“A Good Centre Would Have Won The Match.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18451, 30 April 1928, Page 4

“A Good Centre Would Have Won The Match.”

WELSH BACKS FAR TOO SLOW, AND LOST SCORES OF CHANCES SPORTING NOTES FROM LONDON.

(Special to the “ Star.”) LONDON, March 15. Hopes that a real revival had set in In Welsh football were dispelled by the play against Ireland. Scotland had been beaten in Edinburgh, and this performance suggested that the same team would be successful against Ireland in Cardiff. But all the old faults in the play of the three-quarters were In evidence, and, though they had abundant chances, they lost by 10 points to thirteen. It was very disappointing to the huge crowd. It was wretched luck, too, that such a fine set of forwards as the Welsh eight should finish on the losing side. They got the ball from four out of five scrums, but the ba**ks could do nothing with it. Their passing was slow, and time after time they ran merely across. The Irishmen had more than their pace, and, under these conditions. it was not surprising that the Welsh outsides made such poor use *:f their opportunities. It was in the centre of the field where Wales lost. One good centre, with a little enterprise and ability to cut straight through, would have won the match. The result made the Scottish team appear to be even poorer than had been thought, and on the whole season’s form they can have no chance of beating England for the Calcutta C it> this week-end at Twickenham. Very unfortunately lan Smith is unable to play, the injury to his leg keeping him out of the match, as it has done In all Scotland’s contests. He will be badly missed, for there is no adequate substitute. Macpherson, too, has been dropped, having lost much of his old brilliance. Indeed. Scotland’s fifteen is largely an experimental one, and it will be a great surprise if they held their own. The Calcutta Cup match is, of course, different from all the others, but, unless England win, form will turn a complete somersault. (England did win.) Welsh Rugger Tragedy. There is something rather fine about the Rugger sporting spirit. I believe the French international players have written their appreciation of the remarkable episode at Twickenham, when a section of the English crowd actually barracked the referee for awarding a try to their own side. An old Irish international, who was in the ring seat just behind the spot where an English forward and French three-quar-ter raced for the touch down, assures me, and he is rather an Anglophobc, that it was Peri ton’s try fair enough. And now all our Rugger experts, not excepting the English selectors, are saying that Wales ought by right to be top dogs, instead of wooden spoon lifts, this season in the international tourney. With the finest forward pack by far of all the countries, they persist in playing the weakest backs—inexplicably ignoring in Windsor Lewis, Guy Morgan and Powell, in his true position, the most brilliant “ outsides ” Wales has possessed for years. World's Billiards Championship. For two years or so Willie Smith, the billiard professional, has sought a match with Walter Lindrum, the Australian champion. Though he regularly plays with ivories, Smith agreed to use composition balls in order to suit his rival, but, though he made more than one offer, there seemed no likelihood of the men meeting. But Lindrum has apparently been annoyed by an alleged statement by Smith that he was afraid of the latter, and that he had side-stepped him. In these circumstances he has sent a challenge, for what he is pleased to describe as the world’s championship, for £IOOO a-side. Smith to be allowed £2OO to cover his travelling expenses to Melbourne. Smith has torn this challenge to tatters. He points out. as he is justified in doing, that the world’s championship is held in this country, and, though he makes no mention of the fact. Tom Newman is undoubtedly in possession of the title. In these circumstances he insists that it is up to Lindrum to come to London. As for the proposal that Smith should visit Australia, he states that the terms offered him are ridiculous. His bare passage money there and home would amount to £270, and he would have to spend at least a month in Melbourne in order to become acclimatised and have a chance to do himself justice under Australian conditions. Moreover, Lindrum makes no mention of the gate money. At the present time there seems to be little prospect of a match, but Smith, having at last drawn a reply from his rival, hopes that something may ccme out of the situation, and he has made definite fresh proposals. He suggests that a series of home-and-home games should be played, and he is prepared to leave the decision as to whether he should go to Australia first to the toss of a coin, if Lindrum will nominate an Australian official at present resident in this country to supervise this. Each series o! matches would be for £IOOO, and the gate money would be divided, or 60 per cent go to the winner and 40 per cent to the loser. Under these conditions, Smith is ready to go to Australia, and he is really making a very big concession in agreeing to play with composition balls.

Football Transfer Scurry.

Money has a tremendous power in' professional football, and never more so than when the end of the season is approaching. Ambitious clubs, well enough placed to have a chance of winning a championship and the reward that goes with it. are tempted to go out into the market, and bid for the best men. Similarly, those who are threatened with the loss of their place are tirged to recruit their ranks in the hope of bringing about better results, and. in these circumstances, they pay no heed to the cost. For instance, when Everton last year were in d-ire peril of being relegated from the senior competition, they spent over £20,000 on new players. In the old days this desperate buying and selling wont on almost until the last day of the season. Now, however, there is a sort of closed season for transfers. At any rate new men, engaged after a date in March, cannot give their help if it is for the purpose either of winning a championship or of gaining points to get away from the bottom of the table. In these circumstances, clubs have made really frantic efforts to secure fresh players, and half the English managers have been in Scotland. But they have made a poor haul. The truth is that most of the crack Scottish players have already been transferred. But there were two men who were badly wanted. These were M’Grory, the Celtic centre forward, for whose services Huddersfield and the Arsenal were rival bidders, and Stevenson, the Motherwell forward. It was reported that Aston Villa a few weeks ago offered £IO,OOO for M’Grory. and, whilst this was an exaggeration. it was known that the demands of the Celtic and the player would amount to at least £BOOO. There was a possibility of Stevenson being secured for about £7OOO. Really Scotland cannot afford to let any more of their men go. How seriously their football has already been impaired was proved last week-end, when in the inter-League game with England they were defeated by six goals to two. For the international match proper, they will, of course, be able to call on their men engaged with English clubs, but, so far as their own football is concerned, it has fallen to a very low standard. It was believed that the gaps which so many transfers had caused would quickly be filled, but this has not been the experience. The trouble is that clubs are so hard hit financially that they can only keep going by realising' their assets in the shape of men. M.C.C. Cricketers Back. The English cricketers, under the captaincy of Captain Stanyforth, have arrived back from the South African tour, with the impression that the game in the Commonwealth has considerably improved. At the same time they assert that they were handicapped by the matting wickets, and, so far as the last two Test matches were concerned, by the inability of Geary to play. From the start he was the most successful bowler on the side. Captain Stanyforth expressed the opinion that, when next a team goes to South Africa, we must send our fastest bowler. The man who could turn the ball was only really effective if he could make it do its work quickly. As evidence of this, he mentioned that, in the first Test match, Geary was almost unplayable with his leg breaks. South Africa had good bowlers, Vincent perhaps being the best. Nupen and Bissett had their good days, but occasionally they were punished, and Vincent never was. He was doubtful, however, if they would be as effective on our turf pitches. As for the batting, Ca'ptain Stanyforth pointed out what was apparent throughout the tour —that after No. five there was no one who could be depended on to get runs. For this he blamed the unusual conditions, particularly so far as the two amateurs, Stevens and Dawson, were concerned. Hammond delighted every one by the way he adapted himself to the matting, but the best bat was Ernest Tvldesley. Both Sutcliffe and Holmes made a lot of runs, but they did not seem as thoroughly at home as they were in England. Deane was a fine captain, and was lucky in winning the toss in each of the five Tests, but the fact that he put England in first in the last two did not affect the result. In each case the wicket was as good at the finish as at the start.. _________________