SPORTS AID SPORTSMEN

Waikato Times, Volume 118, Issue 19759, 14 December 1935, Page 22 (Supplement)

SPORTS AID SPORTSMEN

(By “ Korotangi.”)

DOMINION'S GREATEST RUGBY SCORERS Wallace and Nicholls Compared i Boxer’s Professional Debut : Terms of All Blacks’ Tour f Vance Drummond’s Work %. CrOjnb to Lead Canterbury N.Z. Cricket Captain Wanted South Auckland’s Haivke Cup Prospects. WHO HAS BEEN NEW ZEALAND’S most prolific Rugby scorer? Opinions differ and the vagaries of fancy turn on a dozen or more players who have done bright things in international football. Eventually, however, the issue is brought down to a straight-out contest between two of the Dominion’s greatest oldtimers—the Wellingtonian, Mart Nicholls, and the veteran full-back and three-quarter, W. J. Wallace. Both have a remarkable record of successes, supplementing creditable list of tries by an imposing tally of conversions and penalties. It would, perhaps, be no exaggeration to suggest that both the 1904 and 1924 All Blacks won mainly on their kicking. Playing in 16 of the 30 games decided in the course •of the 1924- , 25 tour Nicholls failed to score on but two occasions. He secured only one try, but his kicking brought his team an even century of points during the itinerary. Unlike Wallace he was essentially a five-eighths, equally competent to play at first or second, and the wily manner in which he ran his outside men into position stands unexcelled in Rugby history except, perhaps, in the case of Cooke, a past-master in the art of football strategy. * afc

In his international and inter-colon-ial test match'career Nicholls secured 94 points, a record which stands unexcelled and which is approached only Iby Wallac'e who gained’74 points. Although he never once scored in any of the many tests he played, Nicholls ran up this record total with a tremendously powerful boot, converting 25 tries, securing 11 penalties, two potted goals and one goal from a ijnark. No footballer in any part of the world can boast of similar kicking ability. Wallace,.who managed last seasons HVlaori team in Australia, was selected US full-back for the 1905-6 tour when_ he was 27 years of age in association" With the ex-Hamiltonian, G. A. Gillett, then playing back-line for Canterbury. Although only sft. Bin. in height and scaling a mere 12 stone in a team of giants, Wallace emerged from the tour as the tourists’ most prolific scorer. The side throughout its itinerary piled on 868 points of which Wallace, playing in 25 matches, notched a total of 227 points. As n three-quarter he secured 22 tries but, like Nicholls, the bulk of his points came from his boot. He put over 72 conversions, three penalties and a brace of potted goals—the last just at the times they were needed. He holds the best individual record for any Rugby tour. _ In international and inter-colonial matches Wallace notched six tries, added the tallies to 18 scores and put over four penalty goals which with a couple of potted goals, gave him the creditable points aggregate of 74. He represented New Zealand over five years—in 19Q3, 1904, 1905, 1907, and 1908, while between 1902 and 1908 he wore the North Island jersey on four

occasions. Debut as Professionals. Botjh Reg. Hobson and Charlie Saunders, New Zealand’s newest boxing professionals found a fifteen round journey more than a little trying when they made their cash debut at Ngaruawahia on Monday evening. Neither was prepared to take risks early in the'fight with the result that the hopes for a spectacular contest were scarcely realised. It was a new thing to see Hobson, the hardhitting Waikato welter-weight amateur title-holder, resorting to clinches to bide his time, but he was not the only offender and his opponent was equally if not more to blame in slowing the fight up. Had the pair met over eight or ten rounds the match would have fulfilled every expectation, but for men- of rising amateur class the 15 founds was far too long and served only to cramp real style. A challenge to the winner had been entered by the dashing professional welter-weight Wally Hogg, but both the Waikato boys would need to show marked improvement in. their form of this week to offer him anything Jike real opposition. -With the result f of the Hobson-Saunders fight a draw !' it is possible that they may meet in a return bout under the auspices of the Hamilton Association before j Hogg comes into the picture If they j' do, a ten rounds contest should more .than suffice Hawke Cup Prospects. As the result of their victory over -Bay of Plenty in the elimination game * over the week-end, South Auckland will-exercise, their first challenge for the Hawke -Cup, emblem of cricket supremacy among the minor associations of the Dominion, since the trophy was lost in January 1933. There is available for selection eight or nine of the players who participated in the series when -South Auckland established a record in holding off thirteen successive challenges , for the trophy. In addition several i promising; colts are eligible and the : convincing manner of the team s victory last week-end strengthens the assumption that the trophy may be regained. The team against the Bay was without the services of Badeley,

■ McKenzie, Aitken and a very necesI sary left-hand bowler with pace such ■ as E. Everest. The main problem ' confronting the selectors is to sift ■ the material, and it is probable that ' Comer, Ewan and Cassidy and, peri haps, Hampton may forfeit their posi- ■ tions. 1 Sharing the Profits. : Some enquiry has been raised throughout the Dominion concerning the financial terms under which the , All Blacks are touring Great Britain. The team receives a guarantee of 70 per cent, of the profits of each game "from the English and Welsh unions with a minimum of £SOO over all. In Ireland the guarantee was £IOO and . half the profits. London Hails George Nepia. Rugby League “fans” are promised the treat denied the Rugby Union enthusiasts—that of seeing George Nepia—regarded as the greatest fullback of all time—in action again, reports “The Sporting Life,” London. Just when it seemed that the negotiations would fall through—Nepia has decided to play for Streatham and Mitcham, the London club. 'Nepia toured England with the invincible All Blacks of 1924, and his play and personality made him a universal favourite. A relentless tackier and an artist in bringing his three-quarters

into action in preference to into touch, Nepia was also a brilliant goal-kicker. His omission from the present All Blacks’ combination caused considerable comment “down under” when the names were announced. Charlie Smith, the Hawke’s Bay three quarter, who is also joining Streatham and Mitcham, arrived at Tilbury yesterday, and welcomed the news that the great Maori player was following him. “George is still playing at the top of his form,” said Smith, “and he is bound to be a tower <sf strength for his new club.”

M. L. Page Retires.

One of New Zealand’s most prolific run-getters and a wily leader of teams in international and inter-provincial fixtures, M. L. Page, will not be available for selection for the captaincy of the Dominion’s representative eleven to play the M.C.C. team this season. New blood will have to be sought and the selectors are likely to be placed in something of a quandary as the result of Page’s retirement from firstclass cricket and T. C. Lowry’s decision to refrain from playing in metropolitan matches. Page is only 33 years of age, but he is retiring in his peak with an unimpaired record behind him.

Page went to England in 1927 and in all matches scored 1379 runs and claimed 39 victims with his medium pace bowling. Ho appeared in all four Tests for the Dominion against the M.CjC. tourists of 1929-30 and, assisting Canterbury against the visitors, knocked up 86 in 68 minutes, including 21 off one over from Duleepsinhji. Revisiting England with Lowry’s side in 1931, he opened brightly by piling up 104 in the First Test at Lords and finished up with an aggregate of 990 runs. He captained the New Zealanders against the South Africans in 1931-32 and against D. R. Jardine’s M.C.'C. side in the 1932-33 season. In addition to his cricketing career, Page lias played as. All Black Rugby halfback against New South Wales at Christchurch in 1928. Chicago Tennis Boom. 'Chicago is abandoning (lie taking of people for a ride and bumping them off. Now the tiling is to drive them out to the tennis courts and dump a few fast, services at them. Statistics show that in July six. hundred public tennis courts were used by 190.000 players. Play begins at daybreak and ends at. dark. No charge is made, for the courts, each player or group being allowed an hour; play is in order of arrival.

Golf Has Too Many Frills. Does any cricketer consider the details about his hit? I think lam safe in saying that no cricketer does, and yet, when the proper ball comes along, away it goes to the boundary (says a writer in the “Australasian”). Now a golfer is quite different He laboriously makes his overlapping grip, although, in almost every instance, it is unneccessary to do so. He takes his stance with great carefulness, shifting his feet about this way and that before he is at last satisfied. Then the club has to be taken back, slowly, according to the book, with a distinct pause at the top, but swift as lightning, according to the player, and without any pause at all. Then the wrists have to be cocked, the shoulders brought into action, and the blow delivered without looking up. It is all very bewildering, and almost sure to fail, or partially fail, because with so many details to attend to the anxiety about the departing ball is overwhelming. A glimpse of that ball must be had, in flight, before it is struck, and how to do that trick is the very devil and all. Therefore, throw all details to the winds, be a cricketer once more, and, only watching the ball being struck hit it straight ahead out of sight.

A Boxing Administrator. More than a passing reference of praise is due to the energetic secretary of the Hamilton Boxing Association, Vance Drummond, for the interest he has evinced in the sport over a lengthy term of office. There are drones in every hive—and, to their own credit, fewer than is often the case in the administration of boxing in the Waikato —but repeatedly during the past season Mr Drummond has been forced to shoulder what has appeared to be more than a fair share of administrative duties. As an announcer he* is hard to beat, while on the secretarial side he gets through a lot of work in an altogether unostentatious and commendable style. I. B. Cromb as Captain. I. B. Cromb, at present captain of the Lancaster Park team, will skipper the Canterbury representative eleven in the match against M.-C.C. at Lancaster Park on December 24, 25 and 26 He will also lead Canterbury in Plunket Shield engagements during the season, the first, being against Wellington, at Wellington, commencing on December 27. The next match is against Auckland, at Auckland, commencing on January 2, so Canterbury, who at present hold the Plunket Shield, have a heavy season, and Cromb’s responsibilities will be considerable. -Canterbury’s new captain has, according to southern critics, already

shown that he has all the attributes of a shrewd and succesful leader. Though he has never captained Canterbury before, he captained the South Island side last year, when South won by six wickets. Cromb made 13 and 43 not out and took in all five wickets for 56 runs. This season Cromb, as captain of the Lancaster Park senior eleven, has had the satisfaction of seeing his side secure three eightpoint wins in succession. Cromb heads the batting averages in senior cricket at the present stage of the season—3o2 runs in five innings (twice not out), with an average of 100.6. His highest score was 153, against West Christchurch. Bowling, he has also reaped a harvest —twenty wickets for 253 runs at an average cost per wicket of 12.6' runs. Cromb lias represented New Zealand on several occasions. He toured England with the New Zealand cricket team in 1931, when, in all, he took fifty-eight wickets in first-class matches. Straight Talk to Parker. American lawn tennis enthusiasts were intrigued recently by a letter that; was sent by Holcombe Ward, chairman of the American Davis Cup Committee, to Frank Parker. That 19-year-old player had announced that, disappointed by his display against Fred Perry in the American championship, he would not return to Lawreneevillc to complete his education, but would devote the whole of his time to the improvement, of his game, in making a bid for inclusion in the United States team for the Davis Cup competition. In advising Parker to reconsider his decision, Ward wrote; (Continued in licit column,;.