With the Wheelmen

Evening Star, Issue 23325, 22 July 1939, Page 5 (Supplement)

With the Wheelmen

__ l By Eedaller.]

CYCLING NEWS AND NOTES DUNEDIN AMATEUR DOINGS Fixtures. July 29.—Mosgiel to Waihola and return; short race 11 miles. August s.—Harrison Cup, Milton to Green Island. August 12.—Mosgiel to Clarendon and return (Beale Cup); Mosgiel to Allanton and return. August 19.—Mosgiel to Milton and return; Mosgiel to Outram and return. THE NEW CHAMPION KEN. DENTON DESERVES HONOUR After being close to success in the last two seasons and always riding consistently, K. Denton thoroughly deserved his win in the Otago 25-mile championship last Saturday. This is the first time that he has had an important win although he has been running the' scratch men close for soma time. While it was unfortunate that_ D. A. Smart, the holder of the title, punctured and was put out of the running, the riders agreed that Denton was the best man hr the race by doing more than his share of the work and always maintaing a fast pace. ' Owing to the tmsuitable state of the roads on the Taieri the race was held on an out-and-home course _ between Mosgiel and Taieri River Bridge past Henley. It is a pity that this had to be done as the 8 1-3 mile circuit which the officials had marked out is ideal for a circuit race. The field very soon became strung out, and this was probably the cause of the middle and long markers being out of the sealed handicap. In fact, the latter did not ride as well as they would have done had the race been a handicap Instead of a massed start event. E Boyd, who was runner-up last year, filled a similar position this year, although it was expected that he would sprint the others home if the the finish was close. • In addition to Denton and Bovd, A. Drury (Invercargill), J. M'Connell, and R. Shepherd contended the sprint and it was not surprising the riders did not pass the line at much closer intervals. Two other Invercargill riders were O. Drury and T. Waddick, both of whom rode well and were well, up in the placings. C. Hansen disappointed—he finished eighth—but obviously he is not very .fit at present. As was expected, C. Wilson _ was the first junior to finish, repeating last year’s performance. He was easily the best junior, the others being first year riders. ,

D. Shepherd and A. Conn were second and third in this.section, although they finished 14 minutes behind Wilson. In another year or two, Wilson should be capable of winning tne senior event. Of the middle-markers, R. Maitland and A. Umbers rode well, being next to the back-men in_ the sealed handicap, the latter carrying off all the plaeings ■ ■' •, ; C. FlowdfsV'jvbn the "sealed handicap by half a minute ■ from K. Denton. Flowers was expected to-be well.up in this section, although he is a shortmarker. He will be on harder marks now as it needed just one more good placing to put him on the scratch marie. J. M‘Connell was third in the handicap, and as it happened the first eight riders in the _ championship were also the first eight in the sealed handicap, although differently placed. CLUB AFFAIRS. At a recent meeting of the Dunedin Club committee it was decided to award the Beale Cup for the race from Mosgiel to Clarendon and return. A postponement committee was elected to nave power of postponement on the day' of a race. This decision arose from the recent change of date of the M'Lachlan Cup race, and the necessity for some members to take the ' responsibility. All club fixtures were put forward one week. It was pleasing to see the club’s president (Mr H. W. Laws) present at the championship event after his recent accident. He made the presentation of prizes to the successful riders. GASH CLUB DOINGS The Green Island Club held its weekly race on Saturday, the weather being cold but dry, and with the exception of the southerly wind the conditions were fair. The time for the 15 miles

was not so good as it should have been. It was two minutes slower than it took to do the same distance a few weeks ago. This was probably owing to the scratch bunch being broken up. The number of competitors was not quite so good as usual, as some of the riders elected to have a spell after the gruelling race the Saturday before. Riders will have to get down to hard training in view of the Otago 50-mile championship to be held in September. The club does not intend to apply for the 60-mile New Zealand championship this year, as the number of outside riders taking part does not warrant the preparStions'or the expense involved in running such a big race. Clubs do not get the support from the centre or from the New Zealand Council when staging a New Zealand championship race. . The Green Island Club intends putting on a big prize list for the 50-mile Otago championship, both in cash and trophies. The date of the race will be decided at _ a meeting on Thursday night, as it is considered unsafe to ride over Saddle Hill owing to motor traffic on the road. It seems that the 50mile race will be held at Henley, probably over a point-to-point course or twice over the 25-mile course. _ The latter would be more interesting to supporters and spectators. Given a fine day the outing would be a very enjoyable one. Joe Woodford, the club captain, is in great form this season. His effort to get fastest time last week was _ a good one, and riding most of the distance by himself he stuck to his work well, and gained time by 19 seconds from R. Wilson-Pyne, who also rode most of the distance by himself. He left his co-markers before reaching the Coach and Horses the first time round, and from then on it was a great tussle between him and the club captain for time. The ride will do both men a lot of good for future races. Len Bell did not compete on Saturday, owing to machine trouble. It was a pity, as his presence would have made a much better race of it. _ Len is in good form this year, and his effort in the 25-mile championship was a very good one. A. Woodford did not get far on Saturday before he had a puncture,

which put him out of the race. It was unfortunate, as he needs all the riding and training he can get. He is on a tough mark, and if fit on the day will be a very hard man to beat in the 50-mile race. He rode well in this event last year, and was the first Otago man home. He is a good, solid rider, although over the short distance ho went last week he did not seem to be at his best.

O. Gardiner has suffered a lapse foom form, or perhaps the scratch bunch is a little too tough for him. However, as he is vez-y young and very keen, in a season or two he will be among the best riders in Otago.’ W. J. Whiston is riding better every Saturday. His effort in the 25-mile championship was a very good one, and it seems that his win has given him a lot of confidence. He is training well, and as he is big and strong, he will also be a tough proposition in the 50mile championship. Whiston is being trained by J. Kennedy, the ex-New Zealand 50-mile amateur winner, who knows the game well, and his advice is worth having. It is largely due to the coaching Whiston is getting that he is improving. He is not sitting his machine as he should do, but that will come in time.

J. Kinghorn came to light again to register his second win on Saturday. He won this race over the same course earlier in the season. His younger brother rode well to get second place. This lad is only 16 years of age and gives it a go all the way. A win for this boy would be very popular. The Macartney brothers are showing better form, and it may not be long before one of them scores a win. They were not able to stave off the great finish by Whiston. The 50-mile championship _ may see these Portobello riders doing it well. J. Kennedy needs some hard training to reproduce some of his old form. He can stay all the way, hut cannot work up a good finish. J. Mitchell is not riding as he was earlier in the season. He seems to take the earlier part of the races too easy, and did not see the race out on Saturday.

lines. The game was not considered finished at 6 p.m., and was resumed the following Saturday, on which day, at 5 p.m. (after nearly three hours’ play) it ended in a draw, the University kicking a goal, which equalised the goal got by the School the previous Saturday. The Dunedin Football Club was formed the same year, the first meeting being held in the lodgings of Mr William Begg, who later became Walter Bentley, the well-known actor. Mr G. M. Thomson was one of the founders of this club also, William Begg was the first secretary, and other foundation members were J. C. Thomson, T. Macfarlane, Robert Park, G. L. Denniston, A. K. Smith, H. Rose, W. G. Dixon, and F. R. Smith. * * • * There will he many to remember the game between D. R. Bedell-Sivright’s British team in 1904 and a combined Otago-Southland fifteen. The OtagoSouthland team comprised some famous players, being H. Murphy, C. Gilray, R. Rennet, R. Baxter, J. W. Stead, W. Munro, C. Hislop, D. Robinson, E. Hughes (the player who was hooking for New Zealand against South Africa 17 years later), R. Abbott, G. Burley, R. Adamson, A. M'Donald, D. Stuart, and I. Jenkins. The game was played on a rain-soaked ground. Great Britain winning by 14 to 8, but what will probably stand out most vividly was , the marvellous potted goal by Bush for Lhe British team from the sideline well beyond the twenty-five. The ball came to Bush from loose play, and he potted a beauty. The late Donald Stuart used to say that he regarded this as the finest'field goal he had ever seen. Others have classed it as one of the finest ever seen on the Caledonian Ground.

When Southern won the premiership in 1912 the final with University, won by Southern by 11 to 5, was responsible for one of. the, greatest displays of organised barracking seen in a club game in Dunedin. The match was played on the Caledonian Ground, which presented an appearance not paralleled since the days when Kaikorai and Alhambra fought their strenuous engagements for the flag. There were fully 8,000 spectators, and the smokers’ stand, well known to prewar Rugby followers, had a solid hunch of Varsity barrackers, dressed in white and forming the figure V, Varsity. When Southern took the field the V rose and gave them a cheer, but when the Blues followed a hundred voices took up the Varsity war cry. This was the first evidence of organised barracking, but before the game had been going many minutes it was evident that the supporters of each side were organised on the Californian system at various points of vantage along the line of action

When famous tries are spoken of, who will ever forget the great effort, started by Ivor Jones and finished by Morley, in the first Rugby test between New Zealand and Great Britain at Carisbrook on June 21, 1930—a try which enabled the British team to emerge victorious by 6 points to 3 after one of the most exciting annd closelycontested games of Rugby seen on Carisbrook. The first spell was nearly all in favour of the British side, and for nearly' aW the second spell New Zealand was on attack. A drawn -game seemed inevitable, but at the eleventh hour Ivor Jones, a truly great forward, secured the ball not far from his own goal line, galloped through the defence, fended off half a dozen would-be tacklers, and ran to halfway, where he sent to Morley, who went straight for the line and scored one of the most sensational tries seen on Carisbrook. “ li, was reminiscent of the great try scored by Steele in the first test with the Springboks, but it was even more meritorious, because it took a great deal more effort and skill than the earlier one.” Let the reporter of the day, however, describe Morley’s try In his own words:— “ New Zealand was having the better of a tight scrimmage, but the Englishmen were breaking, and as a pass shot out Ivor Jones intercepted it about 10yds from his own line. New Zealand was taken by surprise as Ivor Jones set sail down the field and fended off several men. ''Cooke was the exception, and he was the only one who sensed the direction play was going to take. He made towards Morley’s wing, and at halfway Ivor Jones passed to Morley, who outpaced the opposition, though Cooke made an heroic attempt to catch him. Morley made no mistake and went straight for the corner to touch down amid deafening applause.”

It was again the übiquitous Ivor Jones who was largely responsible for a sensational try in the dying stages of the second test at Christchurch, which was won by New Zealand by 13 points to 10. This was the description of what was described as the most

brilliant try ever notcned at Lancaster £ a . r kA typical loose burst found Britain in difficulties on tbeir own line. With sensational change of fortune Beamish secured from the lineout, and handed to Spong. He passed to Jones, who transferred to Prentice. Phe ball went badk to Jones, who outpaced the New Zealand forwards and raced from his own line to Nepia. He passed to Aarvold, who showed a pair of clean feet to the All Black backs to score the most brilliant try ever notched at Lancaster Park; and that was something.” It was the last half-minute of a game at Carisbrook several years ago. The ground was wet and the ball heavy. Play was on the line, the defending side struggling to retain its lead of three ponts. With the idea of giving away a penalty kick (he frankly admitted this afterwards) from which it was odds against a goal being kicked, the full-back of the defending side came alongside the scrum. At the same moment, however, the ball came out to the enterprising little half-back of the attackers, and he went round the other side of the scrum for a welldeserved try, which made the match a draw.

The occasion when Dave Trevathan first played for Otago ranks as a notable one, since no player of any period could have given the province more faithful service than this fine footballer. Until halfway through the 1934 season Trevathan was full-back in the Southern team, and a very good one, too, but an injury to the first fiveeighth, R. Sutherland, resulted in his being shifted to the five-eighth position, and he immediately adapated himself to it. The * Sports Special ’ of July 14, 1934, described him as a real “ find,” and 11 days later he made his first appearance in representative football, partnering H. F. Fookes in the five-eighths line against Hawke’s Bay at Carisbrook. Trevathan’s contribution on that occasion consisted of two penalty goals, and in his next game against Canterbury two or three weeks later he assisted Otago to a 16-12 victory with a pot and two penalty goals. How often his magic boot has come to Otago’s assistance since then is known to all Rugby followers.

Tries in Rugby do not generally come easily; they mostly require skill, combination, and speed. Occasionally, however, a “ gift ’’ try is obtained. An instance of this occurred in a Union-Southern game about 10 years ago. A penalty kick was taken by Prebble (Southern half-back), and, though the ball did not go between the uprights, the one line umpire who had come round behind the posts signalled a goal._ The whistle did not blow, yet the Union players, thinking a goal had been kicked, left the ball undisturbed for a moment. Wilson,' of Southern, almost “ strolled ” across and touched down, the referee awarding a try.

There are instances of brothers playing in the same club team, but not often da both of them secure representative honours at the one time. This distinction was won by the M‘Skimming brothers, however, in the Otago side in 1933 and 1934. In most of the games in which they both played Hector was a wing three-quarter and Ron a fixe-eighth, but in several games the complete five-eighth line was a family affair.