AFRICA’S INFERNO

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 409, 18 July 1928, Page 12

AFRICA’S INFERNO

SCRUMMING ON KIMBERLEY GROUND CLOUDS OF FINE RED DUST Although the All Blacks will probably find much to admire in South Africa, the football grounds will probably not be one of them. -A scrum on the Kimberley Stadium ground,” states one of the team in a letter to a friend in Auckland. “is like a mild inferno, with the lid on.” He states that actually the ground was not as hard to fall on as the Sydney University Oval can be, but the dust trouble was a serious drawback. It was exactly like fine brick dust and it rose in clouds continually during the scrummages. “Not only does it obstruct breathing and make the mouth hard and dry,” he states, “but it irritates the various membranes at the back of the throat and mouth. Then there is also the risk of poisoning, which is large, in spite of the. use of much iodine. iSlight scratches on knees are the usual cause of the poison getting in.” The difficulty of keeping physically fit and to have one’s blood capable of resisting poisons while travelling was also stressed. To adapt themselves successfully to changes of climate, altitude and food and water was, at the time of writing, a difficulty members of the team had yet to overcome.