GAMES AND PLAYERS

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25270, 23 August 1947, Page 4

GAMES AND PLAYERS

ATHLETIC SPORTS

(By “MILES.”) A Full Programnune The Canterbury Rugby Union senior championship will end next Saturday when the winner or joint-winners, will be declared. Following is the representative programme for the rest of the season:—August 27, v. Auckland; September 6, v. Otago; September 13, v. Buller; September 17, v. Maoris; September 20, v. Southland; September 27, v. West Coast; October 4, v. South Canterbury. With the exception of the South Canterbury game, which will be played at Timaru, all matches will take place at Lancaster Park. To-day at Timaru, Auckland will play South Canterbury, and Auckland will meet Wellington, at Wellington, next Saturday. Masterpiece in Broadcasting The finest broadcast description of any sporting fixture held in New Zealand, to the writer’s knowledge, was given from Carisbrook on the Otago-Auckland Shield match cn Wednesday by Mr R. McKenzie, an old Alhambra player and a referee for many years in Otago. From the start of the game, Mr McKenzie showed himself master of the subject he was dealing with and with his deep knowledge he took his listeners to the ground to see the fine display of football between two good teams. It was refreshing to listen to a plain, unvarnished description, without the idle patter that many commentators in their lack of knowledge of the finer points, find necessary to Introduce. Mr McKenzie’s effort was a masterpiece in broadcasting. Locke and von Nida

Two professionals from the Dominions, Bobby Locke, of South Africa, and Norman von Nida, of Australia, have dominated the golf tournaments held in the United States and the United Kingdom this year. Against the hardest competition in the world, Locke has won in the United States tournament after tournament and the equivalent of* £5134 sterling. This amount does not include the 5000 dollars he was paid to forsake the British open for the more opulent monetary pickings to be taken from the Tam o’ Shanter tournament in the United States (which he won), nor the dollars he has taken on the side for advertising endorsements of various commodities, which would probably net him another £5OOO. Locke is first and last a golfer, but he has a keen eye for the main chance. His playing record is amazingly good. He has averaged 69.42 for more than 150 rounds in a strange country. Von Nida’s performance, certainly against poorer competition, but probably on more difficult courses, is almost equally impressive. He has won over £3ooo—a British record—during the season and more tournaments than any other golfer on British courses. Both golfers failed in their main objective—Locke to win the American open and von'Nida the British open. A match between them over, say, 72 holes, on two difficult courses, would be worth going a long way to see. High Rugby Scorers

At least three senior grade players in J. W. Kelly (University), with 149 points, .T. Jackson (Technical), and E. Jackson (Albion) have topped the 100 points scored this season. T. Jackson and Kelly have both played games in addition to club football, but E. Jackson has scored his points in competition games. Playing for the Marist Club in the third grade C competition, K. Stuart, who last year played full-back for .St. Bede’s College, has scored 114 points' in 15 games this year. The total is made up as follows: penalty goals 13 (39 points), try conversions 33 (66 points), tries 3 (9 points). Included in Stuart’s ’total are two conversions and one penalty goal kicked for the Marist senior team in a game against New Brighton in the first round. Interprovincial Boxing

The Christchurch Boxing Association, which has done splendid work this season in encouraging young boxing talent, will present another fine programme next Monday in a series of bouts for the Barrow Cup between Marlborough and Canterbury. Marlborough will be represented by 15 of the best boys available, and, with their matching against winners of Canterbury championships, a good line on prospects for the New Zealand championships next month should be gained. Inter-provincial boxing, which has received more encouragement in Canterbury this year than ever before, has given young boxers an incentive to improve their boxing and to represent the province. The Shield

Since Otago won the Ranfurly Shield from Southland on August 2, it has been put to the acid test in games against North Auckland and Auckland, both of which teams included more All Blacks than Otago or Southland have put in the field. Otago proved itself a worthy holder of the trophy in its winning effort against Auckland on Wednesday, after being in a losing position at half-time. The game was remarkable for the change of form shown by the Otago forwards who, beaten in the first spell by the fast, loose Auckland forwards, took charge of the second part of the game. The visits of the North Auckland and Auckland teams to Otago has shown the world of difference between Rugby football in the North and South Islands. Auckland probably learned the lesson ’that too many loose forwards cannot be carried in one pack. In the days of the wing-forward and the two-three-two scrum, when New Zealand could almost claim world supremacy, there were seven packmen and one—a wing-forward—who did not pack. Apparently Auckland and Wellington carry several forwards who appear only too ready to take over the job which at one time was entrusted to one man. The Northerners play more open and spectacular football than do Otago and Southland, but for match-winning football the real strength must always be with the men who control the scrums and heavy rucking. Evergreen Goddard

When Somerset was tumbled out for 25 in a recent county cricket match in England, the hero of the occasion was Tom Goddard, who, at the age of 46, is the outstanding bowler in the county championship this season. Against Somerset he did the hat-trick, took five wickets in seven balls, and finished with five wickets for 4 runs. It is 24 years since Goddard played in his first county match, but time does not seem to have affected his skill to any great extent. This season he has taken about 40 wickets more than any other English bowler, a proud performance for one who began his career when Hobbs was in his prime. Goddard began his career for Gloucestershire as a fast bowler, and it took five seasons of failure and a year out of county cricket before he changed to the flighted offbreaks which have made him an outstanding figure in cricket. Although his appearances for England have been rare, Goddard has taken about 2000 wickets in first-class cricket, collecting more than 100 each season since 1929, and more than 200 twice. Standing six feet three inches in height, Goddard has remarkable control of the ball, and his length and flighting have earned him some startling analyses on wickets which batsmen had every right to consider completely in their favour. New Zealanders have cause to remember him—in 1937 he took six for 29 against them in a test for England. Disqualified for Life

Probably without precedent in Rugby football is the disqualification for life of the members of a representative team. This occurred at a meeting of the Fiji Rugby Union this week when the union disqualified for life, all members of the Lautoka representative team that played recently against the Tongan representative team, writes the Fiji correspondent of “The Press.” The team selected to meet the Tongans included three players from another district, but shortly before the team was due to take the field 12 of the players from Lautoka insisted that the three outside players should be dropped and three local players of their own nomination be played in their place. The officials of the union declined, whereupon the 12 local players said they would not take the field. They were warned of the consequences of their action, but persisted. As there was a large attendance of P ubllc - many of whom had travelled long distances to see the first representative match in Lautoka. the team was allowed to replace the three men complained of with players of their own selection, after again being warned of the consequences of their action. Although Rugby has been played for many years in Suva, it is only in the last two or three years that the game has spread to the outer districts. The Fiji* Union felt bound to take this drastic action in the interests of the game, even if immediate repercussions delay the progress of the game for a season or two. Chatham Cup Final

.The final of the Chatham Cup, the blue riband of Soccer club football in New Zealand, will be played at the Basin Reserve, Wellington, to-day. The cup is competed for under knock-out conditions I and is open to all club teams in New Zealand. To-day’s game will be between I Christchurch Technical Old Boys and Watersiders (Wellington), the winners of the South and North Island zones. Western, the holder in 1945, was beaten by Technical in the first round in 1947, and Marist (Wellington), winner last year was eliminated in the first round by Institute Old Boys. The final has always produced the outstanding teams of both Islands, and the winner has earned the right to be styled the best club of the Dominion. Waterside is no stranger to the final, having been successful in 1938-39-90. Christchurch Technical has yet to win. the cup. After winning the South Island final last year, it went down to Marist (Wellington) by the odd goal in three.