SPORTS AND SPORTSMEN

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19911, 13 June 1936, Page 20 (Supplement)

SPORTS AND SPORTSMEN

(By “ Korotangi.")

CYRIL PLUTO’S “DREAM CITY”

Well-known Australian Visits Hamilton : Hockey Insurance : Choice of Rugby Halfbacks : In Joe Louis’ Footsteps : Australian Soccer Team : Dempster as County Cricket Captain : Cameo of Sport Overseas “ L‘CKLAND IS MY DREAM ClTY—These are the truest words I A spoke . . ." and I, for one. believed Cyril Pluto, West Australian ‘ boxing title-homer when he vaunted a. real eulogy on the queen city and its people the other day. He came in nnostentatiously. with gleaming teeth, lean. open features and none of the harsh attrl~ butes that are so frequently assigned ‘to the professional pu-gilist. Every inch a gentleman, he looked the part, which he so truly acts. of a real sportsman. It is now some weeks since Pluto had the first of his four bouts in Auckland and he ”has enjoyed the period immensely. He is not the one to show mock modesty by over-rating the misfortunes otan opponent but he considers some of the men he has met and some whom he hal seen in action tn lw ul‘ good calibre and well into international class. And that, coming from Cyril Pluto, means quite a lot. There is little wonder that, with his charming demeanour and true sporting instincts. he has proved a. real favourite with the Auckland gallery. One of the purposes of his visit to Hamilton was to consider negotiations for a match in the Waikato. Prior to his visit the terms were looked upon by the Hamilton Boxing Association as being solid —pnrlirularly in View of the possibility of a failure—hut there now seem; a brighter chance of his being matched in the district before he returns to Australia.

Of the general tactics of fioxingq Pluto is a master. He has come upi against too many weightier opponentsi to discount the force of bulk againstl Skill end he sums up his views in one i sentence: “ It stands to reason that a. good big man will always be better; than a good little man." When hej n'omss up against a heavier opponenti he " has to carry all the extra weight On his own shoulders and it is terribly‘ hard." Mind you. none of this argument serves to discount skill; it only‘ Jose to show that when other things .we equal weight and Strength must. ‘all. No one realises it better than Pluto who can be classed as being among Australia's most scientific boxers. C O l ! l'nlike many amateurs who neglect r\\°n the precaution of bandages both in sparrin: and in actual matehesu i'luiu roaliscs to the full the import-l mm of protecting his hands. In the plum ot' hanriaaes he uses sticking rillfilPl‘ to fix hands of sponge aerossi his knuckles. which. oftering a resili-i r‘nt >lll‘ffll’i’. cover up every gap whiéh‘ the mndases ot‘ten miss. and prevent‘ him from getting water on thei knuckles—a painful complaint some-i thing akin to housemald's knee and‘ one which can put a boxer out of action for weeks. even months, at. a time. Another point Pluto cleared up was the oft-repeated suggestion that eye injuries are caused 'by punches. We thought to the contrary and asked him about it. “ A punch will never open an eye.“ he stated with emphasis. “ However. a blow may reopen an old wound. Eye injuries are usually caused by an opponent‘s head and the majority. on account of the tit—ness of boxers in international olase. heal up in no time." s o o g “ Extremely backward " was the phrase used by Pluto to describe training facilities in the Dominion. He has been anything but impressed with the training facilities that were offer—ing In Auckland and compared them with the excellent xymnasiums that twist in Sydney where even Jack Dun-lr-nvy‘s headquarters in George Street were excelled by those occupied by other trainers. leooer Prestige. The saving of Britain‘s international soccer prestige is the urgent problem confronting the Football Association. Belgium. regarded hitherto as one of the “sakest soccer-playing countries. defeated the English international side at Brussels by three goals to two. This result, coming on top of the defeat at Vienna a few days before. means that the whole omcial attitude towards Continental tours will have to be drastically rm’lsed. No longer is I? pmctii-ahlo in set a side of hastilychoscn. lccqwary players against ihc pick or tiontincnitil teams. No longer ran the Football Association afford to ho henighl)‘ pairouisinx. in View of the greatly improved standard of foreign play the Referee says two reforms are proposed. If pos— no at‘tervthe—seasnn tours will he nrmnacd. Azoin the players will be transported to their destination by air. if those arrangements are carried out the players will how a chance of em inrinc comparatively fresh on to the arid. “answer. those reforms do not. strike at the root. of England‘s soccer decline. Competent critics after witnessing the Brussels match believe the fault lies deeper—4n the English s‘)‘le of pin)". Continental teams. especially Austrian. have developed the old method of an attacking live forward line. Herbert Chapman's famous forward formation may be discarded in favour of this old method by future Fnaiish touring teams. Insunnes for Hockey Players. Although maJor injuries are fortunately rare on the hockey field, there Will he almost universal appreciation of the scheme which has been SU;acsted by the \Vaikato Hockey Associ—ation to insure Its players. For the payment of ss. a player is covered over the entire season and the financial emharrassmenis caused by injury are materially reduced. There has been a suggestion that the scheme reacts un—fairly upon the junior players who. in many instances. are earnini: only a few shillinxs a week but it must be ad—miltcrl that in point of fact they are the People who have most to gain. Those who are drauin: larger salaries may find it p-‘ssmle to tide over .1 pcriod of inmpariiation by acrumu‘ imni funds but this Is rarely possible ”I the case of the Small \\aze~earner who under such circumstances is in \ariahly forced on to Sflmennp 9159'; charity. it was hode that. tho mom~ hors of the \\.iikato Ladies“ Hackpy Association might ‘he embraced in the scheme but, with the riSk of injury In these cases fairly slight and tho pmwuium—nominel thoush it iswa hurdle to most playrra manv of “ham .trn school-:irls. ii is unlikely to be put into practice.

Maul-lee arleklsnd's New Role, ‘ Burly Maurice Strickland. New Zeaiand heavyweight champion, is to don a swimming suit and act as both life—guard and instructor at the Wernbley Poo] when the new season beings on May ‘22. Maurice has had a thin time in England. Since his first fight at the Wembley Pool with Foond lsst October Larry Gains, Tommy Loughran and Obie Walker have all outpointed him. It is in his favour that none ot his tights have been “ set-ups.“ Manager Billy Crawtord attributes his failure to the {set that he has never become acehmstised. A season's swimming at the POOI to act as a. tonic, and the ‘heautit‘ul weather we are now experi‘enoing. ought to suffice to put Maurice back on his fighting legs. 0. 8. Dempstee’e Ohm-in"; ' Leicestershire are havua-g C. S. Dempster as their new captain this sen-son. He was the great opening batsman of the last New Zesiancl side, equally certain with his hat or his pads. if he feels inclined to use his less we may see him stopping the ball outside the aihstump and inciting hot-heeded bowlers to many vain appeals. He will have in H. A. Smith and Cam e pair or bowlers who specialise in bowling unchanged through the innings—\\'hlch sounds oddly like village cricket.

Australian Footballers’ Tour. The following amended itinerary for the forthcoming tour of the Australian Soccer team has been announced by the New Zealand Football Association : June IT—Arrive at Auckland. June 20—v. Auckland, at Auckland. June 23—v. Wellington, at Wellington. June 27—v. Canterbury, at Christchurch. July I—v.1 —v. Otago, at Dunedin. July 4 —First test, at Dunedin. July B—v. Westland and Buller, at Greymouth. July 11—Second test, at Wellington. July 15—v. Taranaki, at Hawera. July IS —Third test, at Auckland. July 22—v. South Auckland, at Hamilton. July 25—v. Wanganui, at Wanganui. July 29—v. Wairarapa, at Masterton. August I—Leave Wellington for Sydney. Russell or Mills? Russell or Mills 0 This is the question that the Waikato Rugby selectors will face when they come to consider the merits of half-backs for the team to go south later in the season. An old bov of the Hamilton Technical High School, Russell showed outstanding ability when a youngster and, when still in his ’teens, had earned representative honours. To-day, he is Just, into his twenties and. with All Black prospects ahead will improve still further with experience. His forte is his clew stopping but there is a feeling in some quarters that Mills, the nuggetty Marist hall’ with his wily movements, would be a better man to get his backs into motion. It, is certainly a. matter for conjecture altuough it would be a radical step to drop RuSsell from any representative team.

Boxer In Sydney. The latest New Zealander to join the small but promising’ band of Dominion boxers with headquarters in Sydney is Jack Jarvis, of Taranaki, who won the lightweight title from Qlr % 'i e Raynor not so very long ago. He has placed himself In Jack Dunleavy’s hands along with the Hamilton heavyweight, Val Luttrell, and is being shown the finer points of the game by Australia’s best, known tutor. Although Jarvis will find the sport hard in Sydney, he should do well with wise matching.

Groom's Benefit. Popular Alfred Groom. one of \Nar—wicksliirc‘s best cricket ail—rounders, is to he given a benefit this summer. H:- has selected the Sussex match at Edgbaston, starting; on July 18, and everybody will he wishing him tine weatheri Groom began his career with Berkshire, but it was feared that his wartime activities would put a stop to his career. He was wounded four times. He did splendidly once he hml qualiiled for \Varwickshire, however. and has been getting centuries regu—larly and returning good averages. There are few better slips, and as a change bowler he is more than useful. Ground Conditions Important... The importance of ground conditions in determining the pace and general standard of play was never better ii—lustratcd than at Steele Park on Sat~ urday when two sparkling matches were prcscnicd in thc \Vaikato Hockey Association's competition for the Killip .\lemorinl Shield. The fields were like billiard tables and the 'ball moved smartly. hitting was crisp and accurate and the fielding very clean as a. result. To a lesser extent the perfect ground conditions were reflected in the fast. play seen in other sports grounds in Hamilton.

'Natlve Golfer Holes In One. I Thv hnnnur nf hoing th first native IFijiem :4an Ihn first Soulh Fm. Islnnd lnatiw In halllnnt in one on a golf imuse‘ has (1411011 10 Ham Favenav‘a, ltho captain of the F 131;: ‘Golf Club. Almost, all the members sire native frlnafs and nmrials, Stuns arr: being ‘talmn in nMam Ihr nm‘hficmp which ‘is Lisum'l m J]! g'Wll‘r-m vhn sP-‘m'o th‘ m‘llSlillL‘llLln. Savenara is a native medxr ‘o3.]. practitioner.

'To Awamu'cu Hockey. | Playing at Te Awamutu on Saturday in the \Vaipa Hockey Association‘s competition, Te Awamutu B shaped well against Paterangi. It had been thought that the visiting team would have been too strong for the home side, but solid defence had Paterangl nonplusscd more than once. The Te Awamulu back-s defended steadily and safely throughout and succeeded in keeping the opposition out of range. Paterang‘i won by the narrow margin of 2 goals to 1. i Vs * It ll i Keeping well on the ball, Downey

Emulazlng Lo'ula. The family tree of Joseph Louis Barrow (Joe Louis) presents an in— Lei'esting study. It appears that in the veins of the man who has knocked all the white heavy-weights dizzy flows the blood or the Cherokee Indian and the blood of white planiers in the. slave-owning era. But his skin Is 0! Negro hue. and that was good eough [or all the coloured fo‘lk"in Harlem to claim him as their own when Louis had reduced the man mountain Carmen to the size of a small hump. Loulfi‘s rise caused considerable celebretlng in New York‘s coloured colony. It also induced a large influx of new coloured men into boxing. “If

Louis can make tfiht nifich cars’fvout 6: the game, why can’t we?" said the fight recruits.

’gave a. good account. of himself in the Te Awamutu—Paterangi game at Albert Park. Te Awamulu. on Saturday. Playing on the wing for Tc Awamutu ii, l’lowney was a constant source of trouble to the opposition and his speed, combined with sound stick work was more than once responsible for advancing the play for the home side. Downey was unlucky in not gaining the second goal which would have made the game a draw. as his assm ciate wing was offside. l Match-winning Captain. _ Herbert Sutclit‘fe of Yorkshire the famous test batsman, in his book of cricket reminiscences deals among other things with the captaincy of D. R. Jardlne, whose match-winning tactics in Australia in 1932-33 led to a bit—ter dispute. “1 have never played under a better tactician than Jardine. who captained England in Australia in 1932—33. land I have never played under a better fighter." writes Sutclii‘t’e. “Jardine has two Vital quali—fications for captaincy—he has method and personality But I am not going to suggest that it has been his good fortune to enjoy the popularity 0! a iGilligan or a Chapman. \Vhr has he imissed it? My view is that. Jardine 1 sets out with such complete determini ation to play the game and win it that " his whole being is concentrated on the . task I “ in the field he lacks that little 1))”. of Showmanship that counts far so .much with the crowds hut .lm‘dine, who is so competent in everything he (inns, wares nothingr for that . i . Jar~ dine is not, panninr wilh crowds and never will be He stays in his shell, and in so doing creates. i am afraid a wrong impression. Let. me give you my own experience. .anrline and I- were members nl‘ Chapman‘s team in io2B— Thnrl‘ is an air] saying that you have to ii\c with a mun to know him [really well. but Jardine disproved that!

completely on the 1928-20 tour. . . We lived together for seven months. Did I get to know Jardine? Not one scrap. I thought he was a queer devil. * 4! If: it “ But I learned differently in 1932 33. Then I learned that Jardine was one of the straighten men 1 have ever met. A stern master, but evevy inch 3 man. Jnrdlne "had the courage of his convictions; it was unfortunate for him that. lhey dld not meet with general approval, but that dld not alter his outlook. He planned for us. he carr‘d for us, he fought for us on that tour; . . . . A grefit cricket captaln.“ ‘

Fowler lmpresus. ! Possessing a turn or speed abow'l the average. Fowler “a: a decided driving force in the visiting hill'ks in the Taupii‘i \V'csi—Rm‘crs Sulllk‘ at Te Awamunu on Saturday. Sen-ml iim-‘si he broke away and once he so! slurlwdi he took a power of stopping. Wilsmi was lhe pick of 1110 Post Hi lhe Visiting" hacks. Among Taupiri‘s forwards HL'HI‘) and \\'ulsli shxmwi UUI iu lnwi advantage. 3k 31‘ IF ’5 In their game willi 'i‘uliiriri \\'v.-| .xi Albert Park. Te Awmmilu, on Saturday Rovers left nothing in doubt, win-n they defeated the nrmosiiioii by 1’) points to 10. The homo imim whdecidedly tho. huh-r 01‘ the ma iii" teens and although the Visitors had two or three players or fairly good

class they were unable to bring :1 great deal of force to bear on the opposition, The hacks who gave the Desi exhibitions in the loaal team's backs were lx’cKinlay and Young, the killer's speed more ihan once carrying him well out of range of any possible pursuers. R. Jackson also played fairly well up to form and put in some stout work for the llovei‘s' leam.