KEEN TO SEE THE COUNTRY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20786, 22 July 1937, Page 11

KEEN TO SEE THE COUNTRY

WHY BRAND FINDS THE LINE By Telegraph—Press Association AUCKLAND, July 21. A majority of the Springboks are looking forward to seeing something of New Zealand life other than that to be glimpsed on football fields and at official receptions. Several of them whose interests are in farming and the marketing of agricultural products are keen to see the country, and although a rigid "colour line" is drawn in South Africa, practically all the players arc eager to meet the Maoris both on and off the football field. In meeting the Springboks, the first thing one notices is not their physique but their speech. Many of them are obviously more at home in their guttural Afrikaans than they are in English. and several of the players of Dutch extraction speak with a marked accent. This accent is even slightly noticeable in the pleasing and cultured speech of the captain, Philip Nel. On board the Wanganella the Springboks were universally popular and they mixed and chatted freely with the passengers. They were fortunate in having a perfectly calm trip across the Tasman, but they did not indulge in any training of board, preferring to have three days of rest after their arduous travelling in Australia. Incidents On Voyage The voyage to New Zealand was not without its incidents. When the team left South Africa two of its members, G. L. Van Reenen and W. E. Bastard, sported moustaches. The other players protested against this facial adornment, and Van Reenen, apparently realising that discretion was the better part of valour, removed his moustache when the team was on its way to Australia. His companion, however, refused to be intimidated, but on Tuesday night before the Wanganella reached Auckland a group of laughing Springboks gathered round the Natal forward in his cabin and, with the aid of a specially prepared razor, removed half of his moustache. There was

nothing left for the victim but to complete the job, and now the Springboks are all clean shaven. Another point of interest concerned the gastronomic prowess of A. D. Lawton, champion eater in a team of hearty trenchermen. To the surprise of his team mates, Lawton did not appear for dinner on board the Wanganella on Tuesday evening. He did not complain of sea sickness, and the opinion was hazarded that he was training to surprise the hotel staff on the occasion of his first New Zealand meal. Old Incident Recalled Among those who welcomed the Springboks to-day were F. W. Lucas, a former All Black, and his elder brother, A. A. Lucas, a member of the New Zealand Army team which toured South Africa. They were talking football with “Gerry” Brand, the famous Springbok full-back, and “Snowy" Lucas recalled an incident in the game which the Army team played at Newlands in 1919. Brand’s eyes lit up. "I was playing in a schoolboys’ curtain-raiser to your game,” he said. Brand is one of the stars of the team and a player who enjoys his football. He was taken to task In Brisbane for his continued line kicking, but he states definitely that he does not play to close the game up. He kicks for the line to save his heavy forwards from aimless chasing up and down the field.