Admin. errors

It is acknowledged that there have been instances when persons not meeting the membership requirements have played for varsity teams. But these instances are said to have been few, and are attributed to administrative errors. At the commencement of this season applications for membership were received from two players outside of the Wellington Province. Both, it seems, would have been assured of berths in the senior A team, but their applications were rejected because of no previous connections with a university. They are now playing senior A for other clubs in the Wellington Rugby competition. One, a 1966 Junior All Back, will be commencing studies at Victoria next year.

In their invitation for the recent tour of Japan by the NZU team the Japanese specifically requested that the best team available be sent on tour. In 1965 the Australians were prepared to accept the NZU team and the individual university teams on face value and several Australian players in the team admitted to having enrolled at a university just so that they could make the tour to New Zealand.

Within the Victoria Club and the student body, there seems to be a feeling of inevitability about more stringent elegibility requirements for university rugby players. It is agreed that these would benefit the "student life" but there is some doubt as to whether the present laxity adversely affects student players. The following three people connected with Victoria sport were prepared to give their views on the present situation:

Mr. A. Laidler, physical Welfare Officer, told Salient "sports clubs are a vital part of university life, and every student should feel he has the unqualified opportunity to represent his club at the highest possible level. At the moment his opportunities within the club seem limited by the knowledge that experienced, non-student players are denying him the opportunity to gain experience at top competition level for himself, whilst playing university rugby.