Union To Encourage Seven-a-Sidcs

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28425, 4 November 1957, Page 8

Union To Encourage Seven-a-Sidcs

(New Zealand. Press Association) WELLINGTON, November 3. The New Zealand Rugby Union will endeavour to encourage seven-a-side Rugby as the result of representations by Mr T. C. Morrison, a former chairman of the New Zealand selection panel, that such tourneys might help to develop better back play. At Friday’s meeting of the union. Mr C K. Saxton (Otago) agreed with Mr Morrison’s remarks. Seven-a-side tourneys varied in popularity in this country, but they were a great success in England. Mr G. A. Brown (Manawatu) said the problem appeared to be the clash with representative fixtures. Many leading players would not be available after club games finished. He thought seven-a-side tourneys could be a tremendous success if played at a provincial level. Mr T. H. Pearce (Auckland) said the experience of his union was that the public were not interested in them. The subject is to be discussed at the next meeting of the union in February when the allocation of the Middlesex Cup for seven-a-side tourneys will be considered.

Speedboat Record.— The Cana-dian-owned Miss Supertest II today set a world record for pro-peller-driven speedboats, averaging 184,499 miles an hour over a five-eighths of a mile course. The previous mark, set in 1950 at Seattle by Stanley Sayres’s Slo-Mo-Shun IV, was 178,998 miles an hour.—Picton (Ontario), November 1.