Shots at the "Jack" By the Free Lance Special Correspondent.

Free Lance, Volume VI, Issue 291, 27 January 1906, Page 16

Shots at the "Jack" By the Free Lance Special Correspondent.

SATURDAY night last in, Dunedin did not hold out any brilliant prospects for the South Island tournament of 1906. Bam was falling in a steady, stolid, business-like fashion that was suggestively Scotch. For all that, the Agricultural Hall was crowded with bowlers from all pairts of the South Island, to say motihing 1 of twentyfou>r from Wellington, and! an odd one or two from Napier and Auckland, all anxious to make their entries for the Champion Rink Match. They were a jolly crowd, in spite of the weather out>aide. Many of them 'had been sampling the local bowling 'greens, until driven off by the rain, and tastang of local hospitality between the showers, and jokes were being cracked on every hand. Newtown was nearly tickled to death because one of its champions had been taken for a street tote. He was standing outedde his hotel in Princes Street, explaining to a Southern skip how he won his last championship, when a gigantic Scotch bobby strode up and, without the faintest mark of deference, said: "Here, noo, awa wi ye I Move on, at yinst!" Oton Stevens turned up unexpectedly ait the haU, and the word was promptly passed along that he was out on. the tracks of the "Wellington Club, and! meant to enter his Hutt rink, and repeat the threshing he gave the other day to Churchward'© rink. Ortwn, however, protested that his intentions were entirely peaceful. He hadn't the heart to pour water on drowned! rats. Barnett, from Christchurch, was very chirpy. He had brought down from Canterbury a bowler with a wooden leg, and was willing to take his affidavit no one would be able to spot the wooden leg. Meanwhile, the executive, headed by President Payne and) Secretary Wheeler, received the rink entries, and made the draw in that brisk, methodical, and precise way they have in the South, and which compels the admiration of the Northern visitors. Seventy-eight rinks entered — a record) for the Australasian colonies — and the 312 players were parcelled out with great celerity over the five greens available for_ playing, viz. Dumedin. Caledonian, Kaituna, Roslyn, and St. K-lda. That meant three sections of sixteen rinks each, and two sections of fifteen rinks each — winners to play winners, and losers to play losers, through six games of sixteen heads each. Four of these games were to be got through on Monday, a time-limit of two hours bedng fixed for each game, and no fresh head to be started after the umpire had rung his bell. Play was to start punctually at 8.30, and! any rink behind time was to forfeit a point for every five minutes it was, late. , Local rinks were allotted to neutral greens as far as possible, and where there were a number of ranks from the same club they were distributed as widely as possible over the different sections so that, in the earlier rounds at any rate, club mates should not be pitted against each other. • • ♦ The rink matches started on Monday, five greens being fully occupied, and four rounds were got through, the play lasting from 8.30 till 6.30. For the first round there was fine weather. Duiring the second and third rounds several showers of rain fell, and there were also showers of hail on Roslyn and Kaituna greens. It was amusing to watch the skips with umbrellas up, and players generally with overcoats or mackintoshes on during the rainy spells. On Ihinedm green, two Empire City teams were located. Hemmingway, Bary, Price, and Braokenridge, of the Victoria Club, tasted the bitterness of defeat in their first encounter. They were pitted against J. Look, of InvercargiiT, younger brother of Tom Lock. Young Lock had a fine lead in his own father-in-law, with whom he won the Pairs Match at a recent Invercargill tournament. He drew first blood, and in the first six heads scored 7 to 2. In the seventh head, Brackenridge got in 4, and on the eleventh head! scored 3, making the game 10" all. Only singles were scored after this. Lock lay 3on the last head, but Brackenridge drew the second shot with his 1 last bowl, losing the game by 12 to 14. In bis second game, Braokenridge mci Sandie Young, of Green Island, whose Jiigh voice filled the green with broad Scotch. It was a ding-dong event right through, and Jamie and Santiie were galloping up and down the heads after their bowls at a great rate, coaxing and posturing as only your na-tive-born Scottish skip can do. At the eleventh head, Sandie got Jamie under

the wlhip, and kept him there, winning by lb to 12. Brackenridge's third event was against Lefevre, ot PaJmeistoai South, whom he beat by 18 to 13. He got 5 on, the eighth head, and Lefevre got 5 in the next head. Brackenridge had a narrow escape in the fourth game, which was played against White, of Dunedin. For the first nine head* a& scared 14 to 4 but White nwdrca 5 on the fifteenth head, and staited the last head one up Hvnckenxidge scored 3an the last hea<* and won 18 to 16, making two -w-^ and two losses for the day. Geddis, Thompson, Bush, and Moult mad© a better record, coming through the day with three wins and one loss. The first game was played against four ripe and seasoned! Southland players, skipped by R. Taylor. It was virtually lost in the thud head. Taylor whacked out WeTlTngtoH's second and third shots, and lay six. Th& head was spread out fan shape, the jack lying open to a draw on either hand. Moult, however, drove for the jack, and missed and Southland scored 6, making the game 7to 2. Wellington crept up steadily, and started' the last head three down. Their lead placed a shot on the jack, and Moult drew second and third shots with two beauties. This mad© a tie, and in the play off, Rename (third man) drew the shot with a bowl which won the game from Wellington by less than, an eighth-of-an-moh. It was the closest event of the day. Moults team in the second round beat Dnnedin Caledonian, skipped by Collins, rather easily— l 7 to 11. The lssiue was never in doubt. In the third round, they defeated Secular, of Roslyn, by 15 to 10, aftei a keen struggle. Scoular was strong on raking shots, and put up 9 to 4 for ten heads. After this, Wellington rang on 1 — 1 — 3—3 — 1 — 5 in one break. In the fourth round, Moults team won in a canter against Walker, of Port Chalmers— lB to 11. They stopped scoring after putting up 18 to 3. for 12 heads. Bell's Wellington Club team — Fred flaybittle, Veitch, Harry Smith, and jjell wa s engaged on the Caledonian green. Lake Moult, they started with a loss, and then rang on three wins. The first game was lost to Leggatt, of Southland, by 14 to 18, through nard luck. On the last head, with two points down, they were lying five shots. The Southland skip played wide, but whicked in by a fluke to third place. He had another fhiky whiok with his 4 last bowl, and got the shot with it. In the second fame, against Muichison, of Caledonian, it was a steady go for twelve heads, after which Bell drew away, and won by 22 to 13. He nexb met Ooltman, of Kaituna, and made a jubilee march of it — 37 to 11. The fourth game was against A. F. Smith, of Invercargill (North End), which was a neck and aieck event right through, Bell winning by 14 to 11. Smith is a dentist, of Invercargill, and was runineir-up in the Wellington Paws of 1902. On the Kaituna green, Andy Hamilton's Wellington rink (Scott, Remington, Webb, and Hamilton) were battling away very pluckily, but with email luck. When the rain oame on they were disconcerted by the innovation, of oauvas covers being pinned down at each end of the rink for six feet in front or the mat. Hamilton lost his first game to Erskme, of Southland, rather unfortunately. He started the last head with 16 to 14. Erskine was lying two shots, making a tie, and Andy, by an ill-starred whiek, gave them 3 more, lifting them from 14 to 19 against his own 16. ■In the second round, he beat McKinnon, of Oamaru, by 25 to 7, and in the third round lost to Bentley, of Kaituna by 13 to 24, and in the fourth round lost to Mclntyre, of Taaen, by 18 to 14 after holding the lead for ten heads. The Taieri men were cute in throwing up the jack beyond the pinned-down canvas previously referred to, which interfered with the running of the bowls. They rang on three 3's in this way. Godber, Mackay, Fred Townsend, and Snaddon, who played, like Bell, on the Caledonian green, opened their programme for the Victoria Club by losing to Campbell, of Port Chalmers, by 23 to 12. In fact, they never had a look in. They made a brilliant win against Peake, of Dunedin, on the last head. Peake was three up, and Snaddon's team rang on four, and lifted the game out of the fire — 15 to 14. They struck heavy weather in the third round, when Dall, of Kaituna, smashed them up 20 to 6. In the fourth round, they suffered a third defeat, at the hands of Murchison, of Caledonian — 11 to 18. Prince's Newtown team was located on the Roslyn green, and, with four wins to their credit, made the best record amongst the Wellington irinks. They fairly out-classed their opponents in the first three games, beating J. A. Millar. M.H.R., and his Wakatipu team by 21 to 9, Esson of Sterling by 17 to 12, and Hancock of St. Clair by 21 to 9. But, in Tom Lock, of Gore,

whom they met in the fourth round, they had a toeman worthy of their steel, and JNlewtown had to play all they knew. They obtained a lead of one on the ninth head, andl kept their advantage., winning by 18 to 15. On the day's play, J. Lock, of Invercargill, stands on top of the DunedLn section, wutbr four wins ; Ham, of Inyercaigill, on top of the Kaituna .section, with four wins; Prince, of Newtown, on top of the Roslyn section, with four wins ; Johnston, of Dunedin, on top of the St. Kilda section, with four wins; and McDonald, of Green Island, oni top of the 1 Caledonian section, with four wins. McLaren got a severe defeat from McDonald, who led l for him in Wellington, and Allnutt came through the day with one win and three losses. Barnett and Barlow, the Chrktdtourch cracks, also fared badly. In each section two more games remain to be played on Wednesday. • ♦ • Dunedin, Wednesday night. The rink matches were resumed this morning, with the fifth and sixth rounds. Rain began to fall, and the sixth round was played in a heavy downpour. On the Dune dm green, Moults Wellington team won their games, beating Heroii, of Oaina.ru by 16 to 13, and J. J. Lock, of Invercargill, by 13 to 5. With five wins and one loss to their credit, they tied with R. Taylors Invercargill team, which had previously won from them bv a very close measure. The play-off produced a keen, dingdong game, the time being strictly limited to 90mins. Time was called at tlhe close of the eleventh head with Taylor a winner by 10 to 6. Lying the second shot, but wanting three to tie, Moult drove the jack into the ditch, and lay the game with four shots. Taylor, however, had! the last bow 1 !, and drew the shot with it. Brackenridge's Victoria rink, with two losses down, won in the fifth round against Hardy, of Christchurch, and in the sixth round won from W. L. MacJoe, of Taderi. On the Caledonian green, Bell, of Wellington, with one loss down, sustained two more defeats, first by McLaren, of Dunedin, 14 to 12, and next by McDonald, of Green Island, 21 to 9. McDonald was lead and McLaren skip of the Southland rink that won in the Wellington tournament a fortnight ago. On the Kaituna green, Andy Hamilton, of Wellington, won both his fifth and sixth rink games, beating Gee, of Canterbury, 19 to 9, and Crawford, of Roslyn, 21 to 6. Still, he didn't reach tlhe top of his section. Smaddon, of Victoria, was on the Caledonian green, and lost both his fifth and sixth games 14 to 21 and 8 to 15, to Ro&lyn and Dtunedin. Of all the- Wellington rinks, Prince's Newtown veterans were the most successful m the fifth round. On the Roslyn green they dressed down Charlie Payne's team by 17 to 14, and in the next round met their first check from Wilson, of Roslyn, who got 17 to their 14. This left them oin level t&rms on top of their section with Hancock, of St. Clair, and Wilson, of Roslyn, with whom they played off in turn, and. worn. Then followed the semi-final, with R. Taylors Invercargill rink, fresh from their victory over Moults team. A splendid contest followed, lasting v,il 8.30. On the last head, wanting two to tie Taylor got them by magnificent play, Rennie, third man, playing a beautiful shot for one, and Taylor himself whisking up another after nominating it as the shot he meant to try for. In the head to play off the tie, Taylor placed a bowl right on the kitty, and the head was broken up and burst. Then came the climax. Brrghtwell drew, missing the shot, and Prince himself drew, and won a brilliant game by two up. This Inveircargill rink is composed of the genial, sylph-like J. Taylor, A. D. Millar (the dusty miller), urbane Jack Rennie, with Bob Taylor as skip. They are all tip-top players', and jolly good fellows to boot. Prince's warriors now meet Dr. Hislop's Kaitangata rink in the final, and if they come through it will be the third' time in four years George Prince has carried off the South Island rink championship. Truly, he is a prinoe among bowlers, and Wylie, Brightwell, and Roberts have been playing splendidly for him. Newtown ought to be proud of her bowling champions.