SPORT and SPORTSMEN

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17351, 16 May 1924, Page 3

SPORT and SPORTSMEN

NEWS. GOSSIP AND COMMENT

(BY "

"ONLOOKER ”)

Both unbeaten, Old Boys play Cliristchurch on the Oval to-morrow. The water is not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but he picks Christchurch to Nepia, in the Maori trial match at Auckland, played a great game, his handling being perfect. “He was somewhat wasted at full back," says one account. There are squalls in the North over the appointment of extra Rugby selectors. There may be too many now, but better too many than a few too poor to pick a hole in a sieve. The Wellington Association is endeavouring to match Eddie Parker in a return with Brian 3M’Cleary, on May anti according to reports, Parker ■will have to be at his very best to boat M’Cleary again. They’re waiting for Marists. An Auckland writer says:—‘‘The appearance of the Tykes from the City of the Plains will be awaited with interest. not only because interprovincial matches are always welcomed, but chiefly because the team is that which won the Rugger championship at Christchurch last season and since turned over to League.” Gossip about doubtful sobriety of leading Rugby players has not come this way (says an Auckland writer) but it has been whispered several times that several- members of visiting teams have been helped off the field at Napier, decidedly ‘‘groggy.” For elusiveness and prompt decision, W. Elver, the Lin wood fiveeighths, was a pale second to N. P. M'Gregor, of Christchurch, his opponent last Saturday. . The St Albans Bowling, Croquet and Tennis Club, which has a total membership of about 250, proposes to carry out substantial alterations to its pavilion before next season. The plans jtrovido for another storey to be added to the pavilion and for the erection of a commodious balcony overlooking the bowling green. The new portion of the building will be used principally for afternoon tea and for holding meetings of members. The estimated cost is in the vicinity of £6OO. Paul Berlenbach, the American whoclaims to have knocked out 23 men in succession, met the twenty-fourth recently, and was knocked. With Dickinson and Stewart, both past All Blacks in the three-quarter line, and Perry and Hazlett, fiveeights, the Otago-Southlaud combined team look upon Canterbury-South Can terbury as “ cat’s meat.” The date is May 24, to-morrow week. To elect a new council for the control of boxing in New Zealand in place of the members of the old New Zealand Council, who have tendered their resignations, a meeting of associations is to be held in Christchurch on May 2d.

A junior team in Wanganui the other day could muster only twelve men. But it won ! J. Hunter, probably the greatest second five-eight the world has seen, hns been appointed coach to the Wanganui representative team this season. Auckland League now begins its senior games at 1.30 p.m. The innovation has been greeted with mixed hails and howls. • » Ike Robin now stands supreme as the champion wrestler of New Zealand. He wipe-l out his latest (and probably his greatest) opponent, Sunni, with overwhelming ease. Ike is nowafter Clarence Weber’s blood. The Donald Brothers, Jim and Quentin, of Wairarapa, are both verv fit. There appears to be no doubt 1 hat both will be put on trial for the New Zealand team. The general opinion in the Wai-orapa sum to be that Quentin, who iepic rented New Zealand last season, as a ft out ranker, as the better of tho two. Baseball in Christchurch is getting a firmer grip every Saturday. Outstanding players include two wellknown cricketers. L. R. Brunton and W. Hayes, and AT. Temple. W. Balkin, S. Evans. S. -Johns .and W. Garbutt. B. J. Kortlang, the ex-New South Wales batsman, will turn out to-mor-row. “Picking the Plums.”—“Modern •lack Horners.” These are the headings under which a Dunedin paper discusses certain recent Rugby appointments. The ancient negro pug, Jack Johnson, stepped out in a ring at Montreal tho other week and secured the derision over Homer Smith in a tenround bout. Johnson weighed Inst llib. His old rival. Jim Jeffries, who Lad a ranch out West, went bankrupt seme time ago. No reinstated League nlaver will be included in tho A'l Black-. ‘ That de cision bars K. Ifwcisoii, of Auckland. That annual hardy—the off-side rule •“-even keeps the “ Soccer” people talk ing. The subject will umloubtedlv come up at the yearly meeting of the English Football Association. As a change from theory. Chelsea propose, subject to the. approval of the Football Association, to play an experimental match with the Corinthians. Lines will be marked 2oyds from the goal, arid only in that space can players be off side.

Glenn, playing wing three-quarter for Waikato, this season, is a nephew of Mr Billy Glenn, M.P., one of the original All Black team. It is quite probable that an Australian hockey team may visit New Zealand before the season closes. Playing for Dunedin Pirates against Taieri Rovers, St George, ex-Capter bury representative, had a difficult job behind the scrum, because th© back row °f_ the scrum broke up too quickly. hen lie did get the hall away, the and three-quarters made little use of it. During an auction bridge rubber in a northern suburb the other evening, the dealer called oue no-trumps. He bad two weak minor suits and two fairly strong major suits. The others passed. The opposing player ou his left had ace. king, queen in two ,suits, and ace. king in a third. The result was a grand id am against the dealer. The example, says a correspondent, ought a horrible warning to those who make no-trumps on “ rags.” C . Sonntag, of Kaikorai, is playing Home great forward games in Otago tus Tear He ; s picked for tho A]l lilack trials, and. with a slice of hick should eo the full distance: A wail from the Edinburgh of the south: In the days when Kaikorai and Alhambra were such keen rivals lor Rugby supremacy m Otago, it wad r.o uncommon sight to see one or othej or these famous firteens trudging along the highway ten or fifteen miles from the city. They had a ball with them, and used to indulge m passing rushes along thO leafy country lanes. Perhaps the men of the nineties had not the innumerable distractions which exist to-day. The goddess Jazz was unknown in those far-off days when took their Rugby very seriously. It was a crime to bo absent from a practice called. The New Zealand Hockey Challenge Shield is in the possession of Canterbury, and, incidentally, it may be stated that all the trophies worth holding as Dominion titles are also in tho hands of the Canterbury Hockey Association, of course, with the exception of the Nor den Cup. F.D Q. A hurried despatch was accorded the Dutchman. Peter van Dam. by George Carney in London. In little more than a minute van Dam was on the boards, where he remained for the full count. So proud are Americans of their Rugby football games that the Nobles Gi©enough School, Dedham (Mass.), has put up a tablet to Mr Gerrifc Smith Miller, who, when a boy of seventeen, organised the first Rugby Football Club in the United States. Jimmy Wilde, England's great flyweight, once laid down the law to his manager : “No matter what contest 1 am engaged in in future, please understand that in no circumstances must a towel be thrown in from my corner. If the other fellow can put me out, lei him have full credit for it. Please don’t forget this. ”

It is expected that Patterson and Schlesinger will be v the singles players for Australia in the main Davis Cup matches, and that Patterson and O’Hara Wood' will he the doubles pair. They will be up against China on August 1. “ I do not think we ever had another season in the Rugby League that promised greater all-round success than this one,” said Mr Horace R. Miller, tho Rugby League secretary in Sydney. “ The Englishmen are bringing out the Ashes, and Australia means to fight hard to relieve them of the necessity of carrying them back to England,” added the official spokesPurple patch from an old-time epic: Fits reached Jeffries’s face with tearing left hook, and all tho strength Fitzsimmons possessed was behind the blow. Fitzsimmons was astounded when he saw how little effect his best punch produced. He expected to see Jeffries stagger and drop his arms. Instead. he saw Jim standing there on guard as steady as a rock. It was then that Fitzsimmons’s heart sank. He had found a man who could take his fiercest punches without collapsing, and he was very much worried about Percy Fender, who put on 107 for Surrey against South Africa this week, is a test match certainty. With the M.C C . team in Australia it) 1921. he bowled a fine ball all through. T. Milliken, of Old Boys, goes into the Canterbury-South Canterbury team, at the side of the scrum. Big. vigorous. and fast, he should force a passage into the South Island trial. at least. There was a gasp in Christchurch when Rugby enthusiasts saw D. Fairbrother’s name instead of Harris's as full-back for the combined team. Tho Timaru man, if he is better than Harris, must be a top-notcher. Obituary. -Sydenham’s senior Rugby team, due to war, League and minor causes The club won the banner in 1888- 1889, 1905 and 1907. “ Did they toss for it?” said a hardbitten city sportsman on Wednesday, attacking the selectors for picking a weak ( anterbury combined team. • Christchurch got eight in and Timarn seven, so it looks as if Mr Davis bad first bid, and then they spoke

1 hree of the Canterbury-South Canterbury Rugby team have previously Won All Black caps:—P. Storey (Timaru), Springboks, 1921; R. Stewart (Timaru), and R. R. Masters (Christchurch), New South Wales, 1923. M hen A. Brown, Linwood’s full-back-tackles, ho does A grade work, good enough for any team of earth. Whew li© kicks, the display ranges iron, bright to bad. Davis Cup contests have begun. Great Britain beat Belgium this week, and is now down to meet Spain. Lucky thirteen ! A ery few people have the temerity to make 13 their lucky number. An exception is Miss Gwitha Shand, the swimming chain)*:on and Olympic representative. Most of Miss Shand's biggest successes have been associated in one way or another with 13. And it seems likely to continue. She sailed from New Zealand for the Olympic Games on May 13 and she will contest her principal race on July 13. Tlfe fact that the British Empire and the United States are to try conclusions in Londou after the Olympic* Games holds out to the athletes of tho Empire the possibility of a new honour —that of representing the British Empire in sport. New Zealanders may confidently hope that both Miss Shand and E. C. Heard will secure this honour in the swimming events. Miss Shand’s principal rival for the honour is Miss Hilda. James, the English lady champion. There, doesn’t appear to bo anybody in sight likely to challenge Heard’s right to the honour. There were four pairs of brothers playing in tho Kaikorai-Alhambra match in Dunedin—the two Sonntags (Kaikorai), the two Knoxes (Alhambra), the two Glengarrys (one on each eide), and the two Callenders (one on each side). The withdrawal of the Sydenham team from the Canterbury Rugby Union’s senior competition will create a bye in this grade. . However, as far , as players are concerned, a bye is not altogether unwelcome, especially when the season is a hard one.

Hawke’s Bav “ arid the rest, ” did ■ uot exactly like being beaten. 18 to - 9. by Auckland, “ and the rest ” m ; tho All Black trial Just Saturday. It - checked loose talk about the iuvineibiPfcv Mill, Ge.mmell, Brownlee and Prow nee’s brother. I Evidently Messrs Davis and Man--1 ning think that P. Storey, the velli known Timaru three-quarter, is still a “ possible ” for All Black honours j A lot of other people think his day ia , 1 well over. I The games in the lawn tennis senior S inter-club competition, starting to- , 1 morrow, will be played at Wilding . Park. This is the first fruit of the 1 association’s endeavour to relieve the ” congestion on club courts. •' Since the Canterbury Rugby Union’s 3 competitions started, several of the • lower grade teams hav'e dropped out. ’ Ab a recent meeting of the. inan.\(c- ---• raent committee of the Wellington i Rugbj Union, Air J. Peudervill© (ebair- . man), expi*essed the opinion that the j clubs were concentrating too much on i their higher grades anil did not pay I sufficient attention to their lower ‘ grades. There is a Tot of truth in ■ tiiis and chib officials should take it • to heart. The youngsters of to-dav ■ will be the inter-provincial representatives and All Blacks of to-morrow. M hen S. R. Uarleton left Christ- [ church a week or so ago, it was thought , that he would not be able to play for ’ Old Boys against Christchurch to- , morrow. Oarleton. however, has made a special effort to get back and lie is arriving from Dunedin this evening. » His presence in the team to-morrow - should considerably strengthen the j Old Boys’ rearguard. , ’ The drainage of the ’Wilding Park tennis courts is to be provided for hv . means of sumps and field drains to carry.off the storm water. Beyond the provision of shallow concrete butters between the courts, the work was not 1 put in hand at the beginning because it was not going to cost any more to do it afterwards when experience would , show exactly what is required. The work is now in hand. The land at , " doing Park consists of nice light sand and there is no peat whatever, ’ as some critics predicted there would ‘ be. It is hoped that the fourteen • courts will soon be in full use on Saturday afternoons.