ATHLETIC SPORTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17338, 9 December 1919, Page 6

ATHLETIC SPORTS.

0 FOOTBALL. THE RUGBY GAME. NOTES AND COMMENTS. Regarding the desire of certain Rugby Unions in New Zealand to introduce the amended rules, the Athletic News says: — " The English Rugby Football Union will have some very interesting business to transact one of these days. Prior to the recent annual general meeting the committee had had under consideration an inquiry from New Zealand asking whether alteration in the professional laws or laws of the game by their union would involve severance from the Rugby Union, and it was declared any such changes would mean severance—an opinion which ha? since been emphasised by letter. In the interval, however, the annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Union had been held, and certain resolutions passed. " The upshot of those resolutions has been that shrewd legislators like Dr. McEvedy and Messrs. Dixon, Fache, Wylie, and others are lost to the Rugby game in New Zealand, and further resignations are expected if the radical changes are persisted in as threatened by Auckland. When the belated cablegram, of the Rugby Union was later received, and it was known that> any alterations of the laws was tantamount to severance of affiliation the seriousness of the position became VT,*n.,i *„ „11 _„J 4U_ 1 I: .-4.- J.

patent to all, and the leading critics demanded review of the whole position. "Whether this has been done we cannot say : but it is positively certain that if 5 matches are played under the altered rules, a and the New Zealand Union give their approval, then there must automatically t follow ,a cessation of the friendly relations. 3 " To analyse the trend of New Zealand ? feeling is perfectly easy. In Auckland a the influence of the League is being felt, .- and it is hoped to introduce such, sweeping * innovations into the game which may make it from the spectacular point of view as j attractive as the Nortnern Union code. Auckland men protest against any such idea, but there it is. The great success of a tour of the New . Zealand League players in Australia, where in two greatgames 84.000 people paid £5500 to see-the performances, is certain to have further i effect upon the feeling of the Auckland \ legislators, and only the homecoming of the conquering Services team to play straight Rugger—if they are allowed to do so—is likely to have any check upon the demand for the spectacular. "The position can be reviewed thus: The New ZeaJanders—or a majority of the delegates to the union—desires to provide j an entertainment which will make money: in this country the demand is for the j * maintenance of a recreation for players i . The spectators and the toll are secondary ! considerations. Our brethren and cousins at the Antipodes cannot realise this essential difference." UNDER LEAGUE RULES. VISIT OF ENGLISH TEAM. Though the football season has closed the Australian authorities in Che two < branches of Rugby are engaged on mat- I fcers relating to next season, says the I Referee. The Rugby League is arranging ! • the programme in this country for trie Northern Union team expected to make j their appearance in Sydney in June. ■ Everyone is now sure that with keen discrimination by the State selectors New South Wales "will have a fine thirteen to oppose the visitors in the first match, with a dominant blend of youth among them, an element more or less wanting in the forces which tackled the last English team in their later matches here. The Rugby League has approved of the following itinerary for th e Englishmen. . though it is subject to the approval of the Northern Union:—June 0, against Sydney, at Sydney; June V, against N.S.W., at Sydney; June 12, against Queensland, at Brisbane ; June 16, against Queensland, country centre; June 19, against Australia, at Brisbane; 1 June 23, against Country Centre, in N.S.W.; '. June 26, against N.S.W., at Sydney; ; June 28, against Australia, at Sydney; July 3. against Australia, at Sydney. The English team will then proceed to New Zealand and play four Saturday and three mid-week fixtures. ■ No member of the English touring team will be allowed to transfer from an English to a N.S.W. or New Zealand club, or vice versa, until a two-years' actual residential qualification after the tour has been fully completed, nor is any player to be approached directly or indirectly during the progress of such tour. ! An effort will be made to bring the English team from Fremantle by the Transcontinental railway to give them an op- : portunity of getting properly fit before their first match. There will probably be nothing wrong with the fitness of the Englishmen for their first match, though \ they will probably be wanting in the fine points of combination to be revealed in their later football. ATHLETICS. NOTES AND COMMENTS. Alfred Shrubb, the champion long-dis-tance runner, who is on a visit to his home at Horsham from Canada, reap- | peared on the track at his native town I en Saturday (says the London Sportsman of August 18), where he has been in traini ipg for the past three weeks. He ran a five-mile race with a six-year-old trotting ! horse, Kitty M., in aid of the funds of ' the local cricket club. This was the ' . first time Shrubb had figured in a match 1 , oi the kind on this side of the Atlantic, I and much interest was aroused by the ' . event. The conditions were' that the I I horse, which is owned by Mr. Joseph i Burton, of Horsham, should draw a four- ' . wheeled vehicle with two occupants, the '' - total weight being 22st. In the event ' of the horse breaking into a gallop it was ; , to be turned completely round and the j distance recovered at a* trot. No whip j was allowed. Shrubb had the inside ! berth. The race started at 7.20 p.m. in [ > the presence of a large crowd. At the end ' o; the first mile the horse led bv 40yds, I and at the end of the second it" had" in- ' : creased its lead to three-quarters of a I lap. In the 14th lap Shrubb was lapped, I . and the horse finished the third mile a , lap and 40yds in front. At the end of the fourth mile the animal had increased i , its lead to nearly 1J laps, and it eventu- | ally won by about a lap and three-quar- I tors. The horse's time was 26min lsec I . and Shrubb finished in 28m 8 l-ss. ' j • Mr. W. T. Macpherson. who will rank ' for all time as one of the most brilliant i amateur runners Australasia has produced, was one of the judges at the Public School sports held on the Svdnev Cricket '■ Ground recently, says the Referee. He ! ( had a young son competing in the Gram- ! mar colours. It is not far short of 30 ' years since he defeated the great New Zealander, J. H. Hempton, in the 220 and 440 yards on the same old cricket ground And yet to-day he carries himself with the. gait of a man who might sprint over the hundred with the best of them Mr Macpherson is president of the Svdnev Chamber of Commerce. T*!? S 1 Chamber of "Deputies has voted £8000 for expenses in connection with the training of the French team for the seventh Olympiad, to be held in Antwerp next year. The. United Kingdom is also preparing teams for the fixture a Mr. J. McDonald, the holder of the Australian 50 miles waiting record, intends to visit New Zealand in the near luture. & Miss Queenie Ball, a daughter of that well-known athletic enthusiast, Mr. Warren Ball, of Sydney, has retired from tho 1 track The young lady, who is leaving the Burwood High School at the enS I of the year, has never been beaten in ai

race. At the age of eight years sh« .■ 'J commenced her athletic career" in 1912. " ' • She competed at school and P.SA.A.A. '^f 'i championships every year since, finishing '?-£ last week at the Public Schools' meeting * by winning the 14 years and over cham- § pionship, and the all schools champion- - * ship of N.S.W. Both races were over ' * 75yds, and she won the first in 9 4-5s and the second in 9 3-ssec. Her career ? just ended has been a series of remarkable "^ achievements. To compete again and "'$ again and yet again during a period of seven years and never suffer defeat must surely be a record—quite a unique feat. BOXING. _ J. CLABBY (V. A. PC OLE Y. The match between ,T. dabby and A Pooley, for a purse of £250, will take place at the Town Hall on Friday evening. Both men are in their best form, and the contest promises to be one of the most interesting that has taken place in Auckland. • Clabby is a very clever boxer, and the- fart I that he fought two 20 rounds contests with ! Les Darcy shows that he can put up a I great fight. _ Pooley, who arrived from Whal ngarei on Saturday, has some fine perform - i ances to his credit in defending his title as heavy-weight champion of New Zealand. He will have the advantage in weight and length and reach and his supporters a.re confident that he will give a good account of himself Four preliminary amateur bouts hare ' been arranged. They are as follows:— BanI Urns, J. Fletcher v. F. Whitiorae: lightweights, J. Keenan v. G. Brown J. Tur. , kington v. R. Griffen; welter-weights, j" ] Graham v. Pernio. ' * | Seats may now be reserved and day sales of tickets will commence to-morrow. LIGHT-WEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP, JAMES RESIGNS TITLE. [BY TELEGRAPHOWN" OOBKESPOJTDENT.J

CHBISTCHURCH, Monday. A meeting of the New Zealand Boiing Council was held to-night. M. James wtg jcsigning the light-weight championship as . he found an injury to his leg was of sur:> a nature as would render it impossible for him to defend the title. It was decided that P. Cook, from whom James won the title, should be selected to defend it. ! Correspondence was received . from the I Otago Association, complaining that W Oliver, of. Auckland, had agreed to meet . Goodman in a professional contest, and had' j withdrawn "after the association, had comI ploted. its arrangements to promote the "vent It was decided to deal with the matter on receipt of Oliver's explanation. LAWN TENNIS. i INTER-CLUB COMPETITIONS. The following are additional results of the j Auckland Lawn Tennis Association's interi club competitions, which were commenced on ' Saturday, the players for the first-mentioned i club taking precedence in each case —■ AUCKLAND v. OTAHTJHU. Men's Singles: Burt lost to W. Sheppard I—9; Mayall lost to Grant, o—9; Maddor defeated Todd, 9—B; Dr. Finlay lost to McInnis, 4—9. Ladies' Singles: Miss Oliver lost to Miss Whiteley, 5—7; Miss Taylor lost to Mrs. I Thornton. 'I— 7. Men's Doubles: Dr. Finlav and Burt lost I to Sheppard and Grant, '2—9; Maddox and : Mayhill lost to Todd and Mclnnis, 5—9i Hartle and Binsted lost to Howard and' : Short, —9. Ladies' Doubles: Misses Oliver and Taylor ; defeated Misses Whiteley and Thornton, 17—1; Misses Patterson and Wagstafle defeated Mrs. Sheppard and Miss Knott, 7—6. Combined Doubles: Hartley and Miss Pat- : terson lost to Howard and Mrs. Sheppard, 5— Binsted Hind Miss Wagstaffe , lost to Short and Miss Knott, 47. ' j Otahuhu won 10—3. ■:■ I AUCKLAND v. DEVONPORT. Men's Singles: A. T. Coppard lost to L. \ Whittaker. 4—9; J. Coppard defeated M. Morrison, 9—B: A. Tuke lost to F. Newell. 3—9; C. Partridge lost to P. Harrison, 5— Ladies' Singles: Miss Warnock lost to Miss ' 1? Whittaker, 4—7; Miss Fletcher lost to Mrs. Newell, 37. _■:•:• M.?n's Doubles: J. Coppard and A T. •■'if" Coppard lost to Whittaker and Morrison. A 5—9; Tuke and Sanderson lost to Newell and '-% Harrison, Partridge and Sawyer de- * feated Maclfy and Jackson. 9—5. ', Ladies' Doubles: Miss Warnock and Mr« 4 Wilson lost to Misses Whittaker and Star- - - Te v. 2—7; Miss Fletcher and Mrs. Burton defeated Miss Elliott and Mrs. Newell. 7—5 % Combined Doubles; Mrs. Wilson and Sawyer defeated Miss Harvey and Macbv. f; {77 s '' -??"• Burton and Saunderson lost to f Miss Elliott and Jackson, 57. *? Devonport won. 9— f BIRKENHEAD AND NORTHCOTE v 1 PAPATOETOE. ' "?■ Men's Singles: Keith lost to F. Hugh»s, = 8— Entwistle defeated Gleeson. 96- Mor- ' rin lost to R. Wyllie, B—9; Merrington defeated Swaffieid, 9—4. " 5 Ladies' Singles: Miss McClymont lost to Miss Weston by default; Miss Jury lost to Mrs. McLaren, 2—7. £ Men's Doubles: Keith and Morrin defeated Wyllie and Gieeson. 9—6; Entwistle and Merrington defeated Wyllie and Swaffieid. * 9—4; Corbet and Taylor lost to Larsen and Webb. 2—9. Ladies' Doubles: Mrs, Corbett and Miss Campbell lost to Miss Weston and Mrs. Larsen, I—7; Miss McClymont and Mrs. Jury lost by default to Mrs. Bryant and Miss Haslip. ;' Combined Doubles: Mrs. .Corbett and Cor-, * bett lost to Mrs. Bryant and Larsen, 5—7; ' Miss Campbell and Taylor lost to Webb and Miss Haslip, 3— Papatoetoa .won, 9— 4. '*> Y.M.C.A. v. PAPATOETOE. Men's Singles: Spurdle defeated C. Eider, 9—6; Alison defeated Swaffieid. 9—2; Kitchener lost to H. Elder, 7—9; Steele defeated Smith. 91. Ladies' Singles: Miss Matherell defeated Miss Burnside. 7—6; Miss Ross defeated Miss Carruth. 7— 5Men's Doubles: Spurdle and Alison defeated C. Elder and Swaffieid, 9—3: Kitchener and Steele defeated H. Elder and Smith. 9—3; Gladding and Wells defeated Bryant and Brown, 9— Ladies' Doubles: Misses Metherell and Ross lost to Misses Burnside and Carruth. 6—7; Misses Steele . and Frankham defeated Misses Cutfortb and Bryant. 7— Combined Doubles: Gladding and Miss Steele defeated Bryant and Miss Cutforth, 7— Wells nd Miss Frankham defeated Brown and Miss Bryant, 7—2. Y.M.C.A. won, 11—2. NOTES AND COMMENTS. The weather conditions on Saturday were ideal for tennis. Many interesting games were played in the inter-club competitions, and with one or two exceptions no surprise victories were gained. In the match Remuera A. v. Onehunga the former team repeated its performance of last year, by again winning 13 matches to nil. The Onehunga team was weakened by the absence -of T. Clark, while L. Robson was not available to play for Remuera. E. Ohlson. although playing well. wa« able to score only two games against Dr. i Laurenson. The latter contented himeelf ~i by playing a purely defensive game, and rarely used his well-known deadly smash. -- E. Tonks secured four games against Griffiths. But every game was stubbornly con- s tested. Tonks is now showing something like 3 his old form, and should continue to im- '% prove as the season advances. L. Taylor 4, and Moir had a strenuous match, the latter .-■ eventually winning, 9—7. >'| In the mrn'ifl doubles. Tonks and Ohlson ;. : v. Moir and K. G. Archer, the Onehunga f pair came within an ace of victory. They 'f led 3 —o. but Moir and Archer won the next j three games, and from that stage on the -'| games were evenly contested. Eventually the, score stood 8 alt. Remuera won th" following game and with it the match 9—B. v The Remuera ladies proved too strong for their opponents, and Miss Airey, although i she played exceedingly well and fought hare. i could win only one game against Mr«. i Hodges, while Miss F. Brookes was not able 1* to secure a game against her ooponect. Miss M. Payton. " a Dr. K. Keith, a former Auckland plaver, was included in the Onehunga team, "bu» although he brought off some of his well- = known saving shots from apparently impossible positions, he did not appear to be in ithe J 0 "" necessary to resist the opposition & winch he was up against. "%. Remuera's B team was successful against) 8 Parnell and won by eight matches to five. f The surprise of this match was the defeat % of Coate3. Parnell. by Thompson, Remuera. $ -i he latter played splendidly, and Coates' % eourteraft proved of no avail againt Thomp- '« son's driving, the ma:;h going to Thompson f 9-4. The A and B teams of the Eden and % Epsom Club played one another at Eden ±M and Epsom, and although the B team did '3 their utmost, they were unable to win any 1 matches, the A team winning 13 to nil. '£ In view of the results of Saturday's M matches it does not seem likely that any Jfl radical changes will be made in anv of the M first-grade teams. " s?f _ %;