FROM FIELD FLOOD, AND RING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXIII, Issue 17690, 2 July 1927, Page 10

FROM FIELD FLOOD, AND RING

NOTES AND .NEWS

The Argentine Rugby Union has asked that W. W. Wakefield should lead the English side which will tour the Argentine this year. That is a fine compliment.

“I shall not put my foot inside a racing motor after September, Avhen my contract With the Sunbeam Company expires,” ' said Major Segrave, to a London “Daily Mail” representative. , “I think,” he added, “that after eight years I am entitled to a rest, and will take up motor-boat racing as a hobby.”

Tavo chess masters were sitting poring over the board. The game Avas in an interesting state. At last one of them moved, and brushed aAvay a cobAveb with an absent gesture. “Do you mind if we call this a draw?” he asked. “A draAv,” echoed the other, “why?”. “Well,” explained the first man, “I’ve suddenly remembered that I have an appointment next Tuesday.”

Mcrv,. Williams, the Australian middleAveight, Avho spent about a year in NeAv Zealand, Avas ill with internal trouble for about tAvo months. He is iioav fit and Avell again, and made his first appearance, since returning to Australia, at the Sydney Stadium on Saturday night. He Avas matched Avith Charlie Long', the coloured American boxer. Williams received a points decision in a fifteen rounds contest, Avhich Avas fiercely fought throughout.

It Avas not known until he returned home that W. W. Wakefield, Avho was playing in his 31st Rugby international match for England, at Paris recently, Avas unfortunate enough to, crack a rib very early. This ufidoubtedly accounts for the fact that the greatest of post-Avar forwards did not give his usual brilliant display during the game, and in the last feAV minutes failed to score from one of those openings Avhich hitherto he has ah\ r ays accepted.

Diary K. BroAvne, one of the foremost Avomen golfers in the United States, and a former national women’s laAvn tennis champion, has been debarred from competing in any amateur golf tournament under the jurisdiction of the United States Golf Association. It is held that Miss BroAvne relinquished her amateur status in sport Avhen she joined the Pyle laAvn tennis of Avhich Suzanne Lenglen is the leader —last autumn.

Says an entertaining paragraph in a London paper: The.najne “W. E. Merritt, Canterbury,” in the list of the NeAv Zealand cricketers lias caused many New Zealand cricketers in England to think there is a subtle humour in this 18-year-old “colt” being chosen in the hope, that his googly hoAVling may tempt English batsmen to yield a harvest of “ducks.” They are Avrong in assuming that the boy is a son of, a Christchurch resident Avliose name is a household Avord down under. W, E. Merritt, of the Christchurch Boys’ High School, is.no relation to Mr J. E. Merritt, the Poultrylteepers’ Association president, Avho, for the past 2 0 years, has been stumping the country urging everyone to produce more eggs. • ,

The other clay Arthur Downes, a NeAA r South Wales long-hitting .professional golfer, Avas having a round Avith a leading amateur Avho regarded himself as a long driver. He welcomed' the opportunity of a duel Avith the State’s acknowledged longest hitter. At the first hole their drives Avere equal, ht the second the amateur’s Avas four or five yards in front; and again a t_ the third and fifth he had a bit the better of it. Plis chest sAvelled Avith pride as he murmured to himself, “I knew I Avas as long as anybody.” On the sixth tee DoAA'nes said, “I’ve just been trying out a neAv spoon; seems to be going all right.” And he took out his driver. Although the amateur hit one of his best, DoAViies’s drive lobbed 40 yards beyond.

Rather battered and worn from the buffetings he had received in his Avorlcl tour, Stanislaus /Zbyszko, former heavyweight wrestling champion of the world, limped into New York from the liner Rochembeau recently, and at once announced his intention of trying to recapture the | title from Joe Stetcher, Ed. (Stran- > gler) LeAvis, or Avhoever is in cus-1 fody of the croAvn. Zbyskzo, who refuses to tell his age, but admits that he is “over 50,” had a success- j ful trip, save for one mishap. In a bout Avith a young man named Ben j ,Zepal, champion of Bengal, India, < he Avas held to a tAVo-hour draAV, ( and, in addition, Zepal tAvisted Zybszko’s left knee so badly that he' aa as still limping Avhen he reached j the States. The veteran, hoAveA’er, expecteci to get back into shape in a feAV weeks after his return.

| C. A. Healey, Union apd New Zeaf land rowing stroke, wli'o has been a ( Wanganui representative frontranker for some years, has retired from Rugby, but is still an active oarsman.' ‘ 1

, Golfers the world over now and then take it into their heads to attempt some unusual feat. As recently as 1919, a player in London drove a ball from Picadilly, and proceeding via the Strand, Fleet Street and Ludgate Hill, “holed out” at the Royal Exchange. On another course a match was played in which dummy cows were placed on the fairways to constitute hazards. A player on still another links backed himself to go round in. 200 throws, and won his bet. Now we are getting it closer to home. A South Australian, golfer recently wagered that he could hit his ball nine miles in SO shots. He did it in 74, and played over two flocks of sheep on his journey. It is curious that in these cross-country matches the number of strokes required is nearly always over-estimated. Our South Australian friend played in his club competition the same afternoon, and felt confident that after hitting nine miles in 74, he would startle the natives with his medal round; but he found he had lost all sense of distance, and simple chip shots of 20 yards still found him trying tb hit the ball nine miles;

“Fights, fights, everywhere, but not a fight for me!” That was the lament of Artie Collins, the ex-light-weight champion of West Australia, recently. He states that he has parted from his ' former manager, Hal. Jones, and is now under the wing of J. Musson. He is coming along fast now and should be in really tip-top form soon, and ready for fights aplenty. It seems a pity that Collins has not been given a chance to show his qualities for by all accounts, lie is a capable, , customer, with a very healthy punch. He is but 20, and has fought the lightweight championship of West Australia on three occasions, losing once, winning once, and drawing onoe. Another scalp to his credit is that of Stoker Curtis, lightweight champion of the Australian Fleet. Surely someone will jump at the opportunity of securing Collins for a bout in the near future.

Leather golf jackets are becoming fashionable at our leading courses. If the present biting winds continue, they will liayb a bigger vogue still, for there is. no denying that they are admirably warm. And they, look becoming—at least the fierce discussion which the writer heard ended in that unanimous opinion.

Golfers are.better “dressers”, on the. links now'than they were a few years ago. 1 Even at some of the" biggest metropolitan clubs' five years back there was a scarcity of plus fours. Now they are the rule, and the player without the conventional attire is an exception.

There is a classic instance of an army officer who was taken to task for not appearing on the links in his proper uniform, and was fined six pints of claret. The sentence was light, because he admitted the heinousness of his crime, and, presumably because the quantity was insufficient to provide refreshment for all, lie was fined by his own request, three pints more. One metropolitan club,, a few. years back, commented on the slackness of its members’ playing attire. Wouldn’t ft be great if they would fine them —say the cost of a hole in one?

Yank sports writers are hot considerate of pugs’ feelings. • Long Jim Tracey, the Antipodean false-alarm, arrived in Los Angeles and called on one of them. He must have been disappointed' with the result. ’ Here is the comment he received: “An elongated individual arrived yesterday, to state that he is heavy-weight champion of Australasia. He neglected to state 1 that it was a fine day, thus following one interesting remark with another.” ' '

Watching the tennis players in the park lately, I find that the finer points of the game are still an unknown book to many, says an English writer. One would have thought that almost everybody had been to Wimbledon by now. But no; it is not so. Among the commoner faults, I find are the following: MEN. Coloured socks instead of all. white. Both sleeves rolled up instead of only, the left. Cloth caps worn instead of white linen. -■ ' Grey flannel trousers • instead of white. ' . Even plus fours. Gymnasium sweaters instead of V-necks. WOMEN. Frocks with short sleeves instead of sleeveless frocks. White arms instead of tanned. Bandeau worn tqo high. Bandeau worn too far back. Flesh-coloured stockings instead of white. . • Some remarks on peevishness expressed- by a Sydney bowler ’ named Raikes,' hailing from Somerset, on the subject of women and-their dress when playing bowls: The shortened skirt, the silken hose, - The shapely calf, the ankle fine, The sporting women’s dainty,poses 1 ' '‘ I thought appealed to pals . o’ mine; ' They’d make a pretty show, you bet, Upon the greens in Somerset. ’ But Mr Raikes, with eye of fire, r Declares the play amiss - for • ■ dames; . For them he has no fond T desire, 'Or wish to see thorn playing ; games! ‘ They’d mesh him in a dreadful net-4 These bowling tarts of Somerset:For human nature, strong in man, And women, too, would never let The sexes-Stay apart, or ban "" A foursome mixed in Somerset! " ’ The women, dear, the loving souls, 1 Would spoil his preoimls' game of bowls. ' • ••

And so le straight secured-the ban To keep the women off the green, Believing nature, strong Jiy man, • And’women too, >is still Supreme.' Bfit this the rub! His let Him play with dames : of Somerset^

So often did ..Tom Lowry, the New Zealand captain, send the ball into the River Tone whfen he was playing for Somersetshire at Taunton that the West-country folks christened him the ‘“Toney” batsman. That he has not forgotten to lay on the wood since his departure from Cambridge and Somersetshire is pretty obvious.

The' South African Athletic Association has suggested to Australia that when she sends her Olympic Games team tb'Amsterdam next year the team slibuld break its journey at Cape Town and make a tour of Africa. , The idea would be to hold “Test” athietib meetings at Cape Town,., johannesburg and. Durban.

An American gentleirian was keenly interested in . the ’details of ' the University boat '• race. 1 When he learned'.that; th;e v finishing point was at the Brewery at Mortlake he exclaimed, “Well I guess that’s a swell idea.- And I’ll bet after 20 minutes’ hard rowing those boys de-. serve a snifter, too.”

J. J. Jeffries will always be remembered as the pugilist who brought a new style into boxing by disregarding What in his tim'd; was known- as the English method, and by developing and . employing the crouch. W.hen Jeffries was at his most ferocious- he .was doubled up to such' ail extent that his gloves almost swept the floor, 'He cultivated, this ugly style ; simply and solely to circumvent / the ; famous solar plexus blow used by Fitzsimmons. It has been the style of every heavy-weight champion since; but at Philadelphia last September it received such a set-back that it is hardly exaggeration to say that it is now in its grave.

The two greatest assets a golfer can possess are patience and perseverance, because in a match the unexpected ofteh happens. Judge “Digger” MacKenzie’s claims ’to greatness: At the old 16th at Manly (Sydney), he topped his tee shot into the drain just in front of the tee; Unable to hit forward, he ti;ied to get out sideways.* ■'The ball went two or three yards up the drain. Then, able to hit backwards, he hit the ball back nearly to the tee, topped his next and the ball .came to rest close to the bank of the big cross bunker. He couldn’t go forward, So hit the ball back again near the tee. That was five. His opponent was away down- the fairway with his drive. MacKenzie sliced his next into a pot bunker; from-there pulled into'another, just got out, and slammed' his. ninth alongside his opponent’s third, ISO yards from the green. At this stage MacKenzie won the hole. His opponent had played with the wrong ball.

James Gibson, the Scottish International centre half-back, has been transferred from Patrick Thistle to Aston Villa for, it is reported, a fee of between £6OOO and £7OOO. Gibson Was 'ln the Scotland eleven which;' lost to England at Hampden Park recently, and also { played agaiußt Ireland an# Wales, whfji was “capped” against England Umt year.; He had been. 1 the thost sought-for player in 'Scotland for some time. £7/ •' -;*

Thus an English critip on W. E. Merritt: takes no' run to speak of—just two steps ancl lowed by a fairly high delivery; with the ball well flighted. But he-is so slow in the air that.-i, batsman quick on his feet, if any of that breed still exist, might hit him with severity. Merritt is still a boy—-he is not yet 19. Although he is strongly built there is danger that . he will be ‘bowled to a standstill,’ as the phrase goes, if he is given as much work to do, week after week, as was the caBW yesterday.” - V.

“No,•” said Bernie Fanning,..'- who played for Canterbury-in.-sl...matches froni 1895 to 1904, “the two-three-two formation has it, ail oyer the' three-two-three scrum, but the, present Neiw Zealand tactics .require certain essentials. Of these, the main thing is a good lock-, and i( is in that position that Rugby; seems to be sadly neglected at the present time. -The idea that;the:lock must be-a- forward with brains-asj-jvell.,as brawn has passed away, and;thus has caused a deterioration iu/scrurn -play which naturally has -a Serious* effect on ’both the scrumming ,<and ...the, hooking. The lock should be—in fact must be—the kingrPin;; of the packmen. Nor should* ko be,a tall man. • That mistake. ?is ,also, fatal, for the lower the pack cap,.get down the greater its efiiciencye. „Tn my day the absence or 'presence of . a first-class lock—that is,. - the., usual lock—-dost or won a . game, v ,At all times he should be .watching . the instant to initiate the driving force that; Snore than hooking..briiliqnc* secures the ball. Havd-a./bracka-jack’ dock, and no > three-two-three formation could have a.=grekter standard of efficiency than the-New Zealand formation. My .idea of...a;.:perfect scrum," added Fanning,..“is two men in the front rank—not necessarily brilliant in the loose—who are of almost equal —a brainy forward, not.tall, in the. position of lock; fast menv.pn fijhe sides, 'and two heavy, ...back-rankers who are fast away, .and one. brilliant on attack, but who can; provide a great driving force,in'.the,serums. Giver me that pack; allvflfc,-..and.,,the New Zealand two-three-two formation, and, worked on a- system,, there is no other formation which could take pride of place for .any. length of, time. However, at thepresent-tiwe there is not the man for .the; look position, and without him no New Zealand scrum can succeed, when speed and concentration of weight means so much. : To-day we see scrums crumple and' fail" to secure the ball. That is not the fault of the hookers, but of the lock. In my, day the lock made the pack, for if, there happened to be . q WBUk hooker he got no chance, to show.,it for .the man locking the scrum re-., paired, the weakness. . . He did .not let him weaken, but held .him in his place. No! The New. Zealand two-three-two any time,”'concluded the former Canterbury . qnd New Zealand forward. 1!; . ,*