Our Sports Summary

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XLIX, Issue 20, 18 May 1922, Page 31

Our Sports Summary

[To ensure insertion without delay, notes intended for this page should reach us not later than Tuesday morning of each week.] DUNEDIN. In last Saturday’s Association football matches the Christian Brothers’ 2nd grade team was successful in defeating Southern by 3 goals to 1. Goals for the winners were scored by Laffey, Reddington, and Donnelly. In the back division Lacey, Burrell, and Brown -were prominent. The 3rd grade ;team lost to Maori Hill by 3 goals to 1. Smith and Beaker played well for the. “Greens. The Christian Brothers’ School has appealed to the New Zealand Union against its expulsion from school football in Dunedin. A private competition has been arranged for the boys and efforts are being made to provide trophies for the competition. The competition—both Soccer and Rugby—commenced in the first week in June. Only two teams from the school played on Saturday last, both being successful. In sth grade Soccer the school beat Southern by 4 to 1, and in sth grade Rugby the school beat the Boys’ High School, 8-6. <X~X~X~X><X> WELLINGTON. On Saturday last at Newtown Park the Marist Brothers’ Old Boys’ senior football team met and defeated Selwyn by 24 points to 3 (writes our own correspondent). The day was wet and the ground soft, making the game a forward one. The splendid work of the Marist forwards was a feature of the play throughout, and gave them the substantial lead which resulted at the finish of the game. The junior team was successful in defeating Poneke by 19 points do 3, and the 3rd grade team defeated Porirua by 9 points to nil. WWW CHRISTCHURCH. Marist Brothers’ Old Boys’ were successful in all six grades of Rugby football on Saturday (writes our own correspondent). The results were , as follows—Seniors, defeated Old Boys by 30 to nil; juniors beat Merivale, 28 to 8; 3rd grade,won from Old Boys, 71 to 5; 4th grade against Kaiapoi won by 9 to 3; sth grade beat Technical College, 28 to 6; and 6th grade won by default from St. Peter's. <XX"X~XXO"> ASHBURTON. The Celtic Football Club (senior) journeyed to Methven the other week and met the players there in the first round of the competition. As was expected, the game was a strenuous one, but Celtic proved the victors by 6 Joints to 3. The 3rd grade met Allenton on the same ground, but suffered defeat by 29 points to nil. 'sX-X-X-X^X-TIMARU. The Celtic football teams are doing well in the com- • petitions (writes our own correspondent). The senior fifteen defeated Temuka by 3 to nil on the 6th inst., and also beat Zingari (the winners of the Skinner Cup last year) by 28 points to 3 on last Saturday. The 3rd and 4th grade teams won their games last Saturday. The “Colts” are training well, and are making the most of the facilities provided at St. Patrick’s Hall. Lately poles bearing powerful arc lights have been erected in the adjacent school ground, to enable the players to train more thoroughly, especially in scrum and line-out work, on Tuesday and Thursday nights. ' <xx*xx*xx» . 1 STEEPLECHASING IN IRELAND. Irishmen were the- first to indulge in cross-country racing (says an exchange). As far back as 1752 steeplechasing was in being in Ireland. Probably the strong elements of risk and excitement attached to this sport appealed strongly, to our riding ancestors. The first authenticated account of steeplechasing is that which tells of a match which took place in 1752, between a Mr. ; O’Callaghan and a Mr. Edmond Blake over the country from Buttevant Church to Doneraile Steeple. From all accounts cross-country ’chasing has become general, usually taking the form of matches between two or more county gentlemen for a nominal stake, the primary object of the matches being the sporting one of testing the merits of the rival animals. - The term “steeplechasing” itself comes from the fact that prominent marks, usually church steeples, were , selected as points in the race for the riders to mark on their cross-country run over ditches and hedges. Nowadays the courses are mostly artificial, and are marked with flaps. As well as being the homo of steeplechasing, Ireland also owns the distinction of possessing the finest natural course in the world. Punchestown is. far famed for its merits, dually from the point of horse, rider, and As a meeting it only dates from 1851, the first being held by the Kildare Hunt. Two years later the Kil-

dare and National Hunt races were organised, Fairyhouse, the well-known Easter Monday rendezvous of race-goers, is another good natural course. Steeplechasing was not recognised as a regulated sport until about 1825, when the younger members of the various hunts took it up, plates were put up for prizes, and re-, striction placed on the weights of riders. \ From accounts of crosscountry chasing during these early days, the sport seems to have been a particularly dangerous and trying one both for rider and horse, the courses selected having been extremely long, and the obstacles more or less impractical. A favorite distance then was about 20 miles, the stiffest and most impossible course being chosen for preference. The presence of friends and foes at casual places on the course led to much foul play, and caused many exciting and amusing incidents. y However, the sport became increasingly popular, and in 1839 the first great Liverpool Steeplechase was run over a two-mile course at Aiutree. It took place on February 24; there were 17 starters; all carrying 12 stone. The race was won by a horse called Lottery, belonging to Mr. Elmore. Captain Beecher, one of the early steeple-' chase riders, rode in this race, and took a bad fall at the brook that still bears his name. From 1839 on, steeplechase meetings were instituted in various places all over England and Ireland, a few 'of the most noted being Sandown Park, Kempton, Newbury, Punchestown, Lingfield. Gatwick, etc., but Liverpool remained the favorite and most important of all; the Grand National run there is the principal annual ’chasing event. Point-to-point meetings are as nearly as possible the same as the early steeplechase meetings. Now, as then, the races are contested by hunters over a hunting country. They are particularly popular with hunting men, as they neither require the money, practice or skill wanted over an artificial course. Every hunt in Ireland now holds its annual point-to-point meeting, and the occassion is one on which almost every inhabitant of the district contrives to be present. There is a general “bonhomie” connected with these meetings never found elsewhere; most especially is this good feeling found in Ireland. For sheer snort, fun, and diversion there is nothing to beat an Irish point-to-point.