HOLDING THEIR OWN

Waikato Times, Volume 128, Issue 21358, 28 February 1941, Page 9

HOLDING THEIR OWN

FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND WINS FOR NEW ZEALANDERS Members of the second echelon in England are more than holding their own at football, according to a letter just received in Hamilton from Mr Bob Paterson, former Waikato and Wellington representative footballer. Describing a match played against Oxford on the Varsity Rugby Ground, which the New Zealanders won by 21 points to 5, Mr Paterson says that the New Zealand forwards were capably led by Frank Soloman, the former Auckland and Dominion representative, who staged a great come-back. The forwards played very well indeed and were responsible for winning the game. He himself played fullback and converted three of'the tries. The Varsity forwards were very light but the backs were fast. Mr Paterson also played in a match in which the 23rd Infantry Battalion played a strong Welsh side drawn from a battalion of the Welsh Guards. The Welsh were beaten by 20 points to 11 after a keen and enjoyable game in which the writer obtained five of the points. In the club rooms at Oxford Mr Paterson saw a photograph of the Oxford team in 1935 when they were captained by Mac Cooper, who was the skipper of the team the writer played for in Wellington. At one of Oxford’s most exclusive clubs, the St. Vincents Club, where they were entertained, beer was served in beautiful silver tankards and the one Mr Paterson used was one presented to the club by J. E. Lovelock when he was president.