BIG CROWD SEES MATCH

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27429, 16 August 1954, Page 12

BIG CROWD SEES MATCH

Attendance About

31,000 < TRAFFIC, CATERING, , SET VAST TASK j When the gatekeepers arrived at , Lancaster Park at 9.15 a.m. on Saturday ~ to make ready for the Ranfurly Shield ] crowd, there were five persons outside c the gates. Six hours later, when the J match began, they had been joined by ( about 31,000 more, and although Lancaster Park is able to seat more per- ' sons—lo,4o0 —than any other ground in . New Zealand, there was a tremendous s jam in some parts. . Handling so large a crowd demanded ' careful planning, not only by Rugby ; Union officials, but by ambulance ( workers, traffic officers, caterers, and the host of opportunist industries that , always spring up on such occasions. f The cars that brought spectators to— ( or fairly nearly to—the ground were parked over‘several square miles of . the district, and it says much for all . concerned that there were so few mis- , haps, traffic blockages, injuries, and . incidents. 1 Treating the match as if it were some , civilian, defence exercise, one enterprising flrm of caterers put four mobile . canteens into operation, and from these hundreds of persons bought packaged lunches, soft drinks, chocolate, as well as hot pies. Football followers could probably live for years on a diet of pies and beer, and Saturday showed the public appetite had not changed. The four-canteen firm sold almost 4000 pies, and there were others sold in the ground and at a nearby hotel. At a most conservative estimate, the football crowd ate 60 square yards of pie crust and nearly 10001 b of filling, an effort which in its own way showed the same dogged determination exhibited by the Canterbury forwards who, after all, had to be at their best for only 80 minutes. At the hotel near the ground, considerable foresight had been shown by the decision to hire 24 barmen for the day. The same hotel wisely had a supply of hundreds of cardboard cups for those who wished to take bottled beer to the park—and there it was no novelty. Congratulated on his generous gesture in looking after his clients so well, the proprietor said that the : decision had been based chiefly on the 1 knowledge that on similar occasions ’■ previously the cost of glasses patrons • had borrowed and failed to return had been very high. Another innovation was a marquee on the hotel property, an outside bottle store. In spite of the ' large staff, it had no chance at all of ' coping with the rush of custom, which lasted for hours. j Prepared for Dong Wait

At the park, many came well prepared for a long wait, and there were dozens of lunch caskets, thermos flasks,

rugs, hot-water bottles, and the smaller containers whose contents were directed towards keeping out the cold. Some enthusiasts had six hours at the park befofe the main game began, but there was plenty to entertain them, apart from the preliminary matches. For the children it. was an excellent opportunity to do business in the “whopper swopper” market, and dealings were brisk until the crowd became too big to allow the full freedom of movement demanded by children. There were some wildly improbable claims and counter-claims by the more partisan among the spectators, and such unexpected diversions as the ball landing, without inflicting pain or embarrassment, on a youngster selling sweets in the crowd.

A loudspeaker announcement not long before the shield match was to start called for the huddled thousands on the bank to pack in tighter at one end, a request that drew a derisive groan from those whose arms were already pinned to their sides by those about them. A two-man horse performed some most unequintf feats, and it was pleasing to see that both halves of the animal were remembered when a spectator rushed across to offer liquid sustenance.

About 3 p.m., more than 100 pipers and drummers assembled near the gate to the oval, ready to lead the teams on to the field, and an energetic gentleman climbed up one of the tall goalposts, waving to. the crowd for applause each time he was forced to rest. He had reached about half-way when the post was Swinging dizzily before h e made a smooth but abrupt descent.

For these waiting hours, it had been a good-natured crowd, intent on enjoying itself. But when the referee was heard blowing his whistle to get the teams on to the field, it was all drama. The trickle of colour down the steps of the pavilion as the teams came out pleased the eye and quickened the pulse. The ebb and flow of the battle that followed had the huge crowd almost demented and when it was all done, there was a great wave of people and enthusiasm which swept over and around the players as they tried to leave the field. There were calls for speeches that could not be heard, and the cheering crowds round the pavilion seemed unwilling to disperse. Only an increasing awareness of the cold weather, and the disappearance of the players from public view, brought to ah end one of the most dramatic days in Canterbury’s Rugby history.

LOWER GRADES Senior Second Division.—Linwood 30, Papanui Technical Old Boys 3; High School Old Boys 9, Marist 0; Teachers’ College 22, Merivale 9. Junior A.—Sumner 20, R.N.Z.A.F. 8; High School Old Boys 20, University 5; Linwood 3, Belfast 0; Sydenham 5, Riccar-ton-Sockbum 5.

Junior B.—New Brighton 15, Marist 5; Albion 30, High School Old Boysx 3. Third Grade A.—Christchurch Maoris 16, Marist 3; Sydenham A 8, Teachers’ College 8; University A 13, Sydenham B 0.

Third Grade, under 20.—Christ’s College 17, R.N.Z.A.F. 3; Boys’ High School 22, Christchurch 0; Marist 19, High School Old Boys 13.

Fourth Grade.—Sunnyside-Spreydon 9, Kaiapoi 0; Belfast 18, Christchurch 3. Fifth Grade.—Marist 11, Riccarton-Sock-burn 6.

Under 18.—New Brighton 6, High School Old Boys 0; Technical Old Boys 18, Albion 5. Under 17.—High • School Old Boys 14, Sunnyside-Spreydon 0; Christchurch 11, Linwood 8.

Under 16.—Technical Old Boys 3, Marist 3; Sunnyside-Spreydon 8, High School Old Boys 3. Under Bst 101b.—Linwood 15, Technical Old Boys 0; Sunnyside-Spreydon 8, Sydenham 5; Marist 25, High School Old Boys 0; Albion 14, Christchurch 5.

’Under 7st 71b A.—Marist 6, New Brighton 3.

Under 7st 71b B.—Christchurch 12, Albion 0; Belfast 5, Marist 3.

Under 6st 71b A.—Sydenham 11, Merivale 0; New Brighton 6, Marist 0. Under 6st 71b B.—LinWood 11, Christchurch 3; Sunnyside-Spreydon beat Sumner by default; Albion beat Sydenham by,default.

Under sst 101 b A.—Marist 9, Merivale 0; Linwood 3, Sunnyside-Spreydon 0; Christchurch beat Sumner by default.

Under sst 101b.—Marist (St. Mary’s) 6, Sydenham B 3. ... Under sst 101 b B.—Kaiapoi beat Linwood by default. Under sst A.—Marist 9, New Brighton 0.

Under sst B.—Rlccarton Marist 9, Sunny-side-Spreydon C 0; Sunnyside-Spreydon B 6, New Brighton 0; Marist 3. Albion 0; Merivale 15, Bryndwr Marist 0.

NORTH CANTERBURY DRAW Following is the draw for matches to be nlayed in the North Canterbury Rugby Sub-Union competitions on Saturday: Rang v. Cu (Mr Pearson); Lo v. Ko (Mr Grant); Wo v Ox (Mr Shaskey). Teams are to arrange their own playing times. —Advt.