WORLD OF SPORT.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 270, 10 January 1929, Page 8

WORLD OF SPORT.

Tim§, and time again he rallied his pack to. despairing efforts, mowing his i down in single-handed rushes. At last in desperate tones he called : “ Scotland away ! Who isn’t shoving ? ” A falsetto Welsh voice from the other side of the pack quickly Teplied, “ Mark Morrison 1 ” The scrum collapsed !

Cricket T lfegalAccording to Rev. Bernard Everett, Who has been delving into the tomes of cricket history, the first reference to the game was in the reign of Edward 1., in 1300. In the reign of Edward IV. the game was declared illegal as it was believed that it interfered with archery, which was at that time the Britisher’s principal weapon of defence in warfare. The penalty for playing cricket was two years’ imprisonment, with a fine of £lO. (It seems a pity that some of the batsmen of our time who take over an hour to score 10 runs did not live in the reign of Edward IV.!) The owner of a cricket field was liable to imprisonment for three years, with a fine of £2o—equal to a fine of £SOOO in our time. In the reign of Queen Anne the illegality of the game was removed, “ for it was a manly game, not bad in itself, but only in the ill use of it by betting more than £lO on it ; but that was bad and against the law.” ’ What it seems to have amounted to was that there was nothing immoral or vicious about cricket in those good old days so long as one did not bet more than £lO on it. If he speculated £lO Is 2d then it became a harmful game. It would appear that from the point of view of j moral logic people have not changed much in the intervening centuries.

A Percy Bush “ Dodge.” A good story is told of Percy Bush, the great Welsh half-back who toured New Zealand in the nineties, and who, besides being one of the greatest half-backs in the world, was a persistent practical joker. Bush was one of the greatest “ dodgers ” the game has ever known, and once, while playing in a big match in Wales, he swerved and sidestepped his way right through the opposing team, but, instead of putting the ball down when over the line, to the consternation of his Cardiff mates he ran back into play again and eventually recrossed the chalk line to score. On being remonstrated with for his extraordinary conduct by Gwyn Nicholls, the great centre three-quarter, Bush replied in characteristic manner, “ Well, Gwyn, I remember dodging fourteen, but I had not dodged the whole fifteen,, so I thought I might as well dodge the other one before I scored.”

Something Doing. Only those who have seen the long and sustained forward rushes of great Irish or Scotch packs really know what this phase of forward play is like at its best (or worst). Men go down like ninepins as one or other of these packs sweeps all before it. In one game Jock Tyrrel, the great Irish forward, revealed his great sporting qualities. Rush had followed rush, each being more full of “ devil ” than the preceding one. Tyrrel had been playing above himself and dealing it out freely but fairly to all and sundry. By and by he stopped one himself and was put right out. As he was recovering one of his own team said, “ That was a good one you stopped, Jock.” Looking up with a smile hovering round his lips the great Irishman replied in an enthusiastic voice, “ It was magnificent, and sure I’m not complaining.” Say “ Sausage.”

Wales and Scotland were to meet at Inverleith, Edinburgh. The Welsh team was discussing a plan of campaign before the match and someone suggested that a password be used when it was desirable that the scrum should be wheeled. A Welsh forward said “ Say sausage,” and this word was adopted. The game was played in one of the worst gales ever experienced, and the Welsh forwards performed magnificently. “ Sausage right ” and “ sausage left ” were constantly heard. At half-time the Scotch captain went up to George Boots, the policeman leader of the Welsh pack, and remarked, “ Look here, Boots, what the devil do you mean by ‘ sausage ’ ? ” “ I will tell you after the match,” replied Boots. Wales won, ;h:d at the conclusion of the game the Scotch skipper presented himself for the explanation. He was told it was the password for “ wheeling.” “ Och,” he said, “ was that what it meant ? We’ve got a man we call ‘ Sausage ’ playing for us, and that was why we could not understand it.” One on Mark. One of the best football stories is told of Mark Morrison, the Scotch forward, who is regarded by many critics as- one of the greatest and most dour and indefatigable forwards of all time. During a very fierce international match the Scotch forwards were being rather badly beaten at times. Morrison was playing the game of his life in the tight.