The London Welshman

Football. RUGBY. Wales v. Scotland. More than precedent (says the Morning Leader) was upset at Inverleith on Saturday. Several of those calculations" which can fairly be described as axioms of the game, and are usually regarded as reliable premises on which to base forecasts of "the chances," were rudely overturned. That Wales would sooner or later win at Edinburgh, precedent or no precedent, was inevitable; and although Satur- day's win was only by the narrow margin of one try, it was sufficient to demonstrate the superiority of combined as against individual efforts. A Brilliant Game. Competent critics pronounce the game to be one of the finest internationals ever played. The sides were well matched, and the suspicion that prevailed as to the soundness of the Welsh forwards proved to be unnecessary, for they held the Scotchmen very well throughout, but the latter played so well that the Welshmen were not allowed to indulge in so much open play as at Cardiff. As a display of football, however, it left the England game far behind, the opponents each being aware of the other's strong points, and framing their play accordingly. Wales Superior Behind. It was behind the scrummage, however, that the Welsh superiority became most pronounced. The two movements that yielded tries were admirably executed-were, in fact, characteristic Welsh tries, the outcome of that thorough understanding between the half-backs and three- quarters which has paved the way to more than one Welsh victory. And there were several other brilliant bursts which only failed to yield tries through the stout defence and deadly tackling of the Scottish backs, particularly that of the full-back, whose play was one of the features of the match. The Triple Crown? By defeating Scotland on Saturday, and thus gaining two consecutive victories, Wales has high hopes of again winning the triple crown. Ireland, of course, is as yet an unknown quantity, but the match against the Emerald Isle will be played at Swansea-no mean advantage. The Welsh team no doubt is a side admirably balanced, and of more than average excellence, even when judged by the Welsh standard. They should, therefore, on their form, win on March nth, and thus secure for themselves the unique honour of being the predominant partner in the Rugby world. The London Welsh. The provincial invasion of London last Saturday was perfectly successful. Devonport Albion, Leicester, and Northampton all came .and conquered. The Albion's victory over the Welsh, however, was the biggest success. The latter had to take the field without three of their best players, Morgan, Harding, and Williams (reserve forward) being away in Scot- land on behalf of Wales. The Western cracks had much the best of the play, crossing their opponents' line on no less than five occasions, while the Metropolitans gained their points by means of free kicks. A good crowd witnessed the match, and enthusiasm ran high. It is to be hoped that in future the London Welsh will arrange their fixture card so that their most important matches will fall on dates when their crack players are likely to be at the disposal of the club. On Wednesday the London Welsh- men journeyed to Oxford, and engaged in friendly combat with the University men. A hard, fast, though pleasant, game resulted in the Welshmen running out victors by 14 points to I o.

THE AMENITIES OF FOOTBALL. With reference to the letter of a Mr. Gray Stewart, alleging discreditable practices on the part of the Welsh team in the international match at Inverleith on Saturday, replies have been obtained from several men prominent in the world of football showing that the charges are utterly unfounded and unsportsmanlike. Mr. A. J. Gould thinks that a strange feature of the affair is that not a word was heard of the matter in Edinburgh. Surely if anything out of the ordinary had occurred the referee would have stopped it, and the matter would have been mentioned to the Welshmen, but not a word was said. On the other hand, the Welshmen suffered far more than the Scotsmen in the matter of injuries. Hodges and Harding were so badly knocked about that they will be out of the field for some weeks, and Teddy Morgan received an injury to his shoulder that will take some time to recover. Willie Llewellyn, the Welsh captain, said it was absurd. The Scottish team, so far as he knew, all declared it to be a hard and fairly- fought game, and the referee expressed a similar opinion. There was not a single sugges- tion or insinuation from anyone in Edinburgh, neither players nor officials. Mr. Walter Rees, the Secretary of the Welsh Rugby Union, said no one was more surprised than he was to see such an attack. He knew it was not the feeling of the Scottish people or of the Scottish team. Everyone congratulated them upon the spirit of the game, and said that the best team won. "It is the first I have heard of it," said Cecil Biggs, the Cardiff captain, to a representative. "The game was a pleasant one throughout, and the Scotsmen were delighted with it, not- withstanding-the fact that they happened to be on the losing side." Several Scotsmen have also expressed opinions denouncing Mr. Gray Stewart's charges, while the Warsonians and the University players who tour in Wales speak in high terms of their recep- tion there and the conduct of the Welsh players.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF NORTH WALES. The New Buildings.-A Valuable Contribution. The movement for raising a fund for the New Buildings of the University College of North Wales is steadily progressing. The amount promised or paid to the Fund is now over ^29,000, in addition to the free site pre- sented by the town of Bangor. The local committees in Portmadoc, Llanrwst, Trefriw, and some of the Flintshire centres are pro- ceeding with their canvass during the present month. The well-known artist, Mr. S. Maurice Jones, Carnarvon, is now engaged in painting a number of The Homes of Wales," comprising the residences of some of the most celebrated Welshmen of the past. He has signified his intention to present a number of these to the University College, to be put up in the New Permanent Buildings. This will be a most valuable contribution to a national institution of this kind. The value of the gift is further enhanced by the consideration that some of these old Homes have already disappeared to make room for more modern edifices. They will now be painted from sketches and photographs secured by Mr. Maurice Jones before they were removed. The educative value of such a collection in a college cannot be over estimated, and generations of Welshmen will thank the artist for the happy thought and valuable gift.

H. S. JONES, (AP CAERALAW), Accompanist for Eisteddfodau, Concerts, &c. (also Humorous Songs and Sketches at Piano). For every Kind of Entertainment. Private or Public. Terms apply: 2, EMERSON ST., SOUTHWARK, S.E