This, however, we believe to be an undoubted libel on that plucky little Cambridge half-back, who was not nearly so small as he appeared to be in the football field, through ' running low.' To return, however, to the question of the perfect tackle, it is easier to say how a player behind the scrummage should tackle, for he has more time to get into the right position; it is the forward's business to tackle as quickly as he can, to keep his eye on the ball, and get his grip at it as soon after as possible, and by all means to tackle ' low' if he can.

The forward then must be a good 'dribbler, tackier, and follower up' in the open, and at present is expected to have mastered the science and art of passing; but before we deal with the last, there are some other points of forward play which we must notice. The forward must always be ready to line up and face one man, and one only, when the ball is thrown into play from touch. When practicable he should mark the same man throughout the game, and when the ball is thrown he should always be on the alert; if his mind once be off the game and he be a bit unstrung, he may muddle the ball and miss a chance. To add the further advice, that a forward should use his judgment, and neither interfere with his own half-back nor another forward, is somewhat superfluous, as a man who has no judgment cannot have it preached into him, and those who have it require no stimulus to its exercise. The frequent exhortations which we notice in manuals of sport to players of football to play unselfishly and with judgment, always remind us of certain other regulations which we see daily for the precautions to be taken in case of fire, a leading rule being to 'be calm and collected.' We may deal in similar wise with the exhortation to play up hard and not be sluggish.

Such exhortations may be admirable in the field but are useless in books. Playing up hard, exercise of judgment, unselfish combination, these are the very elements of success at football; but men do not learn such necessities from the reading of books.

Some years ago that well-known theorist of football, Mr. Budd of Blackheath (who, by-the-bye, was not a mere theorist only, but one of the best practical exponents of the art of forward play), wrote an essay in a sporting magazine on the theory of passing, and the substance of this is again to be found in a contribution made by the same writer, together with Mr. Vassall, the Oxonian, to the 'Football Annual.' 'What is passing, properly understood?' say these writers.! Its final cause is the transmission of the ball from the mass of players to the open. This is the sum and substance of the theory . . . You must not only transmit the ball to your comrade, but he must be advantageously placed to receive it, and in a position in or towards the open and away from the mass.' From this they deduce the conclusion that passing should be made as nearly as possible in a straight line across the ground without offending against the rule which prohibits throwing forward, and that those who back up the runner and wait for the pass should back up on the side nearest the open and almost if not quite level with him. That such is the true theory of passing is indubitable; but what is doubtful is whether any theory can be worked to perfection by mortal men amidst the hurly-burly of the Rugby game.

That a very great deal of skill has been shown by good teams in working out the theory cannot be denied, and this is always done when the passing has been started from the side of the ground. It is when the game has got entirely into the open and there is no scrummage left, that we have seen the game break down, and at present we have never observed any system of passing work successfully when the whole side, forwards and backs, have tried to join in the passing. Possibly this stage of skill may eventually be reached, but then the grievance that the old footballer will have against the game will be that the pastime will degenerate from the manly sport of football into the elegant art of catchball. Certain it is that the average forward should not forget that dribbling and tackling are his most important duties. It has appeared to us in more than one crack match of recent days that the forwards were not only inferior in dribbling, but were getting to collar with less precision and accuracy than they used to show through paying too much attention to the flying of the ball from hand to hand. In one of the Richmond v.

Blackheath matches a few years ago we saw a back, who after countless successions of passes thought he would try a run, come clean through the Richmond forwards without having a finger laid upon him. However, time alone can show whether there will be still further developments of the handing game, or whether the passing will in future be left mainly to those behind the scrummage.

It remains to give, before we leave the subject of passing, some of the practical rules for the exercise of the art. Firstly, the passer should pass quickly and low; he should not, as the old players did, toss it into the air, but throw or sling it, just at the height of his hands, straight into the hands of the 'passee.' Next he should pass to one definite man, and not attempt to pass to where several of his side are. Thirdly, he should, in order to pass accurately and low, pass before he is collared, i.e. as near before the collaring as possible, but when he is in a position to move his arm without being hampered. A man who attempts to pass when he is being collared may find the ball fly off in another direction through his antagonist pulling him round. Not unless he is quite firm in his position, and quite certain of being able to pass the ball where he likes, should he attempt the manoeuvre. The great aim of a man bringing off a pass is to do it with accuracy, and yet so far monopolise the attention of those seeking to collar him that they will be unable in time to turn their attention to the 'passee.' What this precise moment is has to be left, like many other things, to the judgment of the player.