Rugby club depleted

Press, 18 December 1976, Page 56

Rugby club depleted

The champion rugby club of Canterbury for the last three winters, Christchurch, is to lose a valued member, and one of the side’s All Blacks, Scott 'Cartwright, is to lose a cartilage. Joe Hanna, who has played a notable part in Christchurch’s six senior championship successes since 1970, plans to move to New Guinea in February, and intends to be away for two years.

A strong-running centre and a capable goal-kicker, the 25-year-old Hanna made several appearances for Canterbury B and, in 1973, played three times oh the right wing for Canterbury A. Cartwright damaged the cartilage in his right knee while playing soccer with the “dirt-trackers” during the All Blacks’ Tour of Argentina. He plans to have the cartilate removed next month and, because of the operation, it is likely that he ' will miss the Barbarians’ [(Auckland) trip to Australia I in March. SqeV upset ' The unseeded New ZeaTander, Murray Lilley, top-

pled the top seed, the South African Dave Scott, in _ the quarter-finals of the British amateur squash championship at Wembley, London, yesterday. Scott, never showing any* thing like hiS true form, fell 9-0, 9-6, 9-3. Lilley and his compatriot Bruce Brownlee, who defeated Phillip Kenyon, of Britain, 9-4, 9-3, 10-9, are the first New Zealanders to reach the "semi-finals of the championship since it was inaugurated in 1922. The others through to the last four are the secondseeded Jonathan Leslie, of Britain, and the unseeded Swedish player Lars Kvant. Leslie defeated Dean Williams (Australia), the number seven seed, 9-3, 9-2, 9-4. Kvant outstayed Britain’s John Richardson 9-3, 9-10, 7-9, 9-5, 9-1 in a battle of unseeded players. Tn today’s semi-finals, Lilley' plays Brownlee and Kvant meets Leslie. Tenuis finale Italy and Chile, two countries that have, never won the Davis Cup, will play five matches beginning today for

the top team prize in world tennis, the Associated Press reported from Santiago. Many commentators are predicting the outcome of the five contests will be close, 3-2 for either team. While the Italian players have superior professional records, the commentators observe that the Chileans have an advantage in playing at home. In the three days of competition, Italy will rely heavily on Adriano Panatta, aged 26, ranked among the top 10 tennis players in the world. Chile’s star is Jaime Fiilol, aged 30. Soccer change? New Zealand’s World Cupj soccer matches with Taiwan and Australia, scheduled for; March 20 to 30, may be postponed a few days. The Australian Soccer Federation has received a cable from Singapore, which is to stage the Taiwan v. Australia matches, offering March 16 and 19 for the game. This would not fit in with the New Zealand dates but may be accepted for financial reasons.