Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, JUNE 15th., 1935. TOO OLD AT—?

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 June 1935, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. AND BRUNNERTON ADVOCATE. SATURDAY, JUNE 15th., 1935. TOO OLD AT—?

’J’HE selection of the All Blacks team has revived the discussion as to when a Rugby player

is “too old” for first-class matches.

There are always exceptions to any rule but it is generally admitted

that once a man is 30 his physicalRugby troubles begin seriously to affect his play. Most of the All Black probables are in the middle) 20’s, and it would seem that dur-' ing this decade footballers are in J their prime. It will be interesting 110 note whether any of those selected as All Blacks for the forthcoming tour of Britain have' reached the age of 30, or whether 1 the selectors place great value on' youth. j What is the sport that is most ' exhausting to those participating '

in it? That must bo a mattor oL ! opinion. Few would, perhaps, place table-tennis in first place in this category, yet a world-champion jilayer recently declared that at this game, a man is past his best at the ago of 25. Tennis admittedly grows more strenuous. A. Paris cablegram, to-day, told of Laeoste’s experiments with a less bouncing ball, in the endeavour to make championship tennis / less a test of endurance. Most champions have to surrender hope of high honours after reaching the age of 30. Boxers, too, if wise, quit the ring when about the same age, and even golf, once “an old man’s game,” finds that youth must be served, many championships now going to men in their *2o’s, and sometimes when in their ’teens. Cricket is one sport kinder, to the veteran, Hobbs, Macartney and Hendren, being instancesof elderly men (from a sports estimate) being able to win laurels. Strangely enough, long-distance running, which, at first thought, appears to demand youth, has supplied several instances of the old being able to hold, a notable example being Arthur Newton, one of the greatest performers of all time. lie did not take up the sport till comparatively late in life, and broke his record for the 100 miles at the age of 44. That was exceptional, of course. There seems to be no definite period when a man becomes “too old” to follow favourite pursuits, and some are reluctant to retire from contests in which they have Avon glory, if not fortune. Yet the man himself should be able to tell if continuance of his efforts is exacting heavy penalty, and if so, wise is he who profits by the first warnings. Many a heart has become weak through over-strain. To be candid, many a. veteran is wished further by others, if he insists upon activity when he should be content with memories. Of course, there are always “monkey glands.”