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-RUGBY FOO'TBALL, UNION '., ... ' .:, . :, ,. . l'

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ANNUALR.EPORT, .'. -SEASON,: t,. . 19'50-51

.-'. . '. Y~ur Committeerecords \Vith deep regretj:he deathof Messrs. J. R. Creasey, C. A. Crane, A. J. Trollope, .E. Valentine, R. L. Scott; W,. 'Yilliams and C. F. Rutherford. Mr. Creasey reprèsented Kent on the Committee fibin'1932 and was Hon. Tréasurer of the Union from 1947 until 1950. Mr. Crane . represented The. Midlands ~rom ~892 and was Presi~ent of the Union in 1907/8 and 1908/9. Mr. Trollope """ " 'teprèsented Surrey from' ~924 untl,~t1951. Mr. ValentIne represented Cumberland from 1925-50. Mr. Williams , repre§.~nted Middlesex .tram 1904 and was Vice-President in 1925. Mr. Scott was President of the Scottish . Union in 1947/48; Mr. Rutherford was responsible for the starting of International Matches wlth France . . "He played il). thejirst Club games arranged in Paris' in the last cent ury, eventually becoming International ..•. Hon. Secretary ofJhe FederatiqnFrancaise <;le Rugby, which position he helduntil his death in 1951.

The Rugby Football Union was honourèd-by the gracious presence of Rer Majesty the Queen and Prin cess Margaret at the Calcutta Cup match. H.M. The Kingunfortunately was un able to attend through in..dispositio : .. Il f; " , "At1h~ conclusion of the Middlesex Seven-a-Side games H .. R.H. Prin cess Elizabeth unveiled the Rugby Eo.otball".Ul)iQILMemoJ;iaLin-lll,eIJlory_otRugby.,.E QQtbaIJ.,Elél..y:eI!Lw:hQ..gay.~tb.ei.r.liyesjn. W9.rlcLWar.,.2..--Â-Uhe-. __ ceI;'~mony the Pre.si~ent of the Rugby Football Union said that included in the great number of Rugby FootbaJlers who made the supreme sacrifice were fouateen English International Players. It was therefore appropriate that on this day when so many teams were g'athered together at,Twickenham that we remembered with honour those who were no longer with us. Rer Royal Righness said ;- . "I unvéil this War Memorial to the memo-\,y of those Rùgby players who died in the Second World War. . l pray that their qualities of initiative, endurance, self reliance and teamwork, fostered in the game, and which go to make good sailors, soldiers and airmen in time of war, may be an example and live on amongst the players of to-day and to-morrow."

DUTlng the same afternoon prior to the presentation of the RussellCargill cup to the winners, Richmond, her Royal Highnèss 'received a cheque for [,2,079 8s. Id. from Sir Wavell Wakefield, making a total contribution of [,5,503 2s. 4d., subscribed by Clubs in membership with the , to the Special Appeallaunched by R.R.R. the Duke of on behalf of the National Playing Fields Assoc- "iation. •

The performances of -the English XV s were disappointing as the record of three defeats and one victory reflects.

A disastrous start at Swansea where the England XV \vere completely outplayed by a ,Welsh team which played brilliant football was followed by defeats by lreland and France. Some improvement was evi~ent in these games and although Ireland deserved to win in Dublin· theyhad what luck was going. At Twickenham, France fieldèd thé most constructive side the y have done for many years. England were handicapped by injuries during the game, playing most of the time a man short and for some of the period had only 13 players on the field" but this did.not affect the result. The final match against Scotland provided a much improved display and the England XV showed far more fire and team work than previously. ,The forwards ,played with resolution and the backs were more cohesive in attack and defended stoutly. The deserved, win provided an 'encouraging end to the International season.

The East Midlands- deservedly won the County Championship by beating Middlesex by 10 points to 0 points in the Final at Northampton. The Semi-Finals which were played between Yorkshire and _ Middlesex_and_betw:een_Gloucester,_ancLEasLMidlailds_bo.t1L.b.ad_to-.hav:e..xeplay.s, ..thus"demonstr.ating_the __ _ keenness and level standard of play throughout the country. .

Your Committee has carefully studied several schemes for the reorganisation of the present County Championship system with the object of limiting the size of each Group and the numb~r of matches to be played by any one County.

Certain proposaIs have recently been circulated among the twenty-four .Counties for consideration, and iùs-lÏopedthat an agreed schêniè 'may:shèjitly be approved. 'n would not, li6wevei~ come inta operation 0 - at the very earliest before Season 1954-53. .

. . The price of St?-nd Seats was raised from 10/- to 15/- for all International matches and in spite of this incrèase, the demand for tickets was greater even th an in previous years. The necessity to raise prices was regretted, but if the prices had not been raised, a loss would have arisen.

Considerable work in improving the entrances to Twickenham and tar-macadaming the surrounds, as well as much-needed and overdue maintenancé, was carried out at a cost of approximately [,11,000.

The arrears of work which had accrued during the war have now been overtaken, but further expend­ iture for re-drainage will have to be met at an early date and in due coursé the erection of addition al accommo- dation will be considered. . . The surplus accruing during the Season amounts to [,2,173. Thé Union continues to assist Clubs by loans for the purchase and improvements of their grounds. During the year loans repaid by Clubs amounted to'[,4,984 8s. 4d. and new loans were granted amounting to [26,752. The 'amount of loans at present outstanding is [,80,159 125. 8d. to 68 clubs. . The RugbyFootball Union was glad to h;wé the opportunity of welc~ming to Great Britain the representatives from the Dominions for the International Board Meetings. Mr. Justice Herron from Australia, Mr. Belcher from New Zealand and Mr. Tudhope from South Africa werewith us.for a sufficiently long time to enable them to see County, Club, Service and International Footba,ll and to be given hospitality at many 'club dinners~

Tribute was paid by the Representatives from New Zealand and Australia to the highly successful tour'of their Countriescarried out by the British Isles Team and to their pleas~re in being able to welcome Mr. Eric Watts Moses, the immediate past-president of the Rugby Football Union. Your Committee wish to record their best thanks to the Manager,Surg.-Capt. Osborne, theCaptain, Carl Mullen, and aIl the Team ' on their skilful and enterprising playon the field and the gooèlwill they created off the field. .

Arrangements have been'completed for the fortheoming visit of the South Africans and a very warm welcome awaits them. They are due to arrive at Southampton on 28th September, 1951, and leave on 21st February, 1952. They wïll play 12 matches in England, 8 in Wales, 4 in Scotland, 3 in Ireland, and ---4·in-Francèi----·-.-----_- - , \ , - - ~-- --. - ~-~- - ---~-----=------,------

During the past year your Committee gave permission for Middlesex County Rugby Football Un~on to present Cups. to the Rugby Football Unions of New Zealand, Australia, and Rhodesia, to be played for annually in Seven-a-Side football. These gifts have been received with great satisfaction by the countries concerned.

, ' The growth of the Union continues. 1298 Clubs and Schools are now in membership; being an increase of 118 Clubs.

Your Committee realîses what a difficult season the Clubs have had (particularly the secretaries and groundsmen) owing to the abnormally wet weather. ~Twickenham suffered very badly through snow and rain continuing from December to 'April. Your Committee congratulates aIl Clubs on the work flone on their grounds; reports coming in indicate that seeding is taking weIl and that grounds are recovering satisfactorily.

The new Instructional Film" Rugby Union Football" has been very weIl received. In addition to the 105 films purchased in the four Home Unions, copies have also been sent toNew Zealand, Australia, S. Africa, Kenya, Fiji, California and Malaya. The films in the Rugby Union Library have been loaned on 440 occasions. '

Many SchoolboyCoaching Courses have been successfully organised invarious parts of the Country to meet the growing popularity of Rugby. Union Football in the Schools. It is hoped that the publication of " TheCoaching Manual " in the near future will be helpful in improving the quality of play.

The effect of Television on Rugby Union Football is being very carefully watched by your Committee. While it is appreci.at'ed that beneficial results may be obtained by increasing the number of those who may desire to play Rugby Fo,otball, however, it is yet to be determined theextent of the effect of Television, adverse or. otherwise, on the support given to clubs as a result of international and other matches being televised. Clubs are asked to forward as much information as possible on this subject through their constituent bodies during the c~ming season to the Secretary.

The Players' Insurance Scheme continues to be weIl supported throughout the country. During the season 504 clubs (1,366 teams) have availed themselves of its benefits.

In conclusion, Constructive Suggestions for the improvement of the playing and administering 'of the game from its Affiliateél Clubs, through Constituent Bodies, will be greatly wel~omed by your Committee.

Trial and International Matches - Season 1951/52. Saturday, Ist December, 1951 - Probables v. Possibles, at Leicester. 15th December, 195'1 - England v. The Rest, at Twickenham. 5th January, 1952 - England v. South Africa, at Twickenham. ' 19th January, 1952 - England v. Wales, at Twickenham. 9th February, 1952 - England v. lreland, at Twickenham. 15th March, 1952 - Scotland v. England, at Murrayfield. ,,' 5th April, 1952 - France v. England, in Paris. '

" M'eetings of Committees were as follows :- Full Finance and Emergency Ground 6th October, 1950. 5th October, 1950. 3rd September, ,1950. 23rd February, 1951. 22nd February, 195L 6th February, 1951. 16th March, 1951. 16th March, 1951., 27th April, 1951. 20th April, 1951. 20th April, 1951. 25th May, 1951. 25th May, 1951. 22nd June, 1951. 22nd June, 1951. County ChamPionshiP and Referees A ppointments N orthèrn Counties General Purposes 21st July, 19QO. 6th October, 1950. 5th December, 1950. 6th October, 1950. 15th March, 1951. 23rd February, 1951. 5th December, 1950. 20th April, 1951. 19th April, 1951. Laws Dinner and Entertainments 23rd October, 1950.' 18th April, 1951. ' 31st January, 1951. RUG'BY FOOTBALL UNION.

, INFORMATION 'FOR CONSTITUENT BODIES AND CLUBS.

TICKETS FOR INTERNA.TIONAL MATCHES, 1948-49 . . Application for tickets must be sent to "Secretary, Rugby Football Union" on special forms. The fOIms will be sent to Hon. Secretaries with the new Handbook in September and should be carefully preserved until require,d.

The closing dates are às under, and application can only be accepted on the official forms. England v. France - 20th January, 1949. England v. Scotland- 20th January, 1949.

Prices of. tickets will be :- Covered Stand '10/-.. Ring Seats 6/-. Players' Ring Seats 5/-.

'TRIAL AND INTERNATIONAL MATCHES, SEASON 1948-49. Saturday. N ovember' 27th, 1948 -' Whites v. Colours, at Northampton " December 18th, 1948 - Probables v. Possibles at Carn,borne. January 1st,· 1949 - England v. Rest, at Twickenham. January 15th, 1949 - Wales v. England, at Cardiff. February 12th, 1949 - Ireland v. England, in Dublr~ .. " February 26th, 1949 - England v. France, at Twickenham. " March 19th, 1949 ~ England v. Scotland, at Twickenham. " , INTERNATIONAL MATCHES, SEASON 1949-50.

Saturday, January 21st, 1950 - England v. Wale~, at Twickenham. February lIth, 1950 - England v. Ireland, at Twickenham:. _March 18th, 1950 - Scotland v. England, at Murrayfield. Easter Monday, AprillOth, 1950 ~ France v. England, in Paris.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION. Clubs are reminded that this falls due on September lst, and should be puid by November 1st, 1948.

July, 1948. " RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION.

INFORMATION FOR CONSTITUENT BODIES AND CLUBS. " .

TICKETS FOR INTERNATIONAL MATCHES, 1950-51. Application for tickets must be sent to " Secretary, Rugby Football Union" on special forms .. The forms will be sent to Hon. Secretaries with the new Handbook in September and should be : carefully preserved until required. ,, The closing date for applicatiùns is as under, and these can only be accepted on the official forms. Eng1and v. France -, 23rd November, 1950. England v. Scotland 5 Prices of tickets will be :- Covered Stand 15/- Ring Seats 7/6 Players' Ring Seats 7/6

TRIAL AND INTERNATIONAL MATCHES, SEASON 1950-51. Saturday, 2nd December, 195o---.:cWhites v. Colours, at Otley. 16th ,,- 1950-Probables v. Possibles, at Taunton. 6th January, 1951-England v. The Rest, at Twickenham. 20th 1951---Wales v. England, at Swansea. 10th February, 1951-lreland v. England, in Dublin. 24th 1951-England v. France, at Twickenham. 17th March, 1951-England v. Scotland, at Twickenham.

INTERNATIONAL MATCHES, SEASON 1951-52. Saturday, 5th January, 1952-England v. South Africa, at Twickenham. 19th 1952-England v. Wales, at Twickenham. 9th February, 1952-Eng1and v. lre1and, at Twickenham. 23rd 1952-France v. England, in Paris. 15th March, 1952-Scotland v. England; at Murrayfield.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION (li Is. Od.). - Clubs are reminded that this falls due on September Ist, and should be paid by November Ist, 1950. Cheques. should be made payable to "Rugby Football Union." HANDBOOK, 1950-51. Additional copies may be obtained price 2/- each (post free) .. 1\

June, 1950.