Page:Football, the Rugby game.djvu/25

Rh If the captain wins the toss, he has to decide between choice of goals and taking the kick-off. In this his guiding principle should be to do whatever is most likely to give his team a good start in the game. If there is a strong wind, or a distinct slope, he will be wise to take advantage of them at the outset. If there is nothing to choose between the two ends, he had much better take the kick-off. In any case he must see that his team knows how to make the most of the kick-off, and the kick-out. A high kick and smart following up are wanted for both. The chief reason why following up is so slack in many teams is that the kicker tries to kick as far as he can, instead of as high as he can, and the forwards consequently find that they can rarely get to the pitch of the ball, however hard they follow up. In the case of a high kick, on the contrary, they can make certain of either catching it themselves or of tackling the catcher before he can get off. The captain of the defending side should make two or three of his forwards drop back regularly to help the backs to cover the ground for receiving such catches.

It is also the captain's business to see that he has some good place-kickers in his team, and place-kicking is an art that any one can learn with practice; a captain has therefore only himself to thank if he loses a match from tries or fair catches not being converted into goals. There is no objection to one man taking the short place-kicks and another the long ones, provided that each has a regular assistant, accustomed to his ways, to place the ball for him.

The selection of the club secretary does not generally lie with the captain, but it is highly important that they should work well together, since the secretary is the man above all others on whose keenness the captain has to rely for help in inspiring his men with enthusiasm. A slack secretary