POPULAR VISITORS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27385, 10 May 1950, Page 8

POPULAR VISITORS

British Isles Rugby Players 1 * HAPPY AND WELL BEHAVED Special to the Daily Times NELSON, May 9. The members of the British Isles Rugby team, who will appear tomorrow in the opening match of their tour, have already proved themselves a cheerful band of sportsmen, with an astonishingly high standard of behaviour. What drinking is done in the party is moderate to a pronounced degree, and a good many of the players appear to be practically total abstainers. At the same time, all members of the party are possessed of a high sense of fun. On bus trips, they like nothing better than a sing-song, and their repertoire both of old and tried favourites—and, as someone has remarked, of songs known only to footballers—seems to be inexhaustible.

Perhaps it is because of the high standard of singing in the team that so much pleasure is obtained from it. Bleddyn Williams, the Welsh centre, has a lovely baritone voice, Cliff Davies, the Welsh prop,, can sing all day, and Roy John, the line-out specialist, not only strikes the note, but stays with it.

On a trip the other day, Winston McCarthy, the broadcaster who went to South Africa—and is, incidentally, a very tuneful singer—took the floor with a rendition of a very popular South African song which consists of singing the words of the months of the year. Everyone was suitably impressed with this evidence of cosmopolitanism until John and his inseparable companion, Rees Stephens, suddenly broke into a song consisting of counting up to 20 and then back again. It was the nicest bit of deflating that one could imagine, and McCarthy was the first to admit it. John and Stephens yesterday wished to explore the countryside, and someone suggested that they - should take bicycles. Investigation showed that there was a heavy old tandem machine available, and oh this they rode happily around Nelson for most of the day, even frisking off down to Trafalgar Park for their training run on it. Fluent Speakers The team is exceptionally fortunate in its management. One could not imagine a more conscientious and punctiliously polite man than Surgeoncaptain L. B. Osborne, RN, the manager, and both he and Karl Mullen are so exceptionally good as speakers that every reception at which they appear engenders a pleasant feeling of goodwill. Captain Osborne is determined that this shall be a successful tour in all ways, and if one man’s efforts can bring this about it will be quite the best tour ever made of New Zealand by an overseas team. The ac-

cent is not so much upon results of matches as upon a feeling among all parties that the Rugby, the associations, and the friendships have been worth while. _ A good beginning has been made. Nelson has been more than charmed; it has been delighted with the tourists, and the players themselves are still a little bewildered by the hospitality. Douglas Smith, the burly Scottish wing three-quarter, said after the team’s trip on Sunday to Motueka and Kaiteriteri Beach and Tasman that it was the greatest day of his life, and his was by no means a solitary opinion. To every instance of iriendliness offered, the British Isles players more than reciprocate. Irish Good Humour There are, of course, many characters in the party, and for all its Scottish ancestry, I suggest that Dunedin cannot fail to react enthusiastically to the brogue of Karl Mullen and his eight lively Irish companions. Quite the shyest of these-are the outsidehalf. J. W. Kyle, and his great companion, J. S. McCarthy, the wingforward, but the two are recovering from the home sickness they felt in the early stage of the journey from Liverpool and are enjoying themselves. Everyone has fun at the expense of Tom Clifford, who comes from Limerick. He has little or no experience of the outside world, but Tom is a perfectly natural man who takes all the humour at his expense with good feeling. He still half believes the story told him on the ship, that for one match in Australia camels would have to be used for transport, and he is still worried. “Man,” he says, “it’s terrible. I can’t ride a cameL” A curiosity Is that pretty well all of the Irishmen, including Mullen, and particularly including McCarthy, like nothing better than two or three raw eggs to start the day off well. They have horrified several waitresses with this engaging habit. One waitress at McCarthy's hotel, listening to him ordering a meal, was clearly puzzled by his extreme brogue. Finally, she found the courage. “Please, sir,” she said very politely, “will you speak English? ” Kilts in Favour Peter Kininmonth, the Scottish captain, leads his party of men from over the Border with a good sense of fun, and is the only one of them who has not so far worn a kilt. Smith, Graham, Budge, Macdonald and Angus Black seem to get into their kilts at every opportunity. Kininmonth last night raised the roof with his remark at a public gathering that the Nelson Pipe Band had made “the most pleasant noise ” he had heard since leaving Britain, but when he and his companions returned this morning to teach some young Nelsonians the eightsome reel, all was forgiven. Ivor Preece, the English captain, is one of the least talkative members of the party, but on his appearance in practice runs he looks as if he can play football. He has. a long stride and covers the ground smoothly and quickly. The 13 Welshmen, of course, form the largest group, and include such characters as Bill Cleaver, a most efficient organiser, who looks after a good many of the small chores which are inevitable in a touring party. Cleaver for years has been noted for his quaint training habits. - He said yesterday that he had done more training since his arrival in Nelson last Thursday than In all his life before, but he is described as a complete footballer, if test in the defensive mould, and Dai gent, the veteran newspaperman acjumpanying the team, said the other day that he thought Cleaver might well be described as the best footballer in the party. All in all, this is a most engaging body of men. Until today’s first game, It is impossible to say how good or %ad they are as footballers, but they are experienced, fit and strong 1 and if some of the star players, particularly Bleddyn Williams, “ come off," they are going to make a very fine side indeed