MANY FOR THE ROAD

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31657, 18 April 1968, Page 11

MANY FOR THE ROAD

(Special Crspdt N Z PA ) LONDON. [Easter is traditionally a time when Britain's Rugby ! clubs take to the road, playing matches in various parts of the country and revelling in afteri game functions. | Tales of their exploits are legendary, most being - connected with the social,; rather than the Rugby,' aspects of the trip. This year, it seems, a club from Widnes, Lancashire,!

set the hottest pace of all. The club sent a party of 36 members to Bournemouth. In four days, they spent about $3O a head, consuming a total of 2300 pints of beer. Members celebrated their last night in the hotel by drinking 20 bottles of stout each in less than 90 minutes. Their thirst not slaked, they stopped on the way home and consumed another gallon of beer each, as I well as platefuls of jellied eels and cockles. I

Surprisingly, Rugby was not forgotten. Four games were played and three won. “If anyone couldn’t manage to get his kit on we dragged him into it and pushed him on to the field." said the skipper, 27-year-old Derek Speed “A couple of knocks soon brought him round. "The lads had only about three hours sleep a night. Some haven’t stopped drinking since Friday. It’s sheer guts and stamina, really."

Chess Leader.—B. Spassky holds a 5-2 lead over Y. Geller in their quarter-final match in the series for Russian contend ers for the world championship. The seventh game between the pair ended in a draw. Basketball Tour.—A West Australian State men’s basketball side will tour the North Island next month. It will play seven games.