TOPICAL TATTLE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4433, 12 September 1939, Page 3

TOPICAL TATTLE

NEWSY NOTES ON SPORT

Another Use for Gold. Vivian M'Grath says he Avas the wealthiest player competing in the recent Australian hardcourt tennis championships. He is having gold injections in an attempt to cure arthritis in the right wrist. While he was playing he was carrying £ls Ayorth of gold in his veins. May Play in Canada. The Australian Rugby, Union team which Avill tour Great Britain may play several matches in Canada on its Avay home early next year, providing permission can be obtained from the British Rugby Union. The Canadian games Avould be played in Vancouver and Victoria in January or February of 1940. Rep. Games Next Week. Important Rugby fixtures on Wednesday next: —Fiji v. King Country, Otago v. Wanganui, Southland v. South Canterbury. Games next Saturday:—Fiji v. Auckland, Southland v. Canterbury, Wellington v. Hawke’s Bay, Otago v. Taranaki, Ashburton v. South Canterbury. Rules Are All Right. The former Australian international cricketer, Alan Kippax, blames deterioration of Avickets into hard mud ” for slow and unentertaining cricket. “ The main conversation in cricketing circles is the supposed brightening of cricket, alteration of the rules, and so on,” he said. ‘ 1 am firm in the belief that there is nothing wrong Avith the rules of cricket. It is in the hands of the players themselves, maybe Avith the help of the selectors, and no legislation Avill brighten it up.” Promising Young Player. Several fine performances have been given this season by R. N. Finlay, who plays centre three-quarter for the Hamilton Old Boys’ Rugby Club, but lie gave one of his best displays Avhen his side defeated Rovers at Rugby Park, Hamilton, by 6 points to 3 (says the Auckland ‘ Herald ’). Last season Finlav Avas a pupil of the Hamilton High' School, whore he gained a fine sporting record in running, cricket, and football. It is considered by many that he should be given a trial with the Waikato fifteen. Popular Administrator. One ex-Otago man who contributed a good deal toAvards the entertainment of the Otago Rugby team during its stay in Wellington was Mr D. T. Woodfield, the Otago delegate on the Ncav Zealand Athletic Council (writes “Hooker”). Mr Woodfield Avas a former Ncav Zealand hockey representative and a prominent sAvimming and water polo official Avhen in Dunedin, and he retains his interest in Otago activities, and on the night of the match entertained a party of the Otago team at his home, Avherc the visiting players Avero also afforded the opportunity of meeting B. S. (“ Joey ”) Sadler, the famous All Black half-back. B’est Ever. The German runner, li. Harbig, avlio clipped l-10sec from the AA’orld’s 400 metres the other day (Harbig did 46sec), must be just about the greatest track man Germany has ever produced. For, only a feAA; A\ - eeks ago, Harbig knocked quite a lump from S. C. Wooderson’s Avorld’s 800-metre figures. Forty-six seconds for 400 metres is fast tramping in any language. In fact, it’s amazing travelling. Think of it. An average time of 23sec for 200 metres. Many Ncav Zealand sprinters Avould be very pleased Avith themselves if they could run round about 23sec for a single 200 metres. A Great Duel. The cricket at Bristol on July 1 in the match betAveeu Gloucestershire and Kent was worth going a long way to see. C. J. Barnett played a good innings of 66, but it Avas the duel be-tAA-een W. R. Hammond and D. B. P. Wright AA’hich focused attention. Wright had all the Gloucestershire batsmen in difficulties on a good wicket except their captain, avlio shielded his colleagues as much as possible from Wright’s boAA-ling. Wright at one period obtained three wickets (Crapp, Emmett, and Neale) in one over, and he finished off the innings Avith a hat-trick—Haynes, Lambert, and Goddard being his victims. His full analysis was; 21.5 overs, 8 maidens, 47 runs, 9 Avickets. These are remarkable figures Avhen it is realised that Hammond Avas at his oavh magnificent best, scoring 153 not out, out of 241 runs Avhile ho Avas at the Avickets. He hit a six and 19 fours. Wright, who boAvls leg-breaks at medium pace, Avas one of England’s most successful bowlers in the 1938 tests with Australia. * Too Costly. Jabez Woltfe, veteran long-distance SAvimmer and the man avlio trains Channel sAvimmers, does not think any attempt av ill be made to swim the English Channel this slimmer. “It costs too much money,” he says. “ About £3OO at least. The trouble is that girls avlio can afford this sum are too lazy, and those avlio Avould like to swim the Channel can’t afford it. I think it’s about time an English girl eAvam it in record time. But I can’t sec it happening this year.” Three Centuries in Day. Thousands of sportsmen have prayed that they might make a century at their oavh particular sport, and their prayer has not ahvays been answered. A note of a record performance in Avhich an athlete made three centuries in ouo day Avas recently reported in the ‘Australasian’ (Melbourne). Mr Philip Lee, a Avell-knoAvn South Australian boAvler, some years ago, did the folloAving remarkable performance: 111 the morning he took part in a rifle shooting match, and scored 100 out of 105. In the afternoon he played ill a cricket match and scored 100 (retired). In the evening he made a break of 100 in a billiards match.

Eton-Harrow Sequel. In the wild melee which followed Harrow’s defeat of Eton in the annual cricket match at Lord’s recently—its first victory for 31 years—an old Etonian had his trousers torn off by

rival old Harrovians. A sequel to the incident was the following advertisement in the “ agony ” column of ‘ The Times ’:—“ Eton versus Harrow.— Will the numerous Harrovians who attempted to divest a very ‘ old Etonian ’ of his trousers and deprived him of two treasured five-shilling pieces, also a gold safety-pin, please return one or all to the Army and Navy Club?” An unknown man subsequently called at the _ club and handed over the five-shilling pieces, but the safety-pin has not been recovered , Father and Son on Range. The Pershing Trophy for small bore rifle shooting was won from Great Britain by the United States by a margin of 19 points on the Ham and Petersham Rifle Club range, near Bislev, on July 9. The scores were: United States, 3.950; Great Britain, 3,931. The trophy, which was presented by General Pershing to encourage rifle’ shooting, has been contested for only twice before, in 1931 and 1937. On each of these occasions it was won by Britain by a margin of two points. An interesting feature of the 1939 match was that a father and son, H. W. Johnson and R. IT. Johnson, were among members of the British team, and each scored 392 points. R. H. Johnson is only 19. Australian Soccer. In order to develop the game in Australia, the Australian Soccer Association has decided to make an application to the English Football Association for a loan of £6,000. It wishes to buy grounds in each of the capital cities ‘ in Australia with this money. Another decision was that an effort should be made to send a team to England and the Continent after the Australian tour of South Africa in 1941. This has been hailed as a wise move, for even if only mid-week games could be obtained in England it is thought that those would bo of great value. An Athletics Plan. Harvard and Yale met Oxford and Cambridge at the White City recently under a plan made in 1921. It was then arranged that these two American universities should go to England the year before each Olympic Games, and British athletes should visit America the year after the Games. Princeton and‘Cornell joined the scheme, and they cross the Atlantic two years after each Olvmpic Games. British athletes have a‘separate match against each combination every four years when they go to America . The sequence remains unbroken and so does the custom of the rival teams living and training together. This was introduced in 1920 1 when Princeton went to Oxford.