GAMES IN THE MUD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20307, 15 July 1929, Page 12

GAMES IN THE MUD.

GROUNDS IN BAD CONDITION.

WORST DURING THIS SEASON

AMUSEMENT FOR SPECTATORS.

After a series of fine Saturdays since tlie commencement of the ■winter sports season heavy rain foil on Saturday morning and made conditions very unpleasant for tho various games. In most cases the grounds were practically under water at the commencement of plav, and as the games progressed they were converted into sens of mud. Players had the greatest difficulty in retaining their feet, while once they had fallen into a mud pool they were very difficult to distinguish from others who had met with a similar fate.

The conditions were easily tho wettest and worst experienced in Auckland this season. Several golf fixtures wcic postponed, while it was impossible to proceed with bowling and basketball games. The areas at the Domain were so wet that no sport of any kind was allowed to be played there. The weather cleared just on three o'clock, but players would probably have liked the rain to continue as the grounds could not have been made worse, and rain would have given them a better opportunity to keep clean. Pools of water on the sidelines proved very popular with players, who at frequent intervals used these to remove mud from their eyes and faces. In tho majority of instances, however, the relief proved only temporary, as next moment the player would be even worse off than before. There was little difference in any of tho playing grounds. Carlaw Park, Blandford Park, tho Rcmucra hockey grounds and Eden Park all presented a similar desolate scene at the termination of the games. The main area at Eden Park, however, was in a particularly bad slate, as two matches were played on it during tho afternoon. Training College and Technical Old Hoys had the worst of matters in tho curtain-raiser, as besides playing on a ground that was practically a quagmire, heavy rain fell incessantly during the match. If the spectators were not provided with thrilling football they wero at least given plenty of amusement in other directions. To sec players dive on the ball and slide yards at a timo through a sea of mud kept the crowd in a happy frame of mind, but at the samo timo these spectacular incidents were anything but pleasing to tho performers. The foothold w;rs so insecure that once Righton, in attempting a drop-kick at goal, fell completely over.

Frequent stoppages had to be made in order to allow ambulance attendants to remove mud from the players' eyes. During tho big fixture a basin of water was taken to the sideline and this was repeatedly in uso throughout the match. After play had been in progress for ten minutes players in the forward sets were practically indistinguishable, and even the referee must have had a difficult task at times in finding out to which side a forward belonged.