THE PLAYGROUND.

Southland Times, Issue 19464, 31 January 1925, Page 14

THE PLAYGROUND.

Sir Harry Lauder will be in Southland in the autumn and will have a weeks fishing m the province. A suggestion has been made locally that a Rugby picnic be held, preferably before the season starts. The idea is that the Invercargill clubs should take the matter up with the S.R.F.U., and that the function would serve as a good means for each club to rally its forces in the new year. London Sporting Life football reporter on the match between Oxford University and the All Blacks:—As an exposition of Rugby football, I never saw a finer game, and it was the more satisfactory inasmuch as there must have been hundreds present who had never seen a Rugby game before.

been engaged in the pennant competition, Mr Hiddlestone has played in every game, a record of 107 consecutive games, the last 100 of which have been in A Grade. Mr Hiddlestone first budded forth as a bowler 14 years ago, with the Cricketers’ Club, the name of which was afterwards changed to that of City Club, and has remained a member of that club. He has missid one year only in the last decade as a delegate to the and has played ior his club in every position and has occupied every office except that of secretary. , A special meeting of the Otago Executive of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association was held on Monday evening to decide whether the Otago championships arranged for February 7 should be held in view of the instructions issued by the Health Department regarding infantile paralysis. It was decided to postpone the championship meeting and that the evening sports meeting to take place at the Caledonian Ground should be held, the conditions being that no charge be made for admission, but that a collection be taken up to defray expenses. No children under 16 years of age will be admitted. At a meeting held recently at Masterton W. Harvey, of Wellington, put the 161 b shot 41ft, and A. Munro, also of Wellington, recorded 40ft.

In the second test match (writes I.W. in The Australasian) Ponsford performed a feat that had hitherto defied every one of the fsfnous batsmen that had appeared in these historic games, by making a century in his first two test matches. The ink had scarcely been dry on the scoring-sheet when Sutcliffe emulated it, evidently reckoning that example was the best incentive.

In reviewing the stand made by Gregory and Oldfield in Australia’s second innings in the second Test match, a Melbourne writer says:—A bright little interlude occurred just before they retired. In chopping down on a yorker from Tate the tall left-hander split his bat. It was too close on 4 o’clock to change for another, so Oldfield lent him his. The exchange seemed beneficial, though

Mudgee, N.S.W., bowlers had an anxious time recently, according to a message published in the Sydney Sim. Clouds of grasshoppers invaded the town in the morning. Their flight resembled a thick snowstorm. They settled in patches on parts of the main streets, like a carpet, and paid special attention to the bowling green, which has just been put in beautiful condition. Some bowls enthusiasts paraded the green, swinging their arms, trying to keep the ’hoppers moving.

it was boy cricket over again seeing two Test cricketers changing bats as they crossed over, much to the amusement of the crowd, which enjoyed the touch of nature

“Off-side Mac” (W. McKenzie), ex-New Zealand international, has the following in the Melbourne Sporting Globe on the incident which occurred in the All Blacks’ final match in England:—The game was somewhat strenuous, and the referee ordered C. J. Brownlie (the gigantic All Black forward) off the field for rough play, in kicking an English player, who was said to be lying at the time on the ground. Brownlie denies the allegation, and apparently the regrettable action was caused through the referee losing confidence in his own powers, and also through his inability to recognise the importance of the con-

Most men who are truly great in sport accustom themselves to all conditions, climate, and otherwise. Thus we learn by cable from New York that Paavo Nurmi, the Finnish wonder, opened his American indoor campaign by winning a mile race in the world’s indoor record time of 4min 13 2-ssec from a field of six of Americas’ best runners. Nurmi won by three yards from Joie Ray, the former U.S.A, mile champion, and clipped a full second from the record held by Ray. Nurmi broke two other indoor world’s records in the 1500 metres and the 5000 metres races. He won the former in 3min 56 l-ssec, lowering Ray’s record by 5 2-ssec, and the 5000 metres in 14min 44|sec, beating the record also held by Ray by lOsec. Nurmi is a great athlete, and anything he may achieve will not surprise close followers of the sport.

There is a racing enthusiast in New South Wales who is a man of big ideas. Blossoming forth suddenly from the obscurity of the man with little money he became a punter in thousands. Luck was with him for a while. He was introduced to a big bookmaking firm, induced it to take bets on credit, and was soon £4340 on the credit side of the ledger. After that he appeared to make his minimum bet £lOO. He had a merry run while it lasted, but dishonoured cheques which followed bad selection soon put the bookmakers wise, and now the punt artist couldn’t get a bob double. Incidentally, his bank balance when he started plunging was in the vicinity of £ls. Exchange.

The Rugby game was played in New Zealand at the commencement of the ’seventies of last century (says the Field). Among those responsible for its spread and development was W. A. Burnett, one of the founders of the Blackheath Club, and its first captain. Settling in New Zealand, Burnett carried his love of the game with him, and when his playing days were past came to England in official connection with the first team from New Zealand in 1888. Also the old Marlburian, A. St. G. Hamersey, who captained England in 1874, finished his playing days in New Zealand, captaining the Canterbury F.C. in 1880. W. E. Collins, a brilliant half-back from St. George’s Hospital, who played three years for England against Scotland, proceeded to the same colony in 1876, and did much to popularise the game.

One of the most interesting cricket souvenirs in the world is a bat in the possession of Captain E. W. Ballantine, now touring with the English team (says a writer in Smith’s Weekly, Sydney). It was used by Victor Trumpet, and on it are the signatures of practically every prominent Australian and South African cricketer, and many English cricketers, since 1902. The bat has become so covered with signatures that Captain Ballantine had the blade split from side to side and hinged so that it opens like a book; and now there is plenty of room on the inside of the blade for signatures. The first names to be placed there are those of the present English team. Among the spectators at the match between the All Blacks and Wales, was W. N. Wakefield, captain of the English team, whose impressions of the New Zealanders may be gathered from his remarks in an interview after the game. “The All Blacks,” he said, “are wonderful opportunists, and woe betide the opposing side that is going to make mistakes. Their game is extraordinarily bereft' of errors, and should one of their line bungle a pass there is sure to be one or two of his colleagues to cover up his mistake. In fact, the wonderful support of each other is the big secret of their success. If they have anything like their share of the ball in the scrums, and keep that

command in the line out, then the England defence will undergo a severe test. I am told that the original All Blacks of 1905 obtained the ball far more often in the scrums, because they concentrated on obtaining the ‘loose head,’ and the law at that time permitted the outside man to ‘hook.’ The present tourists do not adopt

this method, because they believe it tends to spoil the game. They have not in any of their matches revealed a distinct superiority in the set scrums. The fact that they continue to score heavily, therefore, suggests that they are a better side than their predecessors.”

Why are “rounds” in boxing so called? A round in this sense simply stands for a single competed event. One idea which is expressed by “circle” or “round” is that the starting point is again arrived at, or, in other words, that something has been completed. And so in certain forms of sport, we talk of rounds when we mean single definite stages of a contest. We say that the “first round” of a football competition has been played. Or, again, we have

“rounds” In an archery match. But in every case the sense is that of a single completed stage. Again the question of the world’s champion eater among athletes bobe to the surface (says an exchange). Alphonse Goosens, the Belgian bike rider, consumed 182 eggs in the duration of a six-day race in New York, to say nothing of such sundries as chickens, chops, fruit and pudding. Goosens is a trencherman of parts. He will create a “jam” more quickly at the table than on the track, though he is no weak rider when the fur begins to fly.

Of the match between the All Blacks and Wales the Daily Mail says:—lt was from first to last a very hostile match. The players came on to the field with grim, set faces, no friendly banter ever passed between them. No one ever smiled. And from first to last the crowd never ceased to cheer or hoot or to do both together. It was also a brute strength match. Vigour counted above all else on each side. Many strenuous, fiercely keen games have been seen at Swansea, but surely never before had human bodies been picked up and thrown about with such force as was the case on Saturday. The match differed as much from an ordinary hard Rugby game as a fight with the “raw ’uns” differs from a boxing contest with gloves. Fortunately no serious damage was done to anyone, but it is certain that most of those who played will be black and blue all over for a week. From the first the Welsh team seemed more anxious to rattle their opponents by sheer vigour than to show what they could do in the way of cleverness and combination, which was a policy that simply invited disaster. The AH Blacks are too strong, too hard, too agile to be afraid of “a rough house.” They accepted with zest the challenge which the Welshmen had apparently thrown down. They won easily when it came to a battle of strength, just as they won easily when it came to a battle » of speed. Mr Alf. Hiddlestone, a prominent Hobart Bowler, and sole selector for the City Bowling Club, completed a most unique record quite recently, and one that is probably without equal in Australia and Tasmania. Since the five bowling clubs in Hobart have

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