WING-FORWARDS UNCHANGED?

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31119, 23 July 1966, Page 17

WING-FORWARDS UNCHANGED?

The loose forwards in Rugby today are little different from the C. G. Porter-type wing-forward in 1930. This is the opinion of a man who played against Porter two or three years before the wing-forward was outlawed, and has watched the modern “destroyers,” su?h as the Welshman. H. J. Morgan. Mr R. S. Spong, one of the outstanding players in the first British Rugby team to be known as the Lions, the 1930 side, is in Christchurch for today's match at Lancaster Park. Mr Spong was one of the long line of outstanding flyhalves sent with British teams to New Zealand and great things were expected of the famous Spong-Sobey combination at half-back. However, W. H. Sobey, Mr Soong’s Old Millhillians and England team-mate, was injured in the first match and the combination was never seen in action. Mr Spong, now 57 and managing-director-of a hardware manufacturing firm in England, is in New Zealand on business. He has seen the

Lions play against Bay of Plenty at Rotorua and in the first test at Dunedin. He hopes to see the second test and the Lions match against New Zealand Maoris before leaving for England. Mr Spong would not give his impressions of the Lions in the few matches he has seen them play. But Rugby in New Zealand, he said, had changed considerably. “The forwards are much bigger, more alert, more scientific,” he said, when comparing play today with that of 36 years ago. Mr Spong played in all four internationals for the 1930 Lions against New Zealand and in eight tests for England, starting in 1929-30 and ending with the 1931-32 Springboks. Gerrard Beaten.— L. A. Gerrard (New Zealand) and 1. E. Shafis (United Arab Republic) were beaten, 6-1, 1-6, 5-7, by two Americans. J. Jackson and L. Schloss, in the Pennsylvania tennis tournament. Brabham Racing.—The leading driver in the current world championship series, J. Brabham (Australia). and B. McLaren (New Zealand) wlill be among about 33 top world racing drivers to compete In Tokyo on October 9.