SPORTS GATHERINGS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 260, 25 June 1932, Page 6

SPORTS GATHERINGS

THE PLAYING FIELDS. NOTES FROM HERE AND THERE. Rugby in Bush District. The Bush Rugby Union realised a long cherished ambition last Wednesday weelc, when their representatives defeated a strong Wairarapa team at Eketahuna by 12 points to nil. Home and home fixtures between the two unions have been played over a long period of years and the Bush successes could be counted on the fingers of one hand. English Hockey. An English writer on hockey says that it is hoped that before the next season at Home is started the rules of the game will have been revised, and, he adds, "that the pernicious habit of hooking sticks will have been eliminated from the game." Jockey's Fatal Fall. A jockey's fatal fall at the 13th fence was described at the inquest at Waterloo, near Liverpool, on Robert John Cark, aged 21, of Caeraw Square, Ely, Cardiff. It was stated that he was riding Golsoncott in the Stanley Steeplechase at Aintree when the horse stumbled at the 13th fence and threw him over its head. The animal turned a somersault and fell on Clark, who had to be pulled free. A verdict of death by misadventure was returned, and it was stated that it was the first fatal accident to a jockey at Liverpool for more than 36 years. The Power of Bradman. Although the English cricket season has only just begun in earnest, public interest and the musings of the experts are concentrated upon the selection of the next team for Australia at the end of the season. The discus-

sion agam revolves around Bradman. Argument has begun as to who would make the best captain for England. The experts, including Gilbert, Jessop, and H. C. Carson, cricket writer of the Evening News, consider that ihe choice rests between Jardine and Chapman. Mr. Carson urges the necessity of having a captain who will never stop trying to dismiss Bradman, and a manager who will keop up the team's spirits when Bradman is batting for two days. Meat Surgeon. The captain and vice-captain of the 1932 All Blacks, Frank Kilby and Dick Steere, are both employed in banks, Bullock-Douglas and Corner, two other members of the team, follow similar occupations, in consequence all members of the team will have ample opportunity of first-hand information concerning the rates of exchange and other currency problems. Metcalfe, the Invercargill forward, describes his occupation as that of meat surgeon. Incornect Weights. There was much ado about very little after the running of the first division of the King's Handicap, at the Casino Jockey Club's meeeting recently, when the first two horses past the post were declared to have weighed in short. The public thereupon proclaimed the third horse the winner. An investigation, however, revealed that the scales were not all they should have been, the result was announced in the order the horses passed the post — Flowery, 1; Sturt's Pea, 2; and Valerie, 3.

Unsporting Action. Ivor Davies, English Rugby League five-eighth, almost souvenired a football at Sydney recently. The bell rang as Brown was kicking for goal, and Davies, after a struggle, secured the ball when it missed the posts. A New South Wales official tried to get it from him, but Davies tucked the ball under his jersey and was marching triumphantly from the field when the referee, no doubt observing the agitated efforts of the official, ordered the player to hand it over. The officials might have allowed Davies to retain the ball, for it was his first match on the Sydney Cricket Ground, and, after all, there is only a small intrinsic value. Maori Team. The New Zealand native team to tour the North Island commencing early in July will consist of twenty players and the first game will be against ttye Wairoa Sub-Union at Wairoa. From all accounts a very strong team will be available, the talent on the West Coast of the North Island being especially good. Remarkable Golf Incident. The most remarkable incident that ever happened in championship play was back in 1878 on the Prestwick links. James Anderson, playing the short 17th was apparently winning the championship quite easily (writes the Metropolitan Golfer). On the 17th hole he teed about a foot beyond the markers. A young lady noticed it, and remarked that he was standing outside the teeing ground. He overheard the remark, and brouglit the ball back behind the markers, played his shot, and holed out in one. Had he not re-teed the ball, he would have been disqualified. As it turned out, the hole in one was badly needed, as he just managed to win by a single stroke. Jock Ilutchinson's ace was perhaps the most remax'kable of all hole-in-one shots. The ball actually passed the cup, then with the customary back spin that only Jock knows how to impart to a golf ball, it obligingly canie back a foot or so and flopped into the hole. A Novel Attraction. To popularise distance running, handicaps are now being held in the half-time intervals of Australian Rules football matehes at the Melbourne Motordrome. The first of the series was a mile handicap for professional runners, and 38 men competed. Running from six yards, which was virtual scratch. Wally ("Kimber") Preston, the New Zealander who has been running in Australia for some considerable time, won in 4.213, on a heavy track. Hugie Crowds. Public interest in the English Rugby League footballers is shown by the fact that 72,748 people have watched the two games played in Sydney, paying £5607 at the gates. With £475 at Orange, the receipts have > passed £6000.