SPORTS TOPICS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 55, Issue 295, 26 September 1935, Page 10

SPORTS TOPICS

NOTES FROM HERE AND THERE.

% CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS. (By “Sportsman.”) Next Saturday. All Blacks v. Swansea, at Swansea. Ashburton Men’s Hockey Sub-Asso-ciation’s five-a-side tourney (concluding event of season). October 3. All Blacks v. Gloucestershire and Somerset, at Bristol.

October 5. Waimate-Christchurch professional cycle road race. Cricket season opens in Ashburton. Ailenton Sports Club opening. October 16. British Women's Golf Team v. New Zealand, at Miramar (Wellington). Luck Against Him. This season Kilby did not have the best of luck, as an injury in an early club game caused bis temporary retirement. That retirement probably made all. the difference between winning and losing his place in this year’s All Black team, in spite of the fact that he showed a remarkable improvement in the last trial of the All Blacks series compared with his game at Palmerston North.

This will probably bo Kilby’s lastseason in big football, and be has had the opportunity of developing some new players in the Wellington representative team. Features of Kilby’s game have been his ability to get the best out of hi’s forwards, whether winning or losing, and his perfect scritmmage passing and clever kicking, while he has always been a most courageous defender.

Three Boxing Belts. Three British boxing champions— Jackie Brown, Jock McAvoy, and Johnny King—with their manager and sparring partners, searched frantically for two hours on May 18, for three lost Lonsdale belts worth, more than £IOOO. They were found, wrapped in brown paper on a seat in Smithy Bridge railway station, near Manchester, where a messenger had left them.

Unfortunate Incident. At the dinner associated with the annual reunion of the Waratah team of footballers who toured Great Britain in 1927-8, following on a golf competition on the Manly links, there was a regrettable incident which, however, failed to shatter the harmony of the proceedings. In truth they were added to. One of the forwards, now in the vicinity of 16 stone, demonstrated how, during the course of a famous match, lie had brought down an opponent who looked like scoring. For his purpose he regarded a chair ns the opposing player. Diving low, he somersaulted it in as pretty a fashion as ever seen. Unfortunately Ken. Warton, the only invited outsider, turned a somersault too, for lie happened at the moment to be standing on the chair, making a speech. Racing Giub helps Cricket.

The Auckland! d-rcket Association has been notified that L. F. Townsend, the Derbyshire cricket professional, is to arrive in Auckland (N.Z.) on October 23, to commence his second season’s coaching engagement with the A.C.A. Townsend’s engagement last year cost about £550. The Auckland Racing Club now heads the subscription list with £IOO.

Australian athletic heads continue to toy with the idea of holding the Empire Games for 1938 in Sydney, remarks a Sydney writer. The authorities will have to give some sort of financial guarantee before going to the Empire Games Committee in London, and there seems to he no doubt on this side that the estimated cost of organisation —£10,000 or so—can he raised without much trouble, he continues. The idea is to synchronise the Games with the 150th anniversary celebrations, and this prospect is expected to drag the subscriptions out of the pockets of Sydney business folk, who would stand to benefit by the invasion of visitors.

Immediately after they had completed the women’s singles finals at Wimbledon, Mrs Moody amt Miss Helen Jacobs, both of America, received a most tempting offer of £SOOO to play a match in California. Presumably the offer was made to them in order that they would turn professionals, but neither rose to the bait. At the same time it was announced that Miss Elizabeth Ryan, the woman who had won more events than any other player at Wimbledon and one of the greatest doubles players, either combined 01 women’s, that the world has ever seen, had decided 1 to start a tennis school in her native California. This course will make her a professional.

Dr. T. P. Murray, the Irish international Rugby player, who toured New Zealand and Australia with the British team in 1930, is making a name at golf. Recently he reached the final of the ISouth of Ireland close championshin, and with Miss R. Hanlon, won the Miltown Club’s open mixed foursomes competition which attracts many of the best Irish players. It will be recollected that Murray was called upon to take the base of the scrum position for the British test teams in New Zealand when W. H. Sobey, originally chosen for that position, was so seriously injured in the first match of the tour, played at Wanganui on May 21, 1930, that he was lost to the side. Murray himself suffered injury in the second test played at Christchurch and Britain carried on playing 14 men. Poole had to play half in the third test plaved at Auckland, hut Murray was available for the final match at Wellington. Murray was originally chosen as a centre oi» second five-eighths fstand-off half). It was in the latter capacity that he rose to prominence when playing for Ireland.