JACK HORE RETIRING

Evening Star, Issue 22452, 24 September 1936, Page 12

JACK HORE RETIRING

lABT GAME OF GREAT RIHSBY ! CAREER FINE SPORTSMAN AND GENTLEMAN ELEVEN YEARS IN FIRST-CLASS FOOTBALL When Mr J. Hore leads the Otago Rugby team oh to the field on Saturday to defend the Ranfurly Shield against the West Coast fifteen he will be making his final appearance after a long ana honourable- career in the , game. The popular Otago skipper will ■ retire with an outstanding record in the game he has played so well—a record of which he may be justifiably ■ proud, and one which he is ending on » high note by his fine leadership ot . the Otago team that has performed so successfully this season. Over a succession of 11 years he has played well in first class football, and fpr . some years before that he took part in junior and school football. _ Learning the rudiments of the game at the Macandrew Road School, which in those days had a fine team, owing to the excellent coaching methods of Mr Arthur _AI- - Hore joined the Southern Club, and, working his way through the junior grades, reached the Southern senior team in 1926. He quickly showed his ability as a forward, and represented Otago in one game that year. . Improving rapidly in bis game, he was picked for the Otago team the following year, and played so well on the northern tour and in trial games that he was among the first selected for the New Zealand side to tour South Africa in 1928. He was then only 19 years of age. He continued to represent Otago in following years, and in 1927, 1931, 1932, 1933, and 1934 he was a member of the South Island teams. In 1932 and 1934 he toured Australia with New Zealand teams. In 1930 he played in three test matches against the touring British team. It said much for his consistently good play that he was again one of the first to be picked for the New Zealand team that toured Great Britain last year. On that tour he was one of the best forwards. A well-written review of the tour in the London ‘ Times ’ classed I, Hadley and Hore as the two outstanding forwards of that side. Nearly always under 13 stone in ' weight, Hore uses every ounce of it in ’ his play, which is'marked by hard work in the tight, an immense amount of ’ dash and fast following up in the loose. An excellent feature of his play has 1 always been his> good dribbling, reminiscent of the. style of a former ‘ member of his club, Steve Gasey, of the ■ famous 1905 AH Blacks. No doubt he benefited greatly by the coaching of ' Steve Casey and Billy Bain, both excellent exponents of the art of dribbling. Always on the ball, Here is a ' dangerous man near the opposing line, and many fine tries have been scored by him in a vigorous dive over the. line. Though not very .tall, has also • always had a facility for making himself useful on the line-out. His tack- ' ling is deadly and sure; he tackles low in proper style. Much of his success ■ has been due to the fact that he is a strict disciplinarian in the way of training, and is generally in the pink of condition. Altogether Hore has represented Otago.on ,48 occasions, in 1926, 1927; 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, and 1936. In 1928 he was absent from New Zealand with the All Blacks in South Africa,- and in 1935 he was in Great Britain.. His record of participation in . games for New Zealand sides must , rank high. In test matches he has scored seven tries for the All Blacks. ; This year he has been playing as well ' as. at any part of his career, and his inspiring leadership of the Otago for* ' wards has had a great deal to do with ‘ their success. And not only is he held in great .respect as one or the finest forwards Otago has ever produced,' but also as a man of sterling character by all who know him. It will be the wish of all to see him lead the Otago team to victory in its eighth shield game on Saturday on the ground on which he has battled hard for the honour of his club and province in many a keenly- . contested game.