Sporting Sprints.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 65, 7 June 1912, Page 13

Sporting Sprints.

The N.S.W. Rugby League recently disqualified 18 juniors for life for assaulting a referee. * * * The New Zealand Rugby League desired that the Queensland matches should be eliminated from the fixtures for tho coming Australian tour, but the N.S.W. League has requested the DoDiinion authorities to adhere to the original programme. June 22 and 24 and July 5 are the dates for the New Zenland team's matches in Sydney. An Australian team will pay a return visit afterwards. The necessary sum of £50 being now available, Malcolm Champion has been nominated as New Zealand's representative in the swimming events at the Olympiad at Stockholm. * # * FISHY. Believe no tales that the fishers tell, They're all good men. and they all mean well ; But it's Nature's plan, and it never fails, There's something fishy in all fish tails. • • • • Tbe North v. South Island Rugby football match this year will lie played on July 13 at Napier, subject, to satisfactory arrangements being made. * • » Joey Ward did little else in Austra-> lia than play golf. He developed into a niopt //caloiis Jorer of the game, played with some of the best golfers, and picked up no end of points. A round on the golf course, ho says, soothes the nerves, and produces tranquillity of mind and temperament, and for tired public men he commends it as the tonic par excellence. * a # Great Britain has selected C. Atkinson, an ex-New Zealander, as breaststroke swimmer at the Olympic Games. Atkinson Avon the breast-stroke events at the New Zealand championships in 1910 and 1911. In February,- 1910, ho won the 220 yds breast-stroke championship in 3min. lOsce.—4soc. better than the then world's record. At length tho white man has a "hope"'—Jack Jchnsrr. hrn3 bought an aeroplane, and as tho rhymer puts it:Little drops in water, Little drops on land.. Make the aviator Join the heavenly band. * * England may not produce many great fighters * in the ring (says an 'American paper'), but there is one thing about Great Britain's boxing that doesn't prevail in any other country where boxing is generally practised. They have mighty few kicks over referees' decisions on the other side. And even American fighters who go to England and meet the best of them on tbe other side have few complaints to make of their treatment by British arbiters. But that isn't the point. The fact is that England is filled with capable referees, and that is something that cannot be said of the boxing game here in America. And it is for us to boast that we produce the greatest fighting men of any nation! How is one to account for the fact, then, that there are few capable referees of boxing contents in this country? * * * Obstruction (says an Auckland writer) has become far too common in Auckland football, and it is time that referees dealt more severely with such an unsportsmanlike, method of play, if play it may be termed. The City team seems to have mado a study of the art of obstruction. The team is quite good enough to win. matches without such tactics. Other offences common in Auckland football are punching and indiscriminate kicking in scrums. There can be no objection to hard, clean play, but foul play and unsportsmanlike methods should be put down firmly. Rugby football is meant to be a pport, not a training for brawle/s niid that particular variety of hooligan

■which delights in 'getting a man on the ground, and then 'k-iifking him into insensibility. * * * A little while ago Jimmy Cliiofiy told an interviewer -that he fought his first light for five dollars. Hugiiie Alchcgaii said that his first engagement brought him los. It is the way of all boxers: they have to begin at The bottom. An American exchange writes: "From past cxporioncooi champion boxers it isevident that each one of them must go through v scveic oourscof training and also preliminary bouts 'before they 'begin to reach the goal for which they aim. Jim Jeffries, .before ho 'became champion, was knocked about at the training camps as a trial lior,---- ...r JinrGorbett; Ad Wolgost, -light-weight champion, wa-s glad to get ,a preliminary bout around Milwaukee for fiTi.vthiiig from a ham sandwich up; Billy Bnpke was knocking about through Illinois in preliminary bouts to any 'kind of matches that came along before he -got on top ; the same-with the Into Stanley Ketohel, who often boasted that he fought in Montana for the fun of the thing; and again, Johnny Kilbono. the new featherweight champion, who -had the hardest kind of a time in getting to the front in Cleveland, finally reaching the goal of his ambition." * * * The Kangaroo's a quiet beast, But when he goes n-bounding. He .covers ground and makes his mark In manner quite astounding. Pardon the "sproad-oaglcisni," but in view of the latest achievement (at time of writing) of an Australian •cricket team that was "not representative." "hadn't Buckley's," would !be "a farce and.a frost," etc., a tendency to whoop is'iiaturnLnnd excusable. Following substantial victories over such strong sides a-s Surrey and M.C.C., the Kangaroos drew first blood in the triangular test matches hy easily vanquishing the Springboks by an innings and 88 runs. Australia led off with a score of 44?. of which llardrtlev made '■121, Kollowny 114, Matthews 49 no., Gregory 37. 'Whitty 33, and Jennings 32. South Africa replied with 2G5 in their 'first innings, tFaulkner getting 122 n.o. and IBoaumont 31, but fell for 95 in their second essay, Taylor's 21 being the highest individual contribution. Whitty. Ivelleway, and "Matthews registered fine bowling performances, tho last-named distinguishing himself by doing the hat trick in each innings. * * * The N.S.W. Rugby -Union has ae«>pted an invitation from the Californiau Rugby "Union to send a team at the end of the present season to tour America and British Columbia. Tho N.S.W. Union proposes that the team shall be Australasian in character. New Zealand and Queensland being represented. With this end in view, New Zealand has been invited to send a representative team to play three matches in Sydney for selection purposes. At the close of these matches a combined team will be picked by two selectors, ono of whom -will bo a New Zealander. A South Australian paper recently made reference to short-siglfled jockeys wearing spectacles in races. Though a case could not be quoted on the turf, the sporting writer "Vagabond" wrote in tonus of admiration of a footballer who always played wearing spectacles, and who was generally seen in the thick of the game. Several cricketers wear glasses when batting, but although Adam Lindsay Gordon was short-sight-ed he rode in races over fences without the assistance of spectacles. Then years back a youthful follower of the Adelaide hounds woro glasses, and he often turned to the man riding close to him with, "Will you be so kind as to tell mo where the next fence is?" One of the prominent interstate horsemen of tho day is supposed to be weak-sighted. One day ho banged into another horse just in advance of his mount. No one supposed for a second that he did it wilfully, the opinion being expressed that the rider in question, owing to weak sight, did not notice the horse in advance of him. That jockey is, however, still riding with success, am l chances are, thou'th I" 1 "i: ,r '' '" ' sighted, his eyes are still good enough to enable him to continue in his calling without the uep of artificial aids to his sight.