EXPERIMENTAL HOOKERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18533, 15 July 1922, Page 6

EXPERIMENTAL HOOKERS

Many years ago when the selection of tho South Island team was being made, the committee found, themselves in an unexpected quandary. There was not one front ranker among the nominations from the different provinces. What occurred in the conference, which meant so much to footballers in To Waipounamu, when this discovery was made is unfortunately not related, but it is certainly a fact that on the

great day, the first two men to go down in the southern strum were 1. Jenkins, of Southland ami D. Horgan of South Canterbury. For th? benefit of those , whose interest in the game does not ex- i tend so far back, a few particulars about these two men miust be given. Jenkins, one of the real rugby veterans| of this country, had during his long | career played in the back of the scrum. : at wing forward and half back, but! never in his wildest dreams had he ever ■ thought of tackling front row work in I an inter-island match For Horgan. | it is sufficient to say that he was a fine | all round athlete and on the football' field an excellent wing three-quarter! Early in the game when it became known to the rest of the South Islanders what, had happened, a forward approached Jenkins with the remark that “he wouldn’t mind having a go .at hooking.” The’ Southlander gratefully accepted the offer, but history does not record what happened to the. flying wing penned up in the middle of tho scruf, though ’trs known that for two years later he was again playing for the South Inland. The match in which this incident took place was played at Auckland and with this fact in mind a glance at the personnel of the South Island team this year in Auckland and a slight knowledge of the players concerned will disclose a truly extraordinary coincidence, besides an unusual happening. The bookers there were W hite of Southland and a Christchurch player. The fact that White had never hooked in his life before has by this time become 11 mere detail in our story, while the fact that the Christchurch man does not usually occupy that position is a fact that is scarcely worth mentioning. What does interest us in this trial match, on the results of which to a large extent depended the composition of the New Zealand team for Australia, is that both White and his companion are now Alt Blacks* No doubt they will do the hooking in Now South Wales. The only better method of adjudicating that I havo hoard of is the story told about a New Zealand judge noted for the excellence of bis decisions in difficult cases. f After hearing the evidence, so the story goes, he used to solemnly adjourn proceedings for a few minutes, retire to his room and with equal solemnity, despite the lack of an audience, toss two dice. One coloured red represented the plaintiff ami the other, white, the defendant. The verdict went to the party represented by the dice tossing the highest number. Joking apart, however, as far as White is concerned the selection of this pla\er is one that lias given unanimous satisfaction in the home province and further afield, it being recognised as a well deserved reward for one of the finest side —or back row —men in the Dornin* ion at the present time White put up a great game against the Springboks in the First Test last year and one can confidently recommend him as a player well fitted for tho further honour that has. been conferred on him. Of his comrade’s ability, I am nuablefo speak as it is some considerable time since I last saw him. He is, however, described as a good sound forward and he has cer- , tainly had considerable experience at , the game, having played before the war.

The seekers after curious will have no doubt noticed that in both cases, the game was an inter-island match, that it was the front row that- was concerned, and that it was a Southlander and a Canterbury man with but a scanty knowledge of what was required of them, that were the principals in this weird rugby story.