SPORTSMAN OF THE WEEK

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26715, 26 April 1952, Page 4

SPORTSMAN OF THE WEEK

GARTH BOND One of the best forwards to play in Canterbury for some years. Garth Bond, of the Albion Rugby Football Club, is also one of the most popular with players of his own and other clubs, and also with spectators, although there is little that is spectacular in his football. He does not provide fireworks, but from start to finish of a game he keeps relentlessly at his work, and his team reaps the benefit. He knows his football, and what he has not learned from competent coaches and good men he has played with, he has taught himself. - Garth Bond has mastered the fundamentals of a game in which attention to details pays dividends. As a front-ranK forward he is complete. And yet. possibly because of his retiring manner and his dislike of the .spectacular, certain officials last year failed to realise the sterling qualities of this sft Ilin, 14-stone front-ranker. At the end of last season Bond intended to retire because he thought that by playing again he would be keeping a younger player from reaching the top rung of the Rugby ladder. There was joy in the Albion camp when Bond, in response to a general demand and. the writer thinks, a cheerful persuasion by members of his family, postponed hanging up his boots for another six months.

Although Bond is looked on as the silent man of Rugby, the title is not altogether deserved, for when he gets on his favourite hobby-horse (which is Rugby), he is a good conversationalist with a quiet sense of humour and a profound knowledge of his subject. Yes. Garth Bond is a delightful personality and a true sportsman. He first learned his football, as man,v other good players have done, at the Hornby School, near which he has lived his 30 years. He says he did the ordinary things every boy does when he first goes to school, but the records show that young Bond had ability above the average, probably inherited from his father, Mr Percy Bond, a Wairarapa representative of the 2-3-2 scrum days, and from his uncle, the famous “offside” McKenzie. He quickly gained a place on the side of the first fifteen scrum, and for three years he was a member of the seven-a-side teams which won competitions in

primary schools’ football. His treasured possessions include three miniature gold footballs which are in the safe keeping of his mother, as keen on football as any member of the family, and an inspiration to him In all his pursuits. At the age of 16, young Bond joined the Albion Club and was one the side of the fifth-grade scrum which won the competition. From fifth he graduated to third grade, and when 19 years old he found a regular place in the front row of the Albion senior scrum, in which position he has always played when available. In 1940 he had his first experience of representative football when he was chosen to play against Ashburton and South Canterbury, and since then, except for a period during which he was on active service, he was a regular player for Canterbury until last year, when for some unaccountable reason he did not wear the red and black jersey. To give a list of his performances in representative football would be idle. It is generally accepted that he has played In 99 first-class games. His father vows the total is 100. Garth simply does not know, and possibly does not care a great deal. In addition to his record for Canterbury he also played for New Zealand against Australia at Auckland.

When Bond was on active service in Italy it was decided to form a New Zealand Expeditionary Force team, and he was one of the 60 or 70 players chosen to take part in the trials. He was finally selected as one of the front-rankers in a team that earned high praise as the Kiwis —not to be confused with the original team of that name, which was a New Zealand League team. The record of the Kiwis is familiar to all followers of Rugby, and Bond did his full share by playing in 21 games. He said the Kiwis was far and away the best team he had ever played for, although he admitted that this team had a big advantage over any other in being given great chances to train and develop combination under the direction of Charlie Saxton. The team played a bright, open brand of football, which was a joy to play and to watch'.

Although Garth Bond preferred not to enter into a discussion on the merits and demerits of different players, he said Jack Finlay was the most constructive forward he had played with, and N. Thornton and S. Young were the two fastest forwards. He named J. B. Smith (centre), W. G. Argus (wing-three-quar-ters), R. W. Scott, and H. E. Cook (fullbacks) as the most colourful backs he had played with. He pays a warm tribute to the help he received from the Albion coach, Mr A. McKerrow, late of the Dunedin Southern Club, and to the assistance he has received from members of his own club, "a fine crowd of fellows, who have done everything they could to push me along." Asked for a few words of advice to pass on to young players, Bond said: 'Learn to handle the ball. And by handling I do not mean merely catching or fielding a ball. It is more important to give a good pass than to take one. Accuracy in passing makes it so much easier.”

He might also have said a word or two on foot control of the ball, for Bond’s football recalls memories of the days of Canterbury and’ New Zealand football before dribbling became a lost art. The following is the opinion of a Southland forward now living in Christchurch who played against Bond: “Garth is a marvel with the ball at toe, and against us he dribbled the ball solo for 25 yards without letting it get a foot away. The only other man I have seen do it was Ail Black Leo Connolly.” “It’s better to give than to receive a good pass” tells the storv of the approach of Garth Bond to Rugby football, an Unselfish, modest sportsman of the best type, essentially a team player, who sinks individualism for the good of his team.