ENGLISH SPORTING LETTER

Taranaki Daily News, 13 June 1930, Page 5

ENGLISH SPORTING LETTER

'THE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP. ENGLAND THE LEADING NATION. (Special to News.) London, April 27. England are the national champions of Rugby through the win which Wales gained in the final ma'tch of the season against. France! They won two, and drew one, of their four games, the one lost being that with Ireland. Wales, Ireland and France have similar records and Scotland hold the wooden spoon. The meeting of France and Wales created tremendous interest. It was France’s red letter day. Never before had they done so well, and they had the highest hopes of winning, and so securing the championship for the first time since they were recognised as a first-class football country twenty-two years ago. The Colombcs Stadium was crowded until the gates had to be closed. Shortly before the start a Welsh spectator, escaping the vigilance of the police, raced on to the ground, and, climbing a goalpost, placed a leek on the cross-bar and by its side an English rose. His action was prophetic, for Wales were successful by two dropped goals and a try to nil, and, as has been stated, this victory gave England the championship. Excited as were the crowd, .the‘players were even more so, and as a dis-

play of international football the game was most disappointing. The referee, a Yorkshireman, had a most unhappy experience. He insisted on the rules being strictly observed, and he cautioned a man on each side for his uncontrolled actions. But there were many things in the match which reflected unfortunately on the teams, and early in the second half he called the sixteen forwards together and gave them an address. To do this he had to call to his aid an interpreter. There was no doubt that France lost whatever chance they had of winning by their excitement. The forwards did not pack well) and they rarely lieeled cleanly. In fact, the match was little better than a long scramble, and even the Welsh backs seldom got going. They were scarcely to blame•• for this, because, in the style in which the match was played, passing advances were most difficult to start and carry out. But from the beginning the superiority of Wales was clearly marked, and at the finish the French crowd accepted the result in the right spirit. Guy Morgan played a great game for Wales, and, after a try had been scored in a loose rush in the first half, his cleverly dropped goal after the change of ends practically settled the game. A few minutes later Powell, the half back, dropped a second goal, and after that France were overplayed. THE AMERICA CUP QUEST. LAUNCHING OF SHAMROCK V. iShamrock V has been launched, and, though Sir Thomas Lipton has suffered many disappointments in his quest of the America Cup, it is believed that his new challenger has really a great chance of capturing the chief prize of yachting. The races this year will undoubtedly . be held under conditions which are much more favourable to the British boat. . Hitherto the American defenders have been freak boats, designed solely for racing. Under a new agreement, however, both yachts have io be seaworthy in every respect and actually registered at Lloyds. In the past the challenger had to cross the Atlantic under her own sail, and this was a very severe handicap, owing to the fact that a boat, could not be designed on the same lines as the American one. It is Sir Thomas’ fifth attempt to win back the cup, and, though he is now 80 years of age, he is as enthusiastic as ever in his latest adventure. He has already spent a fortune over the race. Shamrock V .was built at Gosport at the entrance to Portsmouth .‘Harbour. Her keel, of 78 tons of lead, was cast last October, and since then work has proceeded on her without delay, inasmuch as there was a keen desire that she should be ready in the spring in order that she might be thoroughly tested before embarking on her voyage across the Atlantic. Indeed, it is intended that she. should race against the best of the British yachts at home before leaving for New; York.

Mr. Charles Nicholson is her designer, and he is confident that ho has produced the fastest yacht afloat, She is built of mahogany, specially selected from wood brought from British Honduras. One of the most notable . features of the new Shamrock is her mast, which towers 162 feet, and is hollow. No racing yacht has ever had such a tall mast. It is built of silver spruce grown in the South Pacific and made in fifty pieces and spliced.. The yacht yill also have -two sets of spars and a mizzen mast for use in the Atlantic crossing. She will carry approximately 7,W0 square feet of canvas, the sails being made of Egyptian silk. Her length on the water line is about 76 feet.

Besides her racing equipment, Shamrock V will carry her owner’s launch, a lifeboat, and a dinghy.. Her crew will number twenty-one, together with a mate and a captain, the latter of whom, Edward (Heard, has had experience in America Cup races. The crew will live in the forepart of the yacht, and the officers in the stern. Sir Thomas has a cabin in the after end of the vessel. Under the new rules governing the race, the course will be 33| miles, and will be sailed either to windward and leeward, or in a triangle, on alternate days. The time allowed to complete the course is 51- hours, but in a good breeze Shamrock V should do it in about two hours. The best four races out of seven win. In the earlier races it was three out of five. THE GREAT CUP FINAL. SIDES NOT EXCEPTIONAL. All is now ready for the great cup final. Applications for half-a-million tickets have been received, and there is only room for 93,000 people at Wembley Stadium. It is, of course, an ideal final, inasmuch as the Arsenal and Huddersfield, as the competing clubs, represent North and South, and the rivalry between them is the greater on account- of the fact that Mr. Herbert Chapman, the manager of the London club, ' was responsible for building the Huddersfield team. From a football point of view, however, the sides are in no way exceptional. But both have their stars, and it is possible that they may give the play some distinction. Huddersfield depend to a large extent on Jackson, the outside right, who has scored as many as nine of the eleven goals the team have obtained in their previous ties. He. is one of the most remarkable wing-men the game has known, owing to the way in which he steals into the goal-mouth in anticipation of a pass, and puts the ball into the net with unerring aim,. Smith, the other wing man, is also a most dangerous player, whilst they have in Kelly a rare schemer at inside right. But these men are not superior to the Arsenal stars, Jack and James, and as inside men the latter are,in a position where they can cause most danger. Jack Is the son of Robert Jack, the manager of Plymouth Argyle, who have just won promotion from th» -Third, the Sec-

ond Division of the League, and he is the only player who has been thought to be worth as much as £lO,OOO. It may be remembered that he recently captained the English team against Scotland.

But it is not often that these cup finals are decided by any superlative skill on one side or the other. All too often the result is determined through some unhappy blunder on the part of one man. Two years ago, when the Arsenal were last in the' final, Lewis, their goalkeeper, practically presented Cardiff City with the winning goal and cup. Lewis is still with the, Arsenal, but he is not to play on this .occasion. He has never .got over, his mistake, and it is largely at his own request that the Arsenal reserve goalkeeper is to play,