QUEUE, BANK, AND STANDS

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28987, 31 August 1959, Page 10

QUEUE, BANK, AND STANDS

The most cheering sight to many weary people in the queue was a ticket “scalper” with a sign “Stand Tickets, £l." The face value of stand seat tickets was 30s.

Comment from an enthusiastic and vocal woman unfamiliar with the finer points of the game: “Of course, they’d score more if the teams did not try so hard to stop each other from scoring tries.”

The most frequent cries from patrons in the enclosure were: “Come on, the All Blacks” and “Sit down in front.” There were some colourful and unprintable variations of the latter remark. « « *

Those who wondered why D. B. Clarke ran into touch with the ball when he caught it at the end of the match soon realised the reason. Clarke was determined to have at least one souvenir of the test, and he kept the ball when the whistle blew for full time. * * *

While displays of temperament among the players was no better or no worse than in any international fixture, at least one person was “ordered off” the ground. A photographer wandered into the in-goal area where the Lions were hard pressed and was promptly ordered off by the fullback, K. J. Scotland.

Consumer resistance to high prices asked for test match tickets apparently had its effect on Saturday. A Christchurch lawyer had given up all hope of buying stand tickets at a reasonable price and was surprised when offered two tickets at cost price in the city half an hour before the game. He snapped up the offer and was at the park within minutes.

Small stickers reading “No Maoris, no tour” were pasted at intervals along the main gates at the park.

For 450 school cadets from all over the South Island the game was a suitable finish to a week’s training at Bumham. Nearly 100 were especially lucky, being given a front-row view of the game from the enclosure.

One “merry” patron objected strongly to the cries of ‘‘Come on, reds” on the grounds that the Lions’ colour was maroon.

An all-in bun fight at half-time provided some diversion for the crowd in the middle of the embankment. Pies, sandwiches, fruit and other handy missiles were hurled around a considerable area. No serious casualties were reported.

Winston McCarthy did not pay for admission to the park, but it cost him £2 2s. He was “abducted” from his hotel by three students, and released “on bail” just before the match on payment of the money, which will go to the hospital chapels appeal

Derry’s Brass Band made an impression on the crowd, not only for its smart appearance and drill, but for the selections it played on the march. There was a distinctly Dixie flavour about a group which included “Blackeyed Susan Brown” and “Give My Regards to Broadway.”

Small boys had a better chance of seeing the game than most spectators on the embankment. In several tightly-packed areas, policemen brought them to. the enclosure, where they could breathe and see more easily.

One movie cameraman knew what was going to happen before the game started. He set up his tripod on the sideline near the Lions’ goal-line, and waited for the All Blacks to score.

“Why are you booing?” a woman innocently in search of information asked a man behind her. “Because I like booing," was the curt reply.