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Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7412, 20 December 1930, Page 19

Colonel Philip Trevor notes that too many stand-olf half-hacks and centre three-quarters in British Rugby make kicking the hall the rule and passing it the exception. Here is his view ot the practice:

The kicking practice is surely asserting itself in modern Rugger with almost disdainful insolence. Even as a technical manoeuvre it is hard to defend. Presume your kicker to he able to land the ball with his foot with the precision that a Wilfred Rhodes lands a cricket ball with his hallo. Eien with all that preliminary accuracy, can you reasonably hope that your kicker, or one of his comrades, will be on the psychological spot at the psychological moment to gather it on the bounce? To ask that question is to answer it. Not once in 50 times is that manoeuvre repaid with practical success, and every time it fails the 14 comrades of the man who has gambled away his inheritance —for it amounts to that—are proportionately discouraged.

Professional boxing on the Pacific Coast of the United States of America seems to he still in a bad way. A writer in the “San Francisco Chronicle” looks at it thus: If there is any prescription to revive waned interest in the boxing game, club promoters would certainly welcome the information. While it is quite true the cards offered in these days of doldrums for the fistic game are by no moans high class, the absolute indifference of even the scanty few who attend is remarkable. It is as much as to say they go to the shows because it is a fixed habit and yet don’t follow happenings. The suggestion has been made that Young Corbett matched with a suitable opponent would he one means of rehabilitating the sport. Possibly that would help, but I’m thinking it will take drastic measures to put life back.

B. G. 1). Rudd, well-known South African athlete, who did much of bis running in Great Britain, draws attention to a difficulty in connection with the holding of Empire Games in South Africa, although he does not think that the difficulty is insurmountable:

At present the application by South Africa to hold Empire Games in 1931 has been granted. Whether South Africa will be able to finance this enterprise, stimulate local enthusiasm, and find a centre where all the existing Empire sports can he carried through, remains to be seen. The colour problem in South Africa, moreover, , may occasion acute tension. If it were deemed advisable for the New Zealand footballers to tour South Africa without Maori representatives, what is to happen to athletes from British Guiana (Phil Edwards and others) for the Empire Games?

The value of the British boys’ golf championship is noted by a writer in the “Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News,” London:

I remember, when the hoys’ golf championship was started on the Royal Ascot course, just after the war, certain superior persons turning up their noses and saying, “Good heavens, what next?” Having lived down a good deal of ridicule and opposition, the championship is now recognised as a wonderful training-ground for the youth of the country, and as such it has been the means of bringing to light many first-class golfers. Among them arc Ilenry Cotton, one of Britain’s leading professional players; Raymond Oppenlicimer, who has since captained Oxford, and was selected as a provisional member of the last Rritish Walker Cup team; Eric Fiddian, an English international, and, perhaps, the best young golfer in Britain; R. W. Peattie, a Scottish player of distinct merit; Eric Macßuvie, who was “capped” for Scotland in the last international; and James Lindsay, the boy champion.

Vincent Richards, professional lawn tennis champion of the world; summarises Johnny Doeg’s defeat of W. J. Tilden in one of the semi-finals of til® American amateur lawn tennis championship, won by Doeg: Throughout most of the four sets Doeg’s crisp, angled volleys had Big Bill jumping all over the court. Doeg was clever enough to use the one thing that has always bothered Tilden in match play, and that is the “centre theory.” The “centre theory” is nothing more than putting the ball down the centre of the court, and then coming in for the kill at the net. In Tilden’s case if. stops him from getting that long running drive down the line which is his best shot from the back of the court. Doeg played heady tennis in order to do this for four full sets.

Erie Martin, who writes about billiards for the London “Daily Herald,” has a very high opinion of Clark McConachy, but lie wrote the following before McConachy’s recent lapse from his true form: Had he not been contemporaneous with the all-conquering Lindrum, the serious-looking New Zealander would probably have been a world beater. McConachy knows all

the strokes, and, as an exponent of the top-of-the-table game, has no superior. Incidentally, he exploits

this phase of the game in a man* ner not quite in keeping with the conventional methods. JTe does r.ot keep the white ball tucked up under the cushion, as most of the professionals do. He keeps the object white several inches off the cushion, and deadly potting enables him to retain position.

In the last two years Yoshiro Ohta, a Japanese lawn tennis player who represented his country in Davis Cup matches, bad a remarkable series of successes in open singles at English tournaments. In one part of the 1928 season be won six of them in succession, and divided the singles at the seventh. When he left England a few months ago it was thought i hat this period of Japanese domination was ended. But apparently Ohta’s mantle was descended upon bis compatriot, R. Miki, who recently won the South of England championship singles, defeating, in succession. 11. W. Austin, 11. K. Lester, and C. ]f, Kingsley, and losing only one set (to Austin) in the process. The special iennis correspondent of the London “Observer’’ views Miki as follows :

Though he does not at present possess Ohta’s absolute imperturbability in face of any unexpected disaster, Miki has a fair share of the calm of the Orient; he also has all the shots, except for an occa-r sional lack of control on his backhand ground-shots; and, most valuable asset of all, he has, and uses, a brain. Possibly he would not always heat these three players again: but all of them might learn something about tactics from him.