HOCKEY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 205, 31 August 1932, Page 4

HOCKEY

By

"STICKS.")

What is said to be the inside story o£ the defeat of the Wanganui ladies’ representatives at Marton on Saturday by Oroua B was the fact that they wore tennis shoes on a muddy ground and could not at any ume strike into their expected stride. The ground was muddy and uneven, and the Wanganui girls found that their opponents, equipped with correct lootwear for the day, at times had matters their own way. Taking the game as a whole there was not a Wanganui girl who put up a poor showing, and talking with some who saw the game, the writer was told that it would not be on all fours to single out any one player for mention before the others. The game at Marton will at least be a lesson. Its value will be seen later when the next muddy ground is met. Last Saturday brought the end of lhe season’s competitions in Wanganui hockey. What remains now is merely cleaning up. In preparation for the match against Manawatu at Palmerton North next Wednesday the possibles and probables for the men’s representative team will be playing at Goaville Park this Saturday, while the ladies’ seven-a-side tournament will be held the same day. On the following Saturday the men’s iive-a-side tournament will be held, so that without further representative matches that nay will mark the end of Wanganui hoekey for the season. If the Wanganui team defeats Manawatu and other matches result, then something will have to be done to keep hockey on the move. This year has been exceptionally good, in that on no playing Saturdav were conditions so bad that matches had to be postponed, and it was not nntil the Wellington-Wan-gs :tui game that a break was made for a representative game. Wesley will be playing the Wellingt.»n Wesley Club in the southern city this year for the Philpot Cup? The present holders are the members of rhe Wanganui Wesley Club, and t*’ year a reasonably strong team will again be taking the field. The Wanganui juniors will be playin- the Wellington thirds at Wellington on the same afternoon. Ait invitation has been given the hockey players by Rev. FI. G. Goring to attend the players’ annual church parade at the Ingest re Street Baptist Church evening service next Sunday. Mr. Goring is well kr.nwn as a referee and ex-player under the Wanganui Association. so there should be a good attendance. Any fears for the success of the New Zealand hockey team in Australia have now been proved beyond doubt to be quite without foundation, and although the selectors were criticised in some quarters for choosing what was admitted to be a young side, the men they chose for the trip have fully justified their views. Looking at the record of the touring team, it might well be thought that it has been one of the strongest sides ever sent overseas by the Dominion. To play seventeen winning games in fire weeks, or under, and travel the great distances they did, involved great strain on the members of the team. That they stood up to the racket as they did must count for something in regard to the physical standard of the tourists. The record of goals for and against is easily the best established in the three tours which New Zealand sides haie undertaken in Australia. According to the cable messages, the tourists scored 128 goals and had only fifteen registered against then 1 . Fourteen games were won. live of them with double-figure scores (one of them was 18 to nil. a record for any tour), and three were drawn. Metropolitan, Victoria and New South Wales were the teams which held the visitors to a d-aw in each case. The only Test match of the tour, played at Sydney, resulted in a hollow victory for New Zealand by 7 goals to nil. truly a noteworthy achievement. As was ex* petted. the final gamp of the tour, against New South Wales, proved one of the most strenuous of all. and considering that the visitor'’ were “stale.” they did very well to maintain their unbeaten record. A comparison of the present team’s record with those put up by the two preT ions sides is most interesting. The first New Zealand tour to Australia took place in 1923. when twelve matches were played and eleven, including the Test, were won. The only defeat was at the hands of New South WnJos. who won by 5 goals to nil. and that after the New Zealanders’ victory in the Test. The goals for and against were 59 and 14 respectively, fuming now to the 1927 tour in Australia. it U found that the Dominion sid played fourteen games, winning twelve and drawing the other two. The total number of goals scored for was 1"9 and against 15. Whereas the 1932 team played a fair number nf country districts, the 1927 side, for the most part, played in stronger centres. One of the hardest games, not included in the itinerary of the present team, was against Goulburn. which at that time was regarded as the home of hockey in Australia. Against New South Wales the 1927 team wnn by 4 goals to 2. and also defeated Metropolitan hr 3 goals to 2. These were two games drawn by the present team. The Test, whi' h resulted in a draw. 3 all. was played in Brisbane in very hot weather, which considerably affected thp visitors’ play, and the Australian side was a very strong one, being piostly New Smooth Wales rPDre' s PT»tativPs. C nnsid pring that at thp start the 1927 side had no fewer than six centre-forwards and no wings, the nerforman^ 63 were distinctly creditable. Australia’s record in th.* three visits made to New Zealand is not impressive. Thp 1922 side played seven games and won only one of them, one being drawn and fire lost. The same scanty success came the way of the 1925 team, who won only fwn out of nine mat-lies drawing hop and losing <h. A much strniig.-r side visited New Zealand in 1929. On that tour eleven match?* were n'ayed. nrd th*' Australians won e?x. ic. e t three, and •’t?v two. Their goal record was 31 for and 21 against. Th,- record of the team is: Julv 2'». defeated Casino, s—«\5 —«\ July 24. defeated Queensland, 4—l. .F tl h 25 defeated Ipswich. 9—n July 27. ipfrafpd Toowoomba. -1 A

July 28, defeated Warwick. 13—J. July 30, defeated Tenterfield, 1-1 —L Aug. I. drew with Metropolitan. I Aug. defcati d Orange, 9 —l. ■ Aug. 4. defeated Urokwell, 1 - I Aug. 6. defeated Canberra, 6 j Aug. s. defeated Kenmore, 10—2. Aug. 10, defeated South Australia. ‘ 13—". ’ Aug IL defeated aus'hi tra lia, 4 1 Aug. 13. defeated Australia, test match. 7—o. Aug. 17, defeated AJbury, 18—0. Aug. 20, drew with Victoria, 2. • Aug. 22, defeated Combined ’Farsi i A.g !. Irevi v. it h N .8.W., I • I.