PEOPLE IN THE PLAY

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28086, 29 September 1956, Page 5

PEOPLE IN THE PLAY

P. B. Vincent has another Rugby record—most appearances jn Ranfurly Shield matches. Vincent played in two shield games in 1950, and in all the Canterbury shield matches from 1953 to last Saturday. His total of 27 is well ahead of the next best, 20 by S. Gemmell, a member of the Hawke’s Bay team in the 1920’5.

At 45 few sports-minded people take an active interest in such strenuous sports as soccer but not so Peter Kiddey, of Ashburton. Kiddey played soccer for Technical Old Boys years ago, but last Saturday, playing for Mid-Canterbury against Shamrock third grade, he showed that he has still has the dash of a man half his years.

The Hutt Valley Cricket Association unanimously decided to nominate Mr J. L. Kerr as treasurer of the New Zealand Cricket Board of Control and to nominate Messrs W. A. Hadlee and I. B. Cromb as two of the three resident members of the board.

The Technical player N. Teague won the distinction of being the forward to score most tries for C a n t e r b ury while it held the Ranfurly Shield for three years. He scored seven tries, and no other forward scored more than three. Although an honest forward, Teague has a good turn of speed for so big a man, and his quick sense of anticipation was of value to Canterbury.

After spending some months in Australia where he had been coached by F. A. Sedgman, the New Zealand under-17 lawn tennis champion R. Wong has returned to Auckland. He will return to Australia about the middle of next month with Miss J. Glenie. They will join the New Zealand tennis team and will compete in the underage championships. Wong will probably return to New Zealand in February to play in the international invitation tournament.

The former Auckland and New Zealand cricket captain, G. O. Rabone. will be able to play regularly this

season and will be available for representative matches. Rabone, who led New Zealand on its South African tour in 1953-54, won a fine reputation as a determined and efficient cricketer. His return to the

game will help overcome Auckland's problems accentuated by the inclusion of the Northern Districts team in the Plunket Shield competition.

The Taranaki and New Zealand cricketer, E. Meuli, has achieved a distinction denied many sportsmen of greater fame; his photograph has appeared in the annual report of the Natural Rubber Development Board, published in England. He is seen batting in the nets, on a New Plymouth pitch of latex-cement rubber. Possibly the publishers of the report thought even a New Zealand user of rubber should have a Malayan-sounding name: the batsman is described as “Mr Ted Bulei.”

The New Zealand heavy-w*eight weight-lifting champion H. Jone*, of Petone, has a good chance of gaining one of the first six places at the Olympic Games, notwithstanding the great weights overseas men have lifted recently. Jones a best competitive total is 8801 b (8901 b in training) and according to available overseas figures that makes him the best lifter in the Empire. The next best figure from other parts of the Empire is a lift of 8751 b by the Australian champion. The world record, however, is the American P. Anderson’s tremendous lift of 11751 b.

One of the best-known cricketers in Otago, C. J. Elmes has retired. He represented Otago and New Zealand with success, scoring 99 for New Zealand in one of his innings against the M.C.C. team in 1936. A left-hander. Elmes began his cricket at Cathedral Grammar School in Christchfirch. and later played for the St. Albans club. But he then had 31 seasons for the Grange club in Dunedin, and in that time he held most of the club’s executive positions.

President of the Junior Management Committee of the Canterbury Football Association last year, and delegate from the committee to the association this year, Mr Jim Austin has done a great deal for boys’ soccer in Canterbury and regret at his transfer to Auckland was expressed at a recent meeting of the association. Before taking a very active interest in junior soccer, Mr Austin was a member of the Western Club senior eleven, winning a Chatham Cup medal in 1952 when Western tied for the trophy.

The Canterbury Indoor Bowls Association’s rinks title was won for the second successive year by S. Fridd, of the Ricca rton Indoor Bowling Club, but he was t h o r o ughly tested before he retained his title. In the final he met R. B. Spear (Lands and Survey), who led 10-4 after nine of the 12 ends had been played. Fridd had a 3 on the tenth, a 4 on the eleventh, but Spear took a single on the last end and the match had to be replayed. Fridd then won by a comfortable margin.

The former British Davis Cup player, C. R. D. Tuckey, will visit New Zealand soon during a world business tour. Tuckey was well known in Britain as a leading tennis player before the war. He represented England in the 1935, 1936 and 1937 Davis Cup matches. In 1936, when partnered by G. P. Hughes, he was successful in the men’s doubles at Wimbledon. His hobbies today are golf and gardening.