To Welstimen, midlanders and west of England men belongs the honour of getting off the Tugger mark early. London clubs, if they have started li, are in the "whites and colours" phase with various reservations regarding the fierceness of tackling allowed because of the hardness of the ground. Leicester and Bedford played their time-honoured opener at Leicester, with the visitors the winners by six points, Newport, Cardiff and Plymouth Albion graciously stretched their giant limbs after the summer jeep to the admiration of weaker fifteens enjoying their hospitality. It is good to learn of this enthusiasm and expectation will be enhanced a fortnight hence when Blackheath, Harlequins and Rosslyn Park come into line and inform the world that London is content to put cricket bats and balls away and devote itself to the scrummaging game. Not that London constitutes the best that is in English rugger, but its big battalions have an important influence on the game. For unadulterated keenness it is impossible to beat those hardy teams which have now kicked off. It is appropriate therefore to wish them a good sporting season, few penalty kicks and plenty of winning half-pence,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.