GAMES AND PLAYERS

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25769, 2 April 1949, Page 4

GAMES AND PLAYERS

ATHLETIC SPORTS

(By “MILES.”) Rugby Delegates Meet The annual meeting of delegates to the Canterbury Rugby Union on Wednesday produced no new ideas which might help to lift the game in Christchurch out of the doldrums. The Old Boys Club made a brave attempt to introduce new blood to the Management Committee when it did not elect its two sitting members as the club’s delegates. However, other ways were found to have the two men included in the nominations for the administrative body. Nothing came of a suggestion that the number of representative fixtures be reduced. Delegates might well have instructed the Management Committee to delete from the programme home-and-home matches. The meagre attendances at football matches was attributed to Saturday race meetings. The only remedy seen for this was to do away with counter attractions presented by the racing and trotting clubs. The idea of attracting crowds by providing better football and more interesting competition, by a reduction in the number of senior teams, apparently did not appeal to delegates. The result of the three selectors experiment last year was sufficient reason for the reduction to two. It remains to be seen whether a change will be for the better. When the two selectors are appointed, it is to be hoped a coach will also be appointed. A Golf Story

The odds against an occurrence on the Timaru Golf Club’s links last Sunday can probably be reckoned in millions. Two players in a four, Owen Johnston, of the Christchurch Golf Club, and Walter Davies, of Timaru, were concerned. Davies had over-shot the seventeenth green, where Johnston was short. Davies was out of Johnston’s sight when he went over a hillock to play his ball. They then played for the green simultaneously. The balls collided in flight, Johnston’s, which would probably have run through the green, being knocked back on to it, and Davies’s being knocked back off the green in the direction from which it had come. In the result, Davies lost the hole and the match to his opponent, another of the four. Professional Tennis

One more step toward the extinction of the amateur hold on lawn tennis, and another door opened to the open tournament that must come sooner or later, will be a professional tournament at Wembley Stadium in May, writes the London correspondent of the “Sydney Morning Herald.” Britain’s No. 1 sports promoter, Sir Arthur Elvin, plans to stage the “world’s championship” of tennis at Wembley. He plans to gather the world’s professional tennis players at the famous stadium for a big show in May. At the end of March, there will be a smaller tournament, with the world’s top professional four—Kramer, Riggs, Pails, and Segura—on view. These four will return in May, after a tour round Britain, and will be joined by at least a dozen others who have made their mark in amateur tennis, before turning professional. Wembley estimates that they will show spectators every Wimbledon champion since 1937, except the 1948 winner. Bob Falkenburg, of the United States, who is still an amateur. Sir Arthur Elvin intends to stage a similar world’s tournament every year, just before, or just after Wimbledon. Too Many Changes?

Ciicket selectors sometimes make the mistake of refusing to make changes in their teams when changes are indicated, and sometimes they make too many. In the season which has just ended, 140 players took part in the senior competition, and this number, even after allowance has been made for injuries and unavoidable absences, seems rather too high. Some teams fielded as many as 20 players during the season. While it could not be expected that the 88 players chosen for the first games should all retain their places, clubs should surely have been aware of their best teams by half way through the season. The frequent changes must have been unsettling and must have made it difficult for a player on trial to give of his best. New Zealand Divers

"New Zealand divers are fine on the whole, but they needed a lot of fundamental board work, and better equipment to get a polished finish.” said Dr. Sammy Lee (United States), the Olympic high tower diving champion, in an interview'. Dr. Lee. w r ho is a doctor of medicine serving in the United States Army, is an American-born citizen of Korean descent. New' Zealanders had plenty of enthusiasm, he said, but they would improve a lot if there were visits by divers of international calibre. "You can pick a lot up by watching - others,” said Dr. Lee. The Egyptians were leading European divers because Jimmy Ryan showed them how to dive. Ryan, who was his own coach, was the best in the world, and W’as one of those phenomenal divers who could impart their knowledge to others, said Dr. Lee. The Auckland baths were very good, but he found Christchurch very difficult, because the bath was not dee# enough. “My back is aching through hitting the bottom.” he said after his exhibition. He thought that D. Begg, the New Zealand champion, of Christchurch, and Owen Jaine, of the Newmarket Club, were the outstanding New Zealand divers. When in Christchurch Dr. Lee gave up a scenic drive through the city in favour of attending the Municipal baths on Tuesday afternoon to give tuition and advice to interested local divers. The Rugby Almanack

The Rugby Almanack of New Zealand, edited by Messrs A. H. Carman, R. R. Masters, and A. C. Swan, provides a complete record of first-class matches, and as a record alone it should find a place on every sportsman’s bookshelf. Biographies of the five players and the five most promising players of the year, full details of representative matches played by all unions, and a commentary on the All Blacks to tour South Africa are of interest. Many will disagree with the editors in their choice of at least two of the five players of the year (W. A. Meates, W. G. Argus, J. C. Kearney, V. D.*Bevan, and R. A. Dalton) and more with the opinions expressed as to their qualities. Of Argus, it is said: “He is ever on the alert for scoring chances. . . . His defence is first class and his covering up grand. . . .” While Argus is one of the strongest runners seen in Rugby in New Zealand, all his games last year suggested that he does not look for work but waits for the chances to come to him. A wing-three-quarters alone, Argus has never been noted for his cover-defence play. Of Bevan, it is said: "... His delivery is perfect . . . played outstandingly right through the season. . . On defence Bevan was supreme.” Even Bevan's most enthusiastic Wellington admirers will think twice before endorsing these high tributes. He is 27 years and on the form shown by L. Savage in the trials and North-South match, the young Canterbury player has little to learn from Bevan. The selectors were satisfied with W. J. Conrad’s form in the first spell of the final test to give him his place. Their choice seems to be the right one.

The five most promising players are listed as follows:—B. W. Beazley (North Auckland), G. M. Bryant (Horowhenua), J. Hotop (Bush Districts), K. C. Stuart (Canterbury), and G. F. Turner (Nelson). The last-named will play centre-three-quarters for the Christchurch Club this year.