Clash of sporting interests

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33062, 1 November 1972, Page 14

Clash of sporting interests

Because of a photograph in “The Press,” R. I. Howard almost lost his chance of winning his first national wrestling title this year.

In the season just concluded, Ray Howard tried to cater for both his sporting loves, wrestling and Rugby league (he plays for Kaiapoi in the premier competition).

Inevitably, there had to be a clash of interests, and on the day of the South Island wrestling championships, Howard elected to play for Kaiapoi in an important Rugby league match against MaristWestem Suburbs. “That’s when the fun started,” he said with a grin this week. “I had told the wrestling people I had a football injury—then they saw my photo in ‘The Press’ next day.

“They weren’t going to take me to the national championships — and because of this doubt, I only went into training two weeks before the contest. I had to lose a stone in those two weeks, too.”

Howard’s victory, his first in a national championship, was meritorious in more ways than one. He had not wrestled for three years and his last fight, in 1969, was against B. McMahon, of Auckland.

“He gave me the hiding of my life, then,” said Howard. And the 22-year-old Crichton Cobbers wrestler added with relish: “But this year, I ‘pinned’ him.” Howard has had four years with Kaiapoi and only returned to wrestling because of pressure from one of his coaches. “Curly Kennedy dug me up, said I should start wrestling again, and asked me to help with coaching the wee fellows as well.

“So although I was planning on fighting, I did not really know what my aims would be. I had a bad start, not fighting the Canterbury championships—l took too many salts trying to get weight off and I was ill the day of the championships.” Then he missed the South Island championships, because of those other priorities, so Howard had the best win of his career, and a national gold medal, without even a Canterbury title. The victory at New Plymouth had provided him with the spur to fight again next year, however. “I will definitely have to wrestle. I’ll be trying to get in the team for the Commonwealth Games, and that means holding the title. “Rugby league? I’ll end up playing again, I suppose, because Kaiapoi’s performances this year brought a

bigger kick than my individual success in wrestling. I imagine that is because it was a team effort, but it is so hard to compare the sports. “But as far as the wrestling title was concerned, I felt pretty good for my coaches, Curly and Hughie Kennedy. “I’m a pretty bad sort of guy to train, and they had to pick me up at home to make sure I was training.” Next year, the Kennedys might find their talented young charge with incentives of his own and they should be able to concentrate on just coaching, not acting as transport and motivation controllers as well. The photograph shows Ray Howard, at right, loosening up with George Hori. Another Crichton Cobbers club member, Hori won a silver medal at the national championships after only three months wrestling.