FOOTBALL 



R. S. Kindersley in the match of 

 the previous year. Again, owing to 

 a controversy, no matches were 

 played between England and Scot- 

 land in the seasons 1887-88, 1888- 

 89. The controversy occurred wi th 

 regard to the constitution of the 

 international board. After con- 

 siderable negotiation in 1890 an 

 international board of twelve re- 

 presentatives, since reduced to 10, 

 four from the English Rugby Union, 

 and two each from the Scottish, 

 Irish, and Welsh Unions, was set 

 up : (i) To frame the laws for 

 international matches. (ii) To 

 settle all questions connected with, 

 or arising out of, an international 

 match, but without jurisdiction 

 over the game as played in the 

 separate countries. 



After this the question of money 

 began to creep in. In Yorkshire 

 and Lancashire the game had be- 

 come a popular spectacle ; feeling 

 ran high, aided, as it was, by cup- 

 ties. While old public school boys 

 were content to play for the love 

 of the game, clubs and committees 

 began to hold out certain induce- 

 ments to promising young players 

 of other classes. 



Eventually those who favoured 

 the idea of payment seceded and 

 founded, in 1895, the Northern 

 Union, with a separate code of 

 laws, and a system of scoring 

 different from that of the Rugby 

 Union. For some years Northern 

 Union Rugby was played by 15 

 a side, but subsequently the sides 

 were reduced to 1 3. While the new 

 game gained few converts in the 

 south of England, some Australians 

 saw that the Northern Union game, 

 with its spectacular openness, its 

 quickness, and its scope for the 

 individuals, held propositions not 

 to be neglected, and in New South 

 Wales a league plays this game. 

 New Zealand Rugby 



Rugby football was degenerating 

 throughout Great Britain, in Eng- 

 land especially, when the New 

 Zealand team of 1905-6 came over. 

 They came ostensibly to learn, but 

 from their first match overran 

 even the best club sides. They 

 brought an innovation in the shape 

 of a wing-forward, whose play was 

 merely that of an obstructionist, 

 and against the spirit of the game. 

 The New Zealanders beat Scotland, 

 Ireland, and England, but were 

 beaten by a try to nothing in 

 Wales. A South African team came 

 over in the following year. The 

 South Africans were beaten by 

 Scotland, drew with England, just 

 beat Ireland and beat Wales de- 

 cisively. These two sides had a 

 great effect on British football. 



It was largely in consequence of 

 the lessons learned from the New 



3243 



Zealanders and South Africans 

 that A. D. Stoop brought a new 

 spirit of football into play, first to 

 the Harlequins, and secondly to 

 England. He brought together 

 enterprise, individuality, and com- 

 bination, himself setting the ex- 

 ample of all three. In the season 

 1909-10, England beat Wales at 

 Twickenham for the first time in 

 11 years. Wales kicked off and 

 Stoop caught the ball. Instead of 

 kicking into touch, as had been the 

 custom from time immemorial, 

 Stoop ran with the ball and started 

 a passing movement which re- 

 sulted in a try for England in the 

 first half -minute. 



In 1912-13 the South Africans 

 sent over another team, which won 

 all its internationals. The Sotith 

 Africans were tremendously heavy 

 and fast forward, and wore down 

 every pack they played against. 



Rugby Rules 



The Rugby game should be 

 played by 15 players on each 

 side. The field of play shall not ex- 

 ceed 110 yds. in length nor 75 in 

 breadth, and should 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, placed 18 ft. 6 in. 

 apart and joined by a crossbar 10ft. 

 from the ground. The object of the 

 game shall be to kick the ball over 

 thiscrossbar and between the posts. 

 The game shall be played with an 

 oval ball, as nearly as possible 

 1 1 ins. to 1 1 ins. in length ; circum- 

 ference, 30 ins. to 31 ins. ; width 

 (circumference), 25-1 ins. to 26 ins. ; 

 weight, 13 oz. to 14 oz. 



The following are the chief terms 

 employed in the game. A drop- 

 kick is made by letting the ball fall 

 from the hands, and kicking it as 

 it rises ; a place-kick by kicking 

 the ball after it has been placed on 

 the ground for the purpose ; a punt 

 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 so that he cannot at 

 any moment, while he is so held, 

 pass or play it. 



A scrummage is formed by the 

 forwards from each side closing 

 round the ball when it is on the 

 ground, or by closing up in readi- 

 ness to allow the ball to be put 

 on the ground between them. A 

 try is gained by the player who 

 first puts his hand on the ball in 

 his opponents' in -goal. A goal is 



FOOTBALL 



obtained by kicking the ball from 

 the field of play by any place-kick 

 except a kick-off, or by any drop- 

 kick except a drop-out, without 

 touching the ground or any player 

 of either side, over the opponents' 

 crossbar, whether it touches such 

 crossbar or either goal-post or not. 

 A kicker and a placer must be dis- 

 tinct persons, and the kicker must 

 not under any circumstances 

 touch the ball when on the ground, 

 even though the charge has been 

 disallowed. 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 at once claim the same by 

 making a mark with his heel at the 

 spot where he made the catch. 



Free kicks by way of penalties 

 shall be awarded if any player: 

 intentionally either handles the 

 ball or falls down in a scrummage, 

 or picks the ball out of a scrum- 

 mage, either by hands or legs ; 

 does not immediately put it down 

 in front of him on being tackled ; 

 being on the ground, does not im- 

 mediately get up ; prevents an op- 

 ponent getting up or putting the 

 ball down ; illegally obstructs 

 an opponent ; or wilfully puts the 

 ball unfairly into a scrummage, or, 

 the ball having come out, wilfully 

 returns it by hand or foot into 

 the scrummage. The referee shall 

 be sole judge in all matters of 

 fact, but in matters of law there 

 can be an appeal to the union. 



New Rules Added 



At the beginning of the season 

 1920-21, several new rules were 

 passed by the governing body. The 

 two most important were : that 

 after a try has been scored, and the 

 kick at goal has failed, the game 

 shall be restarted from mid-field 

 instead of being dropped from 

 the 25-yard line ; that any player 

 who has made a fair catch must 

 take the resulting kick himself. The 

 first rule neutralises, to an extent, a 

 too heavy wind ; the second en- 

 courages every individual, and is 

 directed against undue specialising. 

 See Corinthian Football Club, 

 illus. 



Bibliography. Football : its history 

 for 5 centuries, J. E. Vincent, 1885 ; 

 Football : the Rugby Union Game, 

 F. Marshall, 1892; Football: the 

 Badminton Library, 1904; Foot- 

 ball: Montague Shearman, 1904; 

 Football: the Rugby Game, H. 

 Vassall and A. Budd, 1909 ; The En- 

 cyclopaedia of Sport, 1911 edition; 

 The Complete Association Foot- 

 baller, B. S. Evers and C. E. H. 

 Davies, 1912 ; The Science of Soccer, 

 F. Davison Currie, 1919; Associa- 

 tion Football, K. R. G. Hunt, 1920; 

 The " Green Book " Association 

 Football Annual (edited by Alfred 

 Davis and H. R. McDonald) ; 

 The Rugby Football Annual. 



