"Iron man” now has gentler pursuit

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32460, 21 November 1970, Page 14

"Iron man” now has gentler pursuit

(By

K. J. McMENAMIN)

0F the six or more pro- ■ minent sportsmen of yesteryear who could be found stalking about the R.S.A. club’s green this week as participants in the New Zealand Licensed Trade Bowling Association’s sixth annual tournament, none was more easily recognisable than the 1947, 1949 and 1950 All Black, J. G. Simpson. Still within a pound or so of his playing weight of 16st, the legendary “iron man" seems to have aged very little since the winter 21 years ago when his great strength and scrummaging ability played a major part

in New Zealand being able to counter the might of the Springbok pack. A knee injury sustained against the touring British Lions in 1950 forced Simpson out of Rugby and, rather surprisingly for a man of his immense power, he turned to bowling, a sport in which physical strength counts for very little. However, Simpson soon showed that he possessed the “touch” which goes to make a good bowler, and during eight years with the Mairangi Bay club in Auckland he won the champion-'

ship singles, pairs and fours, In 1963, Simpson became manager of the Paraparaumu Hotel, a position he still holds, and pressure of work now restricts his appearances on the bowling green to social games during the week. At the association's annual meeting this week, Simpson was elected its new president, and although he failed to make the occasion even inore memorable by reaching the final, he, showed that he was still a bowler of considerable worth. He was eliminated in the closest of finishes in a quarter-final game. Rugby is still close to Simpson’s heart and he travels long distances to see test matches. Predictably, he could not be easily drawn on the reasons for New Zealand’s failure to win «the test' series in South Africa this year. “Television only tells you so much. You have to be there yourself to know the real story, and as I wasn’t, there is little I can say.” But, he added, the first step in any test series against South Africa Was to win the forward struggle.