F. G. TURNER

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 178, 14 August 1937, Page 16

F. G. TURNER

• SPRlNGBdKS'. WINGER CHAMPION AT RUCBY, ' CRICKET 'AND SWIMMINC South Africa's greatest all-round athlete, a champion at Rugby, cricket and swimming, is*F. G. Turner, the briliiant Springbok fuU-back, centre or wing three-quarter, who is one of the stars of "the team ,now touring New Zealand. He is the youngest player eve'r to have represented South Africa, having just turned 19 when he won his Springbok cap against the touring Australian side of 1933. One of the most popular players in the team— a strong favourite. with the ladies— Turner is now 23 years of age. He has an jnfectiOv.s smile which never seems to leave his face, except when -he has • the ball tucked under his arm and is flyirig down the line in one of his briliiant and grimly determined bursts. Here is TUrner's remarkably fine athlete record:— Represented Eastern Provincea at swimming, 1930-31-32. Represented Eastern Provinces at cricket, 1931-32. Represented Eastern Provinces at athletics, 1933. Represented Eastern Provinces at Rugby, 1932-33-34. Represented Transvaal at Rugby. 1935-36-37. Represented South Africa at Rugby, 1933 to 1937. In 1933, against the Australians, Turner played in three Tests as centre and wing.' He was injured just before the fourth Test, and did not play again that'season. This year he played in both Springbok. Test matches against Australia. at Sydney. Remarkable versatility is revealed in Turner's impressive athletic records. At the age of 15 he won the 100 yards swimming championship of South Africa. His. ability in the water is overshadowed only on the ' football field. Between the years i926. and 1927 Turner won the 100, 220 and 440 yards swmming championships of Eastern Provinces. • - Before he had turned 20 Turner had three times been capped for South Africa— that is to say, he had played in: three Test matches. At one stage-J of his Rugby. career he had eleven provincial caps and three internationals. That was before he came to New Zealand. Now he has five international caps, having played in both Tests against- Australia tnis year. Fit and well, he. is certain to play in the Tpst - matches 1 against the All Blacks this. year, so that at the age of 23 .he is iikely to ha,ve: won eight caps for South Africa. .With mpch of his football before him, Turner alrcady has an athletic record which has seldom been surpassed. Only' 23 years of age", He has already played 31 provincial games- at centre, wing or fullback. He captained his high school team.- at cricket, swimming, athletics and Rugby. With a naive -smile, Turner ,remarlced once during the tour that he was "much too old nowadays to indulge in hard games, excepting Rugger, of course." He gave up swimming; cricket and athletics when he left Eastern Province and went to live in the Transvaal in 1935. When he gets backs to South Africa after the Springbok tour TurnCr hopes to qualify as 'a secretary. He is one of the personalities of the team, briliiant on the field and equally briliiant off. His team mates are just as proud of . Turner's- record as naturally Turner is himself. But Turner will not talk about himself. When you ask 'him about hlms*lX Uit smil« that

never leaves his face broadens. He was askecl about his swimming records. He smiled, and as we in New Zealand would say, he rcpUedL "aw, fox'scct it"