Footballers Battle With Mud

Northern Advocate, 1 August 1938, Page 3

Footballers Battle With Mud

Kipling’s muddied oofs were in their glory at Rugby Park, Whangarei. on Saturday, when spectators derived much amusement from watching the frantic efforts of the players—and even referees too at times—to cleanse themselves of the clinging mixture. Intent upon sparing no effort which might make for success, Roos, the City skipper, borrowed a skirt of Clotworthy’s jersey, using ft as a doormat to make sure that there was no foreign matter on the boot with which •lie essayed a kick at goal. Jerseys soon became so caked (hat they lost their value as face cloths, and the referee, Mr R. Miller, was first to recognise the. possibilities of the line umpire's flag in this connection. Bathing in Billies. Billies of fresh water, left on the sideline, wore freely used. Sometimes, however, the players were so blinded that they could not find their way to the bath, and the line umpire ran on to the field to assist in the ablutions. While two men .were being treated m this manner, one cf the City forwards decided to go the whole hog. and a burst of laughter went up as lie splashed into one of the ditches on the sideline. It is on such occasions that the warm showers, provided by a benevolent Union, are particularly acceptable. Headers at Jubilee Park. Somewhat similar scenes were witnessed at the League football games at Jubilee Park. At the conclusion of hostilities, players made a bee-line for the water* of the stream Which flews through the grounds, in an attempt to make faces and hands more presentable to civilisation and less suited to Ihe cultivation of potato's.