SPORT AND TRADE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 233, 16 July 1935, Page 2

SPORT AND TRADE

SUGGESTION TO ALL BLACKS. “GRACEFULLY LOSE A FEW MATCHES.” (Per Press Association.) DUNEDIN, July 15. A suggestion that the All Blacks should “gracefully lose a few matches” during their tour of Britain is contained in a letter which the secretary of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce has received from Mr H. Turner, the representative in London of the New Zealand Fruit Board. “It is difficult to realise what an important bearing sport has in these times upon Empire and international sentiment. In fact, one might be forgiven for suggesting that business and sport are definitely interwoven in these .days. Mr Turner writes, “I think sport in the United Kingdom is becoming too much of a business; but I believe also that visits such as that of our All Black team are most valuable in cementing the bonds of Empire. I should almost be tempted to throw out a suggestion that our players, in the coming torn*, should gracefully lose ,a few matches; but in any case they should take care not to adopt the wimat-any-cost spirit. “It is hard to estimate the extent to which the customary cordial feelings toward Australia suffered because of the trouble over leg theory business during the- visit of the Australian side last year, and I feel sure it helped to intensify the feeling when certain of the ' industrial areas decided to boycott us ~ tralian goods because of the revision of Australian duties on cotton goods. I blame certain sections of the English press for intensifying and aggravating the feeling during the cricket season; but to the credit of the Australian side be it said that it played the game and made no public comment upon some of the obviously unfair criticisms which were published. “Our New Zealand cricket teams have left a splendid record for clean play and good sportsmanship, and so have our football sides. If there is just a shade of criticism of the All Blacks it is that they showed a tendency to be a little too eager to win at any cost.”