friend stared in astonish- 
 ment, and again turned only to discover the tall, 
 thin man at his elbow. " I reckon you know who 
 that is, anyhow," he said in a confident voice. 
 "Wall, darn it," he exclaimed as he received an 
 answer in the negative, " where do you come from ? 
 Don't know him ? Why, sir, he is the Captain 
 
 OF THE University Football Team ! " 
 
 And with a sigh of regret that such ignorance 
 was possible, he left my friend to meditate on the 
 fallacy of the statement that great wealth is the 
 only distinction in Yankeeland. 
 
 At the time of the World's Fair at Chicago, 
 Yale challenged Oxford University to a football 
 match. It was to be played at Chicago, and 
 expenses would be guaranteed. Of course the 
 scheme was impossible. As a writer of the day 
 expressed it, " Will this mean that eleven Yanks 
 are to play fifteen Englishmen at Rugger, or that 
 eleven Englishmen are to play fifteen Yanks at 
 
302 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Chicagger ? — if I may use the term." After some 
 negotiations, the offer was withdrawn. 
 
 In Canada the game is in a flourishing con- 
 dition. Amongst the roll of unions and clubs which 
 are members of the English Rugby Union are the 
 Ontario Rugby Union, with its centre at Toronto, 
 and the Canadian Rugby Union, with its centre at 
 Montreal. Ontario has a regular system of senior 
 and junior competitions. The colleges of Toronto 
 and Ottawa turn out excellent teams, and the 
 Toronto football ground is amongst the finest in 
 the world. 
 
 In Australia and New Zealand football has long 
 been in existence. In some parts of Australia, 
 especially in Victoria, there is a nondescript game, 
 which is a sort of mixture of Rugby and Associa- 
 tion, but in general the Rugby game is played. 
 In New Zealand the Rugby game holds undis- 
 puted sway. The number of New Zealand clubs 
 and unions that are members of the English 
 Rugby Union is remarkable. Amongst them are 
 the Auckland Union, the Canterbury Club, the 
 Dunedin Club, the Otago Union, the Wellington 
 Club, and the Wellington Union. In 188& Shaw 
 and Shrewsbury took out an English fifteen to play 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL ABROAD. 303 
 
 matches in the two colonies. A strong team was 
 got together, although the Rugby Union Committee 
 did not feel justified in extending its patronage 
 and support to the tour. Some thirty-five matches 
 were arranged under Rugby rules; of these the 
 visitors won twenty-seven. While in Australia, 
 they foolishly, as many people thought, agreed to 
 play under the Victorian code, of which they were 
 entirely ignorant. Under these rules they played 
 eighteen matches, of which eleven were lost, one 
 drawn, and six won. They were splendidly re- 
 ceived, and certainly had a most enjoyable time. 
 That they improved colonial football is an un- 
 doubted fact. During their stay in New Zealand, 
 the islanders made such progress in the art of 
 passing, that they had considerable difficulty in 
 winning return matches with clubs which they 
 had at first easily defeated. 
 
 Before this English team returned home, a team 
 of New Zealanders arrived in England. Their 
 visit was well timed, for the International matches 
 were disorganized by a quarrel between England 
 and the other Unions. They were of mixed race, 
 consisting of English colonists, half-breeds, and 
 Maoris. The "New Zealand Native Football 
 
304 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Representatives" they termed themselves, but as 
 the "Maoris" they were invariably known. At 
 first crowds flocked to their matches, as to some 
 entertainment after the fashion of the "Swazi 
 village ; " afterwards they went to see good foot- 
 ball played. The Maoris discarded the native 
 head-dresses and mats in which they appeared 
 on the football field after their arrival, as soon 
 as their real merit was recognized. In passing 
 they were at first very weak, though they steadily 
 improved ; but scrummaging was always their 
 strong point. This is hardly to be wondered at, 
 considering that three of their team weighed over 
 fourteen stone, while five more were thirteen stone 
 and more. In twenty-five weeks they played no 
 less than seventy-four matches, of which they won 
 forty-nine, drew five, and lost twenty. The worst 
 features of the tour were a tendency they dis- 
 played towards unnecessary roughness and an 
 objectionable habit they never quite discarded of 
 disputing the decisions of the referee. Indeed, on 
 one memorable occasion, when they were playing 
 England, they left the field in a body as a protest 
 at a decision by Mr. Rowland Hill, who was the 
 referee. For this they were deservedly called . 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL ABROAD. 305 
 
 upon to apologize before the tour was allowed to 
 proceed. The writer remembers "spectating" at 
 a match between the Maoris and Devonshire. 
 One of the Devon forwards came off the field 
 sorrowfully rubbing his leg. "What is the mat- 
 ter ? " I asked. " Why," he said, " I came to play 
 football, not to join in a dog fight ! One of the 
 beggars has bitten me in the calf! " 
 
 At the Cape — that fortunate colony which is at 
 present supplying three-fourths of the foreign news 
 in the London papers — football is immensely 
 popular. Both Rugby and Association football 
 is played, but the former has by far the greater 
 number of adherents. At one time a mongrel 
 game compiled from the rules of both these 
 forms of football seemed to be gaining ground, 
 but it has now practically disappeared. In 1891, 
 a team under the patronage of the Rugby Union, 
 and with expenses guaranteed by Mr. Cecil 
 Rhodes, sailed for the Cape. The tour was a 
 great success, nineteen matches being played, all 
 of which were won — an unrivalled performance in 
 the history of football tours. The grounds, how- 
 ever, were and are much against enjoyable games. 
 The sun scorches the grass until the field of play 
 
 U 
 
3o6 RUGBY POOTBALL. 
 
 is practically composed of gravel, dust, sand and 
 small stones. This year a team has repeated the 
 experiment of 1888. They are fairly strong, the 
 Irish forward contingent containing some brilliant 
 players. The Colonials have considerably im- 
 proved in passing and the screwing tactics of 
 forward play ; but although several matches have 
 been drawn, none — at the time at which I write — 
 have been lost by our representatives. 
 
 In Europe the game is making slow but steady 
 progress. It was an uphill struggle at first. 
 Rugby football presented few attractions to a 
 paternal police, unused to consider athletics in 
 the light of a national benefit. In France and 
 Belgium the game was frequently stopped by the 
 gendarmes in its early days. But all this has 
 been changed, and there are now several clubs in 
 Paris that are under the special patronage of the 
 President. Their enthusiasm is great, and through 
 the frequent visits of English teams their play 
 steadily improves. I was an interested spectator 
 at several of the earlier of these matches, which, in 
 the strictest sense of the word, may be described as 
 International. The play of the French team was, 
 I am forced to admit, rather of a humorous than 
 
RUGBY FOOTBALL ABROAD. 307 
 
 of a skilful character. The shouts and cries with 
 which they encouraged each other ; the wild 
 rejoicings, the black despair; the suspicion of 
 perfidy aroused by the conduct of the referee ; the 
 embracings on securing an advantage; the hand 
 clapping which answered the British cheers at 
 the conclusion of the game ; — all were sufficiently 
 ludicrous, but appeared even more so by com- 
 parison with the stolid, business-like demeanour 
 of their opponents. Still, from first to last they 
 invariably played a hard, plucky game, and I 
 have little doubt that in time they will turn out 
 formidable teams that will be "worthy of the 
 steel " of the best clubs amongst us. 
 
 In Germany the game has at present taken no 
 great hold. Round the Universities, however, and 
 near places where Englishmen congregate, the 
 goal-posts are to be seen. Occasionally a few 
 Germans join in the games. Newnheim College, 
 which is close to Heidelberg, but which is chiefly 
 frequented by Englishmen and Americans, is the 
 only club in Germany which is a member of the 
 Rugby Union. 
 
 Thus has the great game, which sprung from the 
 English school, spread over the world. How far 
 
3o8 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 it will extend, and how far it will maintain its 
 popularity, is " in the lap of the gods." All that 
 we who love the game can do is to strive to 
 maintain its high traditions at home, and wish it 
 good speed on its way abroad. 
 
MK. G. KOWLAXIJ HILL 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 BYE-LAWS OF THE RUGBY FOOTBALL 
 UNION, ETC., 
 
 As passed at the General Meeting held on September 20, 1893, 
 and Amended, 1894-5-6. 
 
 I. — The name of the society shall be " The Rugby Foot- 
 ball Union," and only clubs entirely composed of amateurs 
 shall be eligible for membership ; and its head-quarters 
 shall be in London, where all general meetings shall be 
 held. 
 
 2. — The committee, who shall be elected annually, shall 
 consist of the five following officers, namely, — a president, 
 two vice-presidents, an hon. secretary, and an hon. treasurer, 
 and sixteen other members. All past presidents of the 
 Union, who shall have attended two regularly convened 
 committee meetings during the previous year, shall be 
 members of the committee. Seven shall form a quorum ; 
 the chairman shall have a casting vote in addition to his 
 first vote. No past president shall be entitled to vote on 
 the selection of teams unless he has been chosen to a(*t on 
 the sub-committee elected for that purpose. Any vacancy 
 in the committee occurring during the year shall be filled 
 up by the committee. 
 
 3. — All clubs being members of the Rugby Union in the 
 following districts shall have the following representation on 
 the committee, and may elect the number of representatives 
 
3IO RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 on the committee respectively placed opposite their names, 
 namely : — 
 
 Cambridge University One' 
 
 Cheshire One 
 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland One 
 
 Durham One 
 
 Lancashire Three 
 
 London District Four i, Twenty. 
 
 Midland Counties One 
 
 Northumberland One 
 
 Oxford University One 
 
 South-Western District Two 
 
 Yorkshire Four 
 
 The South-Western district shall comprise the counties 
 of Cornwall, Devon, Gloucester, and Somerset, and the 
 London district all clubs and counties not included in any 
 of the above. 
 
 All such elections shall be in the hands of the hon. 
 secretary by August 7 ; if not, the new committee shall fill 
 up any vacancies. 
 
 The manner in which the above twenty seats are distri- 
 buted may be altered at any annual general meeting, on 
 the vote of the majority of those present, provided notice 
 of such proposed alteration be given to the hon. secretary 
 not later than August 7. 
 
 4. — There shall be sent to each club, not later than 
 August 14 in each year, a list of the twenty representatives 
 so elected, together with the committee's nominations of 
 officers for the ensuing year, namely, a president and two 
 vice-presidents, nominated from the above twenty repre- 
 sentatives ; an hon. secretary, not necessarily from the above 
 twenty ; and an hon. treasurer, nominated either from the 
 above twenty, or from the past presidents. Anyj,club ha§ 
 
APPENDIX. 311 
 
 the right to make further nomination of ofiScers only, but 
 any for president or vice-president must be from the twenty 
 elected representatives, for treasurer from the above twenty 
 or from past presidents ; any such nominations must reach 
 the hon. secretary by August 21, and a complete list of all 
 nominations must be sent to each club with the circular 
 calling the annual general meeting. 
 
 5. — The election of officers shall take place at each annual 
 general meeting, and shall be decided by a majority of those 
 voting. In case the hon. secretary be elected from the 
 twenty elected representatives, then such representation 
 shall become void, and the county, university, or district 
 shall elect another representative to fill such vacancy. In 
 case a district has to make another election, such must be 
 done within fourteen days of the annual general meeting ; 
 if not so made, the Committee shall fill the vacancy. 
 
 6. — Any club willing to conform to the Rules of the 
 Union shall be eligible for membership, but before being 
 admitted, such club must be duly proposed and seconded 
 by two clubs belonging to the Union. 
 
 7. — That the annual subscription, payable in advance, 
 of each club belonging to the Union, be £1 \s., with an 
 entrance fee of \os, 6d., payable on admission. The annual 
 subscriptions of all clubs shall fall due in September. Any 
 club whose subscription has not been paid before March i 
 shall be struck off the Union list. 
 
 8. — The annual general meeting shall be held in Sep- 
 tember in each year for the election of officers, the con- 
 sideration of the bye-laws, laws of the game, and rules as 
 to professionalism, and other business. 
 
 9. — Each club shall be entitled to send one representative 
 only to any annual or special general meeting, exclusive of 
 the officers and committee of the Union. 
 
 i<j. — The hon. secretary shall convene a special general 
 
312 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 meeting at any time on receiving a requisition to that effect 
 signed by the secretaries of not less than forty clubs 
 belonging to the Union, and stating specific notice of 
 motion. 
 
 In case of a special general meeting, such must be held 
 within one month of receipt of requisition, preliminary notice 
 must be sent out by the hon. secretary within ten days of 
 such requisition, and notices of amendment must be received 
 by him within seventeen days of receipt of requisition. 
 
 II. — That no bye-law, law of the game, or rule as to 
 professionalism shall be altered, rescinded, or added to, 
 without the consent of at least two-thirds of those present 
 at a general meeting. 
 
 12. — Each club shall be furnished with a copy of the 
 bye-laws, laws of the game, and rules as to professionalism, 
 and be bound thereby. In case of infringement thereof by 
 any club or player, such club or player may be punished 
 or expelled by the committee, subject to appeal to a general 
 meeting, except on a matter of fact, when there shall not 
 be any right of appeal. 
 
 13. — Notice of any amendment or alteration in the bye- 
 laws, laws of the game, or rules as to professionalism, 
 together with the names of the proposing and seconding 
 clubs, shall be given in writing to the hon. secretary, not 
 later than August 7, a copy of such notice shall be sent to 
 each club not later than August 14 ; and notice of any 
 amendment to such amendment or alteration must be in 
 writing signed by an official of the club making it, and must 
 reach the hon. secretary by August 21, after which each 
 club shall be advised by circular of the date of the annual 
 general meeting, and of all proposed alterations and amend- 
 ments. 
 
 14. — The committee shall have sole control of the funds 
 of the Union. The accounts shall be audited by two 
 auditors, appointed at the previous annual general meeting. 
 
APPENDIX. 313 
 
 A printed copy of the signed balance-sheet shall be sent to 
 each club, along with the notice calling the annual general 
 meeting. 
 
 15. — The committee may at any time before the end of 
 July alter the distribution of the twenty seats ; in case such 
 re-distribution be challenged by any county, university, or 
 district, the next annual general meeting shall be asked to 
 confirm or reject such alteration on the vote of a majority. 
 
 16. — The committee shall appoint three trustees, in 
 whose names they may from time to time invest any funds 
 of the Union ; which investment shall be held by the said 
 trustees solely for the furtherance of amateur Rugby 
 football. 
 
 17. — Any league or combination of clubs shall be under 
 the authority of and shall obtain the consent of the Union 
 to its formation, and shall be required to submit its proposed 
 rules, and any subsequent alterations thereof, for approval 
 to the Rugby Union committee, who shall have power — 
 (a) To forbid the formation or continuance of such 
 
 league or combination of clubs in their absolute 
 
 discretion. 
 {b) To discharge from membership or suspend any 
 
 club contravening this bye-law, 
 [c) To suspend any club which shall play a match with 
 
 a club which has been suspended or discharged 
 
 from membership under the bye-law, or with any 
 
 club which has been formed out of the nucleus 
 
 of any suspended club. 
 18. — In case any difference of opinion arises as to the 
 meaning of 'any of these bye-laws, such meaning shall be 
 decided by the committee, or, if it occurs at a general 
 meeting, by the chairman thereof ; any such decision shall 
 be recorded in the minutes, and shall be accepted as the 
 true meaning of the bye-law until otherwise interpreted at 
 a general meeting, after due notice has been given. 
 
314 
 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 PLAN OF THE FIELD. 
 
 Q 
 
 A 
 
 P P 
 
 A 
 
 Q 
 
 T 
 
 
 THE FIELD 
 
 
 T 
 
 TOUCH 
 
 
 OF 
 PLAY. 
 
 
 TOUCH 
 
 T 
 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 A 
 
 
 Q 
 
 
 p P 
 
 
 Q 
 
 AA, AA.— Goal-lines. TT, TT. —Touch-lines. 
 
 PP, PP.— Goal-posts. QQ, QQ.— Touch in Goal. 
 
 The touch-lines and goal-lines should be cut out of the turf, or 
 otherwise well defined. 
 
 The field of play should not exceed no yards in length, nor 
 75 yards in breadth, and should be as near those dimensions as 
 practicable. 
 
 The maximum extent of the dead-ball line is 25 yards. 
 
 The posts and flags marking the centre and 25 yards lines should 
 be kept well back from the touch-lines. 
 
APPENDIX. 315 
 
 LAWS OF THE GAME OF FOOTBALL, 
 
 AS PLAYED BY 
 
 THE RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION. 
 
 I.— INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I. — The Rugby Game of Football should be played by 
 fifteen players on each side. (Any one coming under the 
 laws of professionalism shall not be allowed to take part in 
 any game under this Union's jurisdiction.) The field of play 
 shall not exceed no yards in length, nor 75 in breadth, and 
 shall be as near these dimensions as practicable. The 
 lines defining the boundary of the field of play shall be 
 suitably marked, and shall be called the goal-lines at the 
 ends and the touch-lines at the sides. On each goal-line 
 and equidistant from the touch-lines shall be two upright 
 posts, called goal -posts, exceeding 11 ft. in height, and 
 placed i8ft. 6 in. apart, and joined by a cross-bar 10 ft. from 
 the ground ; and the object of the game shall be to kick 
 the ball over this cross-bar and between the posts. The 
 game shall be played with an oval ball of as nearly as 
 possible the following size and weight, namely — 
 
 Length 11 toiijin. 
 
 Length circumference 30 ,,31 „ 
 
 Width circumference 25 J „ 26 „ 
 
 Weight 13 ,) Hi ozs. 
 
 Hand-sewn and not less than eight stitches to the inch. 
 
3i6 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 II.— GLOSSARY— DUTIES OF OFFICIALS- 
 SCORING. 
 
 Glossary of Terms. 
 
 2. — The following terms occur in the laws, and have the 
 respective meanings attached to each : — 
 
 Dead-ball Line. — Not more than 25 yards behind, and 
 equidistant from the respective goal-lines, and parallel 
 thereto, shall be lines, which shall be called the Dead- 
 ball Lines, and if the ball or player holding the ball touch 
 or cross these lines the ball shall be dead and out of play. 
 
 IN-GOAL. — Those portions of the ground immediately at 
 the ends of the field of play and between the touch-lines, 
 produced to the dead-ball lines, are called In-goal. 
 The goal-lines are in-goal. 
 
 Touch. — Those portions of the ground immediately at the 
 sides of the field of play and between the goal-lines, if 
 produced, are called Touch. The touch-lines and all 
 posts and flags marking these lines, or the centre, or 
 25 yards lines, are in touch. 
 
 TOUCH-IN-GOAL. — Those portions of the ground imme- 
 diately at the four corners of the field of play, and 
 between the goal and touch-lines, if respectively pro- 
 duced, are called Touch-in-Goal. The corner posts and 
 flags are in touch-in-goal. 
 
 A Drop-kick is made by letting the ball fall from the 
 hands, and kicking it the very instant it rises. 
 
 A Place-kick is made by kicking the ball after it has 
 been placed on the ground. 
 
 A Punt is made by letting the ball fall from the hands 
 and kicking it before it touches the ground. 
 
 A Tackle is when the holder of the ball is held by one or 
 more players of the opposite side. 
 
 A Scrummage, which can only take place in the field of 
 play, is when the ball is put down between players who 
 
APPENDIX. 317 
 
 have closed round on their respective sides, and who 
 must have both feet on the ground. 
 A Try is gained by the player who first puts his hand 
 
 on the ball on the ground in his opponents' in-goal. 
 A Touch-down is when a player touches down as above 
 
 in his own in-goal. 
 A Goal is obtained by kicking the ball from the field of 
 play, except from z.punt, from a kick-off, or from a drop- 
 out, direct {i.e. without touching the ground or any 
 player of either side) over the opponents' cross-bar, 
 whether it touch such cross-bar or the goal-posts or not. 
 Knocking-on and Throwing-forward are propelling 
 the ball by the hand or arm in the direction of the 
 opponents' in-gOal ; a throw out of touch cannot be 
 claimed as a throw-forward. 
 A Fair-catch is a catch made direct from a kick or 
 knock-on or throw-forward by one of the opposite side ; 
 the catcher must immediately claim the same by making 
 a mark with his heel at the spot where he made the catch. 
 Kick-off is a place-kick from the centre of the field-of- 
 play ; the opposite side may not stand within ten yards 
 of the ball, nor charge until the ball be kicked, other- 
 wise another kick-off shall be allowed. If the ball pitch 
 in touch, the opposite side may have it kicked off again. 
 Drop-out is a drop-kick from within 25 yards of the 
 kicker's goal-line ; within which distance the opposite 
 side may not charge, otherwise another drop-out shall 
 be allowed. If the ball pitch in touch, the opposite 
 side may have it dropped out again. 
 At kick-off the ball must reach the limit of ten yards, and 
 at drop-out must reach the 25 yards line. If otherwise, 
 the opposite side may have the ball re-kicked, or scrum- 
 maged, at the centre or in the middle of the 25 yards 
 line, as the case may be. 
 Off-side. — See Laws 7 and 8. 
 
3i8 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Referee and Touch-judges. 
 
 3. — In all matches a Referee and two Touch-judges 
 must be appointed, the former being mutually agreed upon. 
 The Referee must carry a whistle, which he must blow in 
 the following cases : — 
 
 Duties of Referee. 
 
 (a) When a player makes and claims a fair catch. 
 
 (d) When he notices rough or foul play or misconduct. 
 
 For the first offence he shall either caution the 
 player or order him off the ground, but for the 
 second offence he must order him off. If ordered 
 off, the player must be reported by htm to this 
 Union. 
 
 (c) When he considers that the continuation of play 
 is dangerous. 
 
 {d) When the ball has been improperly put into a 
 scrummage. 
 
 (e) When he wishes to stop the game for any purpose. 
 (/) If the ball or a player running with the ball touch 
 
 him. 
 
 {g) At half-time and no-side, he being] the sole time- 
 keeper, having sole power to allow extra time 
 for delays, but he shall not whistle for half-time 
 or no-side until the ball be held or out of play. 
 
 (k) When a player in a scrummage lifts a foot from the 
 ground before the ball has been put fairly into 
 the scrummage. 
 
 (z) When he notices any irregularity of play whereby 
 the side committing such gain an advantage. 
 
 {J) When he notices a breach of Laws 5 and 15. 
 
APPENDIX. 319 
 
 Powers of Referee. 
 
 The Referee shall be sole judge in all matters of fact, but 
 as to matters of law there shall be the right of appeal to the 
 Rugby Union. 
 
 Duty of Touch-judges. 
 The touch-judges shall carry flags, and shall each take 
 one side of the ground, outside the field of play, and the 
 duty of each shall be to ^hold up his flag when and where 
 the ball goes into touch, and also to assist the Referee, if 
 requested by him, at kicks at goal. 
 
 Rules. 
 4. — The captains of the respective sides shall toss up 
 for the choice of in-goal or the kick-off". Each side shall 
 play an equal time from each in-goal, and a match shall be 
 won by a majority of points; if no point be scored, or the 
 number be equal, the match shall be drawn. 
 
 Scoring. 
 The following shall be the mode of scoring :— 
 
 A Try equals 3 points. 
 
 A Penalty Goal 3 » 
 
 A Goal from a Try (in which case 
 
 the Try shall not count) ... „ 5 „ 
 Any other Goal „ 4 » 
 
 Kick-off. 
 5. — At the time of the kick-off" all the kicker's side shall 
 be behind the ball ; if any are in front, the Referee shall 
 blow his whistle and order a scrummage where the kick-off 
 took place. The game shall be re-started by a kick-off— 
 (a) After a goal, by the side losing such goal, and 
 {b) After half-time, by the opposite side to that which 
 started the game. 
 
320 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 III.— MODE OF PLAY— DEFINITIONS. 
 
 Mode of Play. 
 
 6. — When once the game is started, the ball may be kicked 
 or picked up and run with by any player who is on-side, at 
 any time ; except that it may not be picked up — 
 {a) In a scrummage. 
 {b) When it has been put down after it has been fairly 
 
 held. 
 {c) When it is on the ground after a player has been 
 tackled. 
 It may be passed or knocked from one player to another, 
 provided it be not passed, knocked, or thrown forward. If 
 a player while holding or running with the ball be tackled 
 and the ball fairly held, he MUST at once put it fairly down 
 between him and his opponents' goal-line. 
 
 Off-side. 
 
 7. — A player is placed off-side if he enters a scrummage 
 from his opponents' side, or if the ball has been kicked, 
 touched, or is being run with by one of his own side behind 
 him. A player can be off-side in his opponents' in-goal, 
 but not in his own, except Where one of his side takes a free 
 kick behind his goal-line, in which case all his side must be 
 behind the ball when kicked. 
 
 8. — An off-side player is placed on-side — 
 
 (a) When an opponent has run five yards with the ball. 
 {b) When the ball has been kicked by, or has touched 
 
 an opponent, 
 (c) When one of his side has run in front of him with 
 
 the ball. 
 {d) When one of his side has run in front of him, 
 having kicked the ball when behind him. 
 An off-side player shall not play the ball, nor during the 
 time an opponent has the ball, run, tackle, or actively or 
 
APPENDIX. 3ii 
 
 passively obstruct, nor may he approach within ten yards 
 of any player waiting for the ball. On any breach of this 
 law, the opposite side shall be awarded, at their option — 
 {e) A free kick, the place of such breach being taken as 
 
 the mark. 
 (/) A scrummage at the spot where the ball was last 
 played by the offending side before such breach 
 occurred. 
 Except in the case of unintentional off-side, when a scrum- 
 mage shall be formed where such breach occurred. 
 
 Fair Catch. 
 
 9. — If a player makes a fair catch he shall be awarded a 
 free kick, even though the whistle has been blown for a 
 knock-on, and he himself must either kick or place the ball. 
 
 Free Kicks. 
 
 10. — ^AU free kicks may be place-kicks, drop-kicks, or 
 punts, but must be in the direction of the opponents' goal- 
 line, and across the kicker's goal-line, if kicked from behind 
 the same. They may be taken at any spot behind the mark 
 in a line parallel to the touch-lines. If taken by drop or 
 punt, the catcher must take the kick ; if taken by a place- 
 kick, the catcher must place the ball. In all cases the 
 kicker's side must be behind the ball when it is kicked, 
 except the player who may be placing the ball for a place- 
 kick. In case of any infringement of this law, the Referee 
 shall order a scrummage at the mark. The opposite side 
 may come up- to, and charge from anywhere on or behind 
 a line drawn through the mark and parallel to the goal- 
 lines, and may charge as soon as the catcher commences to 
 run or offers to kick or places the ball on the ground for a 
 place-kick, but in case of a drop-kick or punt, the kicker 
 may always draw back, and unless he has dropped the ha'I, 
 
 X 
 
322 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 the opposite side must retire to the line of the mark. But 
 if any of the opposite side do charge before the player 
 having the ball commences to run or offers to kick, or the 
 ball has touched the ground for a place-kick (and this appUes 
 to tries at goal as well as free kicks), provided the kicker 
 has not taken his kick, the charge may be disallowed. 
 
 IV.— PENALTIES. 
 
 Penalty Kicks for intentionally handling Ball or falling 
 in Scrummage. 
 
 II. — Free kicks by way of penalties shall be awarded oh 
 claims by the opposite side, if any player — 
 
 (a) Intentionally either handles the ball, or falls down 
 
 in a scrummage, or picks the ball out of a 
 scrummage. 
 
 Not putting Ball down when held. 
 
 (b) Having the ball, does not immediately put it down 
 
 in front of him on it being held. 
 
 Not getting up or allowing to get up. 
 
 (c) Being on the ground, does not immediately get up. 
 {d) Prevents an opponent getting up. 
 
 Illegally Obstructing, etc. 
 (e) Illegally tackles, charges, or obstructs, as in Law 8. 
 
 Unfairly putting Ball down. 
 (/) Wilfully puts the ball unfairly into a scrummage, or, 
 the ball having come out, wilfully shoves it forward with his 
 hands again into the scrummage. 
 
APPENDIX. 323 
 
 Illegal Charge. 
 
 {g) Not himself running at the ball, charges or obstructs 
 
 an opponent not holding the ball. 
 {k) Not in a scrummage wilfully obstructs his oppo- 
 nents' backs by standing on his opponents' side 
 of the ball when it is in a scrummage. 
 {{) Being in a scrummage, lifts a foot from the ground 
 before the ball has been put into such scrummage. 
 (_/) Wilfully prevents the ball being fairly put into a 
 scrummage. 
 The places of infringement shall be taken as the mark, 
 and any one of the side granted the free kick may place or 
 kick the ball. 
 
 v.— GENERAL. 
 Ball in Touch. 
 
 12. — The ball is in touch when it, or a player carrying it, 
 touch or cross the touch-line ; it shall then belong to the 
 side opposite to that last touching it in the field of play, 
 except when carried in. One of the side to whom the ball 
 belongs shall bring it into play at the spot where it went 
 into touch, by one of the following methods : — 
 
 («) Bounding it on the field of play at right angles to 
 the touch-line. After bounding it he may catch 
 it, and then run with it, kick it, or pass it. When 
 catching it he must have both feet in the field of 
 play. 
 
 Throw-out. 
 {J}) Throwing it out so as to alight at right angles to the 
 
 touch-line, or 
 {c) Scrummaging it at any spot at right angles to the 
 touch-line, between 5 and 15 yards from the place 
 where it went into touch. 
 If the ball be not thrown out of touch, so as to alight at 
 
324 RUCBY FOOTSALL 
 
 right angles to the touch'-line, the opposite side may bring it 
 out as in {c). 
 
 Try at Goal. 
 
 13. — When the side has scored a try, the ball shall be 
 brought from the spot where the try was gained into the 
 field of play in a line parallel to the touch-lines, such 
 distance as the placer thinks proper, and there he shall . 
 place the ball for one of his side to try and kick a goal ; 
 this place-kick is governed by Law 10 as to charging, etc., 
 the mark being taken as on the goal-line. It is the duty 
 of the defending side to see that the ball is taken out 
 straight. 
 
 Unfair Play, Allowing or Disallowing a Try. 
 
 The Referee shall award a try, if, in his opinion, one 
 would undoubtedly have been obtained but for unfair play 
 or interference of the defending side. Or, he shall dis- 
 allow a try, and adjudge a touch-down, if, in his opinion, 
 a try would undoubtedly not have been gained but for unfair 
 play or interference of the attacking side. In case of a try 
 so allowed, the kick at goal shall be taken at any point on 
 a line parallel to the touch-lines, and passing through the 
 spot where the ball was when such unfair play or interfer- 
 ence took place. 
 
 Ball held in In-goal. 
 
 14. — If the ball, when over the goal-line and in possession 
 of a player, be fairly held by an opposing player before it is 
 grounded, it shaill be scrummaged 5 yards from the goal- 
 line, opposite the spot where the ball was held. 
 
 Drop-out. 
 
 15. — After an unsuccessful try or touch-down, or if the 
 ball after crossing the goal-line go into touch-in-goal or 
 
APPENDIX. 325 
 
 touch, or cross the dead-ball line, it shall be brought into 
 play by means of a drop-out, when all the kicker's side must 
 be behind the ball when kicked ; in case any are in front, 
 the Referee shall order a scrummage on the 23 yards line, 
 and equi-distant from the touch-lines. 
 
 Knock-on, Throw-forward. 
 
 16. — In case of a throw-forward or knock-on, the ball 
 shall be at once brought back to where such infringement 
 took place, and there put down, unless a fair catch has been 
 made and claimed, or unless the opposite side ■ gain an 
 advantage. If the ball or a player running with the ball 
 touches the Referee, it shall there be put down. 
 
 Pass or Carry Back over own Goal-line, 
 
 17. — If a player shall wilfully kick, pass, knock, or carry 
 the ball back across his goal-line, and it there be made 
 dead, the opposite side may claim that the ball shall be 
 brought back, and a scrummage formed at the spot whence 
 it was kicked, passed, knocked, or carried back. Under any 
 other circumstances a player may touch the ball down in his 
 own in-goal. 
 
 Hacking, Tripping. 
 
 18. — No HACKING, or HACKING OVER, or tripping up, 
 shall be allowed under any circumstances. No one wearing 
 projecting nails, iron plates, or gutta-percha on any part of 
 his boots or shoes shall be allowed to play in a match. 
 
 Irregularities in In-Goal not otherwise provided for. 
 
 19. — In case of any law being infringed in in-goal by the 
 attacking side, a touch-down shall be awarded, but where 
 such breach is committed by the defending side, a scrum- 
 mage shall be awarded 5 yards from the goal-line, opposite 
 to the spot where the breach occurred. 
 
326 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Other Irregularities not provi'ded for. 
 But in the case of any law being broken, or any irregu- 
 larity of play occurring on the part of either side not other- 
 wise provided for, the ball shall be taken back to the place 
 where the breach of the law or irregularity of play occurred, 
 and a scrummage formed there. 
 
 Close Time. 
 
 20. — There shall be an annual close time, during which it 
 is illegal to play football where gate-money is taken, such 
 close time being between April 20 and September i. 
 
 REGULATIONS AUTHORIZED BY THE RUGBY 
 UNION ON COUNTY QUALIFICATIONS. 
 
 I. — A man may play — 
 (a) For the county in which he was born, or 
 (J)) For the county in which he has resided for the six 
 
 months previous to the time of playing, or 
 (c) For the county in which he is residing at school or 
 college, either as pupil or master, at the time of 
 playing, provided his residence at the school or 
 college be in the same county. 
 id) For the county for which he played in season 
 I 887-1 888. 
 2. — A man shall still be qualified to play for a county, 
 having previously qualified for and played for that county 
 for three seasons, and not having subsequently played for 
 any other county. 
 
 3. — No man shall play for more than one county during 
 the same season. 
 
 4. — A man who is duly qualified and plays for a county 
 in a certain season, may continue to play for that county 
 
APPENDIX. 327 
 
 during the remainder of that season, even though he loses 
 his other qualifications. 
 
 5- — Should any question arise as to qualifications, the 
 same shall be left to the decision .of the Rugby Union 
 Committee. 
 
 RULES AS TO PROFESSIONALISM. 
 
 Adopted at Rugby Union Meeting, September, 1895, which 
 shall take the place of the Rules as to Professionalism, 
 the " Insurance Laws," and the " Transfer Laws," which 
 were in operation previously. 
 
 I. — Professionalism is illegal. 
 2. — Acts of professionalism are : 
 (i) By an individual — • 
 A. — Asking, receiving, or relying on a promise, direct or 
 implied, to receive any money consideration what- 
 ever, actual or prospective ; any employment or 
 advancement ; any establishment in business ; or 
 any compensation whatever for — 
 
 (rt) Playing football, or rendering any service to 
 
 a football organization. 
 (p) Training, or loss of time connected therewith. 
 {c) Time lost in playing football or in travelling 
 
 in connection with football. 
 (d) Expenses in excess of the amount actually 
 disbursed on account of reasonable hotel or 
 travelling expenses. 
 B. — Transferring his services from one club to another in 
 
 opposition to Rule 6. 
 C. — Playing for a club while receiving, or after having 
 received from such club, any consideration whatever 
 for acting as secretary, treasurer, or in any other 
 
328 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 office, or for doing or for having done any work or 
 labour about the club's ground or in connection 
 with the club's aflfairs. 
 D. — Remaining on tour at his club's expense longer than 
 
 is reasonable. 
 E. — Giving or receiving any money testimonial. Or giving 
 or receiving any other testimonial, except under the 
 authority of this Union. 
 F. — Receiving any medal or other prize for any com- 
 petition except under the authority of this Union. 
 G. — Playing on any ground where gate-money is taken : 
 {a) During the close season. 
 {b) In any match or contest where it is previously 
 agreed that less than fifteen players on 
 each side shall take part. 
 H. — Knowingly playing with or against any expelled or 
 
 suspended player or club. 
 I. — Refusing to give evidence or otherwise assist in carry- 
 ing out these rules when requested by this Union to 
 do so. 
 J. — Being registered as, or declared a professional, or 
 suspended by any National Rugby Union, or by the 
 Football Association. 
 K. — Playing within eight days of any accident for which 
 he has claimed or received insurance compensation, 
 if insured under these rules. 
 L. — Playing in any benefit match connected directly or 
 
 indirectly with football. 
 M. — Knowingly playing or acting as referee or touch- 
 judge on the ground of an expelled or suspended 
 club. 
 (2) By a club or other organization : 
 A. — Paying or promising payment, or giving, offering, 
 or promising any inducement as to employment, 
 
APPENDIX. 329 
 
 advancement, or establishment in business, or any 
 compensation whatever to any player for — 
 {a) Playing for that club. 
 
 {b) Training, or for travelling expenses to or 
 from any training resort, or for loss of time 
 in connection with training, 
 (c) Loss of time while playing or travelling in 
 
 connection with football. 
 id) Hotel or travelling expenses in excess of the 
 sum actually and reasonably disbursed. 
 B. — Receiving as a member a member of another club in 
 
 opposition to Rule 6. 
 C. — Receiving or continuing as a member any one it may 
 pay or have paid for either regular or occasional 
 services. 
 D. — Paying for any of its teams, players, officials, or 
 members on tour longer than a reasonable time ; 
 or paying for more than a reasonable number. 
 E. — Giving from its funds, subscribing, or playing a match 
 
 for any testimonial. 
 F. — Giving any medal or other prize for any competition 
 
 except under the authority of this Union. 
 G. — Taking gate-money at any ground — 
 (a) During the close season. 
 (J)) At any match or contest where it is pre- 
 viously agreed that less than fifteen players 
 on each side shall take part. 
 H. — Knowingly playing or allowing its members to play 
 with or against any expelled or suspended player 
 or club. 
 I. — Refusing to produce its books or documents, or to 
 allow its officials or members to give evidence, or 
 to assist in carrying out these rules when requested 
 by the Union to do so. 
 
330 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 J.— Knowingly playing or admitting as a member, with- 
 out the consent of the Union, any member or an 
 expelled or suspended club, or any expelled or 
 suspended player, or any person registered as or 
 declared a professional or suspended by any 
 National Rugby Union or by the Football 
 Association. 
 K. — Knowingly allowing a player to play in its matches 
 within eight days of any accident for which he 
 has received or claimed insurance compensation, 
 if insured under these rules. 
 L. — Playing or allowing its ground to be used for any 
 benefit match connected directly or indirectly with 
 football. 
 M. — Knowingly allowing its members or teams to play on 
 
 the ground of any expelled or suspended club. 
 N. — Refusing to pay, within one month, any costs or 
 expenses ordered by this Union for inquiries held 
 under these rules. 
 3.— For offences under 2 (i). A, H, I, L, and M, an 
 individual shall be expelled from all English clubs playing 
 Rugby football, and shall not be eligible for re-election or 
 election to any club. For offences under 2 (i), B, C, D, E, 
 F, G, J, and K, an individual shall be suspended during the 
 pleasure of this Union. 
 
 4.— For offences under 2 (2), A, D, H, I, L, M, and N, 
 a club shall be expelled from this Union. For offences 
 under 2 (2), B, C, E, F, G, J, and K, a club shall be 
 suspended during the pleasure of this Union. Any club disre- 
 garding a sentence of suspension shall be liable to expulsion. 
 5. — When this Union is fully satisfied that any offence 
 under 2 (2), A, D, H, I, L, M, and N, was of an accidental, 
 trivial, or technical character, they may suspend instead of 
 expel. 
 
- APPENDIX. 331 
 
 6.— When a player wishes to join a new club he may do 
 so ; if this Union request it, he shall produce a letter from 
 his old club stating that they have no objection ; on receipt 
 of such letter this Union shall give the necessary permission, 
 unless they believe there may have been collusion, or that 
 illegal means have been employed to induce the player to 
 join the new club, in which case they shall hold an inquiry. 
 In case any club or clubs refuse to give such written per- 
 mission, this Union must hold an inquiry, at the request of 
 the player or of the club he wishes to join. If from any 
 cause an inquiry be held, this Union shall have full power 
 to order the payment of the costs of such inquiry, and of the 
 clubs and witnesses, as it may think fit. 
 
 This Union may grant power to recognized governing 
 bodies to increase the stringency of this rule, provided such 
 proposed alterations be submitted to and approved of by it. 
 
 7- — A county or club may insure its players either 
 through — 
 A. — A recognized insurance company, or 
 B. — A fund entirely set apart for insurance ; the accounts 
 of such fund to be yearly audited by a professional 
 auditor. Such audit to be made at the close of 
 each season, and to be concluded, and the auditor's 
 certificate lodged with this Union, not later than 
 May 20 in each year, provided that : 
 (a) Any injured player does not receive more 
 
 than bs. per week-day while injured. 
 {b) Payments are only made on the certificate of 
 
 a registered medical practitioner. 
 {c) Any player does not play football within eight 
 days of his accident. If he does so, no 
 insurance compensation shall be paid. 
 (d) Proper books of accounts be kept. 
 8, — This Union may hold inquiries into any alleged 
 
332 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 breaches of these rules at its pleasure, and shall do so when 
 requested by any club or member of a club, provided any 
 such club or member make a preliminary deposit of £io, or 
 such smaller sum as this Union may determine, to be accom- 
 panied by a preUminary written statement of the chief known 
 facts. After any such inquiry, this Union m9.y return the 
 preliminary deposit, wholly or in part, and may order the 
 expenses of such inquiry, of clubs and members implicated, 
 and of witnesses, to be paid as it may determine. 
 
 9. — At all inquiries under Rules 6 and 8 correct notes 
 must be taken. 
 
 10. — Any club, member, or player affected by any decision 
 given by a county, union of counties, or university, under 
 delegation of powers contained in Rule 1 1, may appeal direct 
 to this Union. Such appeal must be made within ten days, 
 and must be accompanied by a deposit of £^0 and a written 
 statement of the grounds of appeal. After any such appeal, 
 this Union may return such deposit, wholly or in part, and 
 may order the expenses of such inquiry, of club and 
 members implicated, and of witnesses, to be paid as it may 
 determine. 
 
 II. — This Union may delegate to recognized governing 
 bodies, such as counties, union of counties, and universities, 
 powers to act for it in such cases and under such regulations 
 as it may determine. All powers so delegated, and the 
 bodies to whom such delegation be made, shall be published 
 annually in the official guide of this Union. 
 
 12. — This Union may appoint a sub-committee or com- 
 mittees to act on its behalf in all cases arising under these 
 rules, giving such powers as it may determine. 
 
 13. — This Union shall have power to deal with all acts 
 which it may consider as acts of professionalism, and which 
 are not specifically provided for. 
 14. — ^Where the word "Union" is used in these rules, the 
 
Appendix. i^% 
 
 committee of this Union for the time being shall be under- 
 stood, and, in the delegation of powers, the committee of the 
 recognized governing body shall be understood. In case 
 any difference of opinion arises as to the meaning of any of 
 these rules, such meaning shall be decided by the committee 
 of this Union, or, if it occurs at a general meeting, by the 
 chairman thereof. Any such decision shall be entered in the 
 minutes, and shall be accepted as the true meaning until 
 otherwise interpreted by a two-thirds majority at a general 
 meeting of this Union after due notice has been given. 
 
 DELEGATION OF POWERS. 
 
 The Rugby Union Committee have delegated to the 
 following recognized governing bodies, namely, to the 
 counties of Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland, West- 
 morland, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Middlesex, Kent, 
 Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Somersetshire, 
 Devonshire, and Cornwall ; to the Universities of Oxford 
 and Cambridge ; to the Midland Counties' and Eastern 
 Counties' Unions ; and to the Northern Federation (con- 
 sisting of the counties of Northumberland, Durham, Cum- 
 berland and Westmorland, for any cases not exclusively 
 in one of these counties, but within two or more of the 
 four). 
 
 The following powers to act for them, namely : 
 A. — Under Rule ii in the Rules as to Professionalism. 
 Under Rules 2, 3, and 4 all powers except — 
 (i) The power of reinstatement after suspension. 
 (2) The passing of sentence of expulsion. 
 
 If individuals or clubs are found guilty under 2 (i) 
 A, H, J, L, or M, or 2 (2) A, H, J, L, M, or N, 
 they must be at once temporarily suspended, and 
 reported to the Rugby Union. 
 
334 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 Under Rules 6, 7, and 8 all powers. 
 
 The Rugby Union Committee solely have the power of 
 
 expelling. The Rugby Union Committee also solely have 
 
 the power to reinstate after suspension. 
 
 B. — Under the Laws of the Game, the following powers : 
 Law 3 (*). 
 The above powers are only delegated to recognized 
 
 governing bodies, when all individuals and clubs involved 
 
 are under the jurisdiction of one governing body. 
 While delegating the above powers, the Rugby Union 
 
 Committee wish it to be distinctly understood that the 
 
 above recognized governing bodies have not the power or 
 
 right to further delegate any of these powers. 
 
 The Rugby Union Committee have ruled that where the 
 
 words " expelled or suspended club or player," or words to 
 
 this effect, are used in the Rules as to Professionalism, 
 
 they shall be read to include any professional club or 
 
 player. 
 The Committee wish to specially draw the attention of 
 
 county and club committees to the fact that recognized 
 governing bodies have no power to sanction the formation 
 of Leagues, or combination of clubs, and also to the altera- 
 tions in bye-law 17, as to Leagues having to submit any 
 alteration in or addition to their Laws or Rules, to this 
 Union, and as to the power of this Union to forbid the 
 continuance of any League. 
 
 The Committee have delegated to the New Zealand Union 
 the power to carry out their regulations, and have given 
 them the right to delegate such powers to other Bodies in 
 New Zealand. 
 
APPENDIX. 335 
 
 REGULATIONS FOR DECIDING THE COUNTY 
 CHAMPIONSHIP. 
 
 Adopted at Annual General Meeting, September, 1895, and 
 altered at Annual General Meeting, September, 1896. 
 
 Division of groups. 
 
 I. — Northern, comprising Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, 
 Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland, and 
 Yorkshire. 
 Southern, divided into 
 South Western, comprising Cornwall, Devonshire, 
 
 Gloucestershire, and Somersetshire. 
 South Eastern — A, comprising Kent, Middlesex, 
 Midland Counties, and Surrey ; and B, comprising 
 Eastern Counties, Hampshire, and Sussex. 
 It shall be left to the Rugby Union Committee to define 
 the area from which players are to be chosen for the Eastern 
 Counties. 
 
 2. — (I.) The Northern Group winner shall be ascertained 
 by means of matches between each member of the group 
 and the others. 
 
 (II.) The Southern Group winner shall be ascertained by 
 means of — 
 
 (a) Matches between each member of the South Western 
 Division and the others ; 
 
 {b) Matches between each member of the South Eastern 
 A Division and the others ; 
 
 (c) Matches between each member of the South Eastern 
 B Division and the others ; followed by 
 {d) A match between the counties at the head of (II.) {b) 
 
 and (II.) [c] ; and followed by 
 (f) A match between the counties at the head of (II.) (a) 
 
 and (II.) (</). 
 3. — The winner of the Championship shall be ascertained 
 
33^ RUGBY FOOTBALL 
 
 by means of a match between the two counties at the head 
 of the Northern and Southern Groups respectively. 
 
 4. — Each match shall be decided by points. A win shall 
 score two points, and a drawn game one point to each side. 
 If in any case, owing to two or more counties scoring an 
 equal number of points, a winner is not ascertained, the 
 Rugby Football Union Committee may declare the winner, 
 or, in their discretion, order another match or matches to be 
 played. 
 
 5. — The matches referred to in Regulation 2 (II.), (a), 
 (6), (c\ and (d) must be played by January 20 ; and the 
 matches referred to in Regulation 2 (I.) and (II.) (e), must 
 be played by February 20 ; the date of the match for 
 the [Championship shall be fixed by the Rugby Football 
 Union Committee should the two counties interested fail to 
 agree. 
 
 6. — The match for the Championship shall be played in 
 the North of England, if North v. South has been played 
 in the South, and vice versdj the home county having choice 
 of ground. The nett proceeds of the match shall be equally 
 divided between the two counties engaged. 
 
 7. — Regulation i shall not be varied except by the vote of 
 a General Meeting. 
 
 8. — Any question which shall arise and is not above 
 provided for, may be decided by the Rugby Football Union 
 Committee. 
 
 9. — That the Rugby Union Committee may delegate to a 
 Sub-Committee of their Body the exercise of all or any of 
 the powers conferred on them by the above regulations. 
 
APPENDIX. 337 
 
 BYE-LAWS OF THE INTERNATIONAL 
 RUGBY FOOTBALL BOARD. 
 
 I. — The Board shall be called " The International 
 Rugby Football Board." 
 
 2. — The Board shall consist of twelve representatives — six 
 from the Rugby Union, and two from each of the other 
 Unions. The chairman, who shall have a casting vote, shall 
 be appointed at each meeting, in regular rotation from the 
 different Unions in their order of seniority. 
 
 3. — ^The Board shall meet annually at Manchester, or at 
 such place as is agreed upon by all the Unions, in the third 
 week of October in each year. 
 
 4. — AH international matches shall be played under the 
 laws approved of by this Board. 
 
 5, — In case of disputes in international matches, a com- 
 mittee of the Board, consisting of two representatives 
 appointed by each Union, shall have absolute and exclusive 
 jurisdiction. The Board shall have no power to interfere 
 with the game as played within the limits of the different 
 Unions. 
 
 6. Notice of any proposed alteration in the laws of the 
 
 game, or in the bye-laws of the Board, shall be sent to the 
 hon. sec. at least four weeks before the annual meeting in 
 October, and the hon. sec. shall intimate these proposals 
 to the Unions at least three weeks before the meeting. 
 
 7. The hon. sec. shall at any time convene a special 
 
 meeting of the Board on receipt of a requisition from the 
 hon. sees, of at least two of the Unions. The purpose for 
 which the meeting is desired shall be intimated to the 
 different Unions at least three weeks before the said 
 
 meeting. 
 
 8.— If the chairman entitled for the time being to preside 
 shall on the occasion of any appeal happen to be a repre- 
 sentative of either of the disputing Unions, his chairmanship 
 
 Y 
 
338 RUGBY FOOTBALL. 
 
 shall be postponed in favour of, and take order next after, 
 the chairmanship of the first neutral Union entitled by 
 rotation to furnish a chairman. 
 
 9. — The Referee at any match shall be ineligible to act as 
 a representative at the meeting called to settle any dispute 
 arising out of that match. 
 
 10. — No alteration in the laws of the game or the bye-laws 
 of the Board shall be made at any meeting called for that 
 purpose, unless by a majority of at least three-fourths of the 
 representatives present. 
 
 II. — All expenses incurred in connection with the Board 
 shall be equally defrayed by the Unions ; but in the case 
 of a committee appointed under Bye-law 5, all hotel and 
 travelling expenses shall be equally defrayed by the disputing 
 Unions. 
 
 12. — All decisions of the Board or committee shall be 
 accepted as final. 
 
 NATIONAL QUALIFICATION. 
 
 There is no definition controlling any player's choice as 
 to the country for which he shall play. The International 
 Board in 1894 decided, at Leeds, that no player should in 
 future play for more than one country, but did not proceed 
 further. 
 
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 vi