Brick-Hard Rugby Grounds of the Veldt

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 139, 2 September 1927, Page 10

Brick-Hard Rugby Grounds of the Veldt

What the All Blacks Will Meet in Africa N.Z.E.F. MAN’S IMPRESSIONS An interesting resume of the conditions that the All Blacks will meet in South Africa next year is given by Dr. \Y\ F. Fea, in an interview with a Timuru paper. Dr. Fea, who was a member of the N.Z.E.F. team which visited South Africa in 1919, says: “Injuries will take a heavy toll of the New Zealand ranks, especially during the first six games or so, but after a time the players will adapt themselves to the hard grounds, and fall less heavily. The inside backs will suffer severely from hard falls, and provision will need to be made for plenty of reserves in these positions.” Continuing, Dr. Fea said that the question of attending injuries brought up an important point, and lie considered that the New Zealand Union would be wise if they arranged for a doctor in South Africa to travel with the team and attend to injured players. With the Army team there were many septic arms, hips and knees, which would have recovered quickly with adequate supervision. . Footballers generally were careless of bruises and open wounds, but the soil of South Africa was not the soil of New Zealand, nml such precautions would mean a saving of fit men. GROUNDS VARY “The grounds which will be played on.” said Dr. Fea, “will vary a good deal as the team travels north. Quite fair turf will be found at Capetown Oudtshoom. Port Elizabeth, in Cape Colony, and Bloemfontein in Orange Free State. Kimberley boasts the hardest ground in the Union, unless it has ohanged of late years. Then was not a blade of grass on it, bein*

UNDEFEATED AUCKLAND BOXER. —Jim Broadfoot, who, since; embracing the professional ranks, has had six fights and won them all, defeating Nelson McKnight and Ern "Young twice and Ern Mac and Dick Doveridge once. As an amateur, he fought 50 times, won on 43 occasions, and lost five times, two matches being drawn. He is matched to fight Artie Hay at Wellington at the end of the month, while it is on the cards that he may appear befoi'e an Am*kland audience before going to Wollfngton. Broadloot proposes to go across to Australia towards the end of the year.

of the irresistancy of asphalt, with fine gritty particles on its surface. Johannesburg, w ith its ground in the Wanderers’ Club grounds, could, in 1919, boast of no grass to play on. The soil was reddish in colour, and had to be sprinkled with water before a game, in order to lay the dust. At half-time it was harrowed with the back of harrows in order to level the mounds.” LIGHT AIR OF JO’BERG

One interesting feature about Johannesburg was its altitude, being about 5,000 feet above sea level. During the first practice tiiere the members of the Army team were considerably out of breath in a few minutes, due solely to the fact that the team was not acclimatised to the reduced atmospheric pressure. For a similar reason the ball, when taken from a , high punt, almost knocked the breath out of the players, as its velocity downwards was materially increased. Racehorses all had to be acclimatised before they could do any good up in the Transvaal. Another effect of the altitude was that a good place-kicker would land goals from 10 yards on his own side of ihe half-way line. “Entertainment will be on a generous scale.” said Dr. Fea, “and in Johannesburg, where a considerable stay w ill be made, this portion of the programme will probably be taken over bv the organisation which was responsible for the visit of the Army team. Everywhere, even in remote corners, New Zealanders will be found, quite a number domiciled there since the JSouth African war.

TRAVELLING FACILITIES GOOD ! “Naturally, in a country so large, a good deal of travelling is necessary. This does not prove tedious. Indeed, wo found it pleasant, providing, as it did, much needed rest. The railway gauge is the same as New Zealand, but the sleeping carriages contain four to a compartment, and are very comfortable. The meals provided on the trains are also excellent.” In conclusion Dr. Fea made mention of football in general in South Africa. • It is of high standard,” he said, “and it is taken very seriously, as is the case in New Zealand. The almost prei. —itomij aspect which the same is assuming in certain N*w? Zealand provinces does not appeal to South Africa. There is not even professional running there From my own experience, 1 should certainly say that their play, taken right through, was of a thoroughly clean nature, unnecessary and foul handling being conspicuous by its absence. Let our selectors and our parent union watch our interests, lest we should be taught a lesson in this respect.”