A HISTORIC TRY
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]
Sin,—In his very interesting article on New Zealand Rugby Football in your issue of September flth Mr. T. B. R. Woodrooffe has made two mistakes, one by inference, which, as this is not the first time I have read the same mistake, I hope you will spare me the space to point out.
Writing of the solitary defeat (by Wales 1 try to nil in 1905) of two New Zealanifteams in this country in 63 matches, Mr. Woodrooffe states (writing of that try)':—" Everyone, greybeards and youngsters at school know that it wasn't a try—it was bad luck—after all, refereeS are only human, especially in Wales."
The fact is that there was never any doubt that Wales scored that try. It was a clean cut, well worked for, score, never disputed.
The disputed try was that " scored " by the New Zealand centre, the late it. G. Deans ; which was disallowed by the referee, who was not " up " with the ball.
All the facts of this " score " are given by the Welshman who tackled Deans, Dr. E. Morgan, in a letter he wrote to me which I published in my Rugby Football Up-to-Date some 14 years ago.
In the excerpt I give here from Mr. Woodrooffe's article he infers that 'the referee was a Welshman. Actually it was a Scot, Mr. Dallas, afterwards President of the Scottish Rugby Union, who officiated in that memorable game, which
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