“COUNTRY WEEK”

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 399, 6 July 1928, Page 11

“COUNTRY WEEK”

Province Comes to Town for Annual Hockey Tournament TOURNAMENT FINALS TO-DAY ONCE a year all the province comes to town to play hockey. This gathering- of the clans is known as “Country Week,’’ and takes the form of tournaments, which are looked forward to each season by wielders of the ash throughout the wide territory controlled by the Auckland Hockey Association and the Auckland Ladies’ Association.

THE trophies at stake are the White I-lorse Cup, given by the firm whose name is suggested in the style of the trophy for the men’s side of the tourney and the Auckland Provincial Cup competed for by the girls’ representatives. HISTORY OF TOURNEY It was in 1912 that the first Country Week Carnival took place. Since then the series has been maintained annually except during the war years from 1915 to 191 S, inclusive. Affiliated with the two Auckland associations are numerous country sub-association, and it is these which send emissaries each year in quest of ■the coveted trophies. Generally, from six to eight men’s teams are to be found gathered at Remuera, the headquarters of the game in the province. Girls’ sub-associations usually respond with 10 or a dozen entries annually. COUNTRY HAS MANY GOOD PLAYERS Although in the past hockey had not been played extensively in North Auckland the men’s clubs in the Wlrangarei and Rodney Counties have nurtured the game and produced many fine players. In the eleven years of the tournament the White Horse Cup has been carried north seven times, four times by Rodney and three by Whangarei. in fact, I until 1923 the north was supreme, but in that year theiie appeared another county that also could play hockey. Quietly and unostentatiously the game had been making progress south of the city. The centre of gravity shifted with a sudden jump from north to south, when Piako captured the cup from Rodney. And south it has remined ever since. Piako retained possession for only one season before Waipa swooped down and deprived its neighbour of its hard-won honour. Waipa has staved off all attempts to .recover the trophy for the long term of four successive years; perhaps too long for the good of the game. THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENT This year nine men’s sub-associations are battling for the White Horse Cup, and 13 girls’ teams for the Provincial Cup. These figures represent an advance of one in the men’s section and a loss of one in the girls’ over the statistics of last tournament. Sub-associations represented are: Waipa, Whangarei, Rodney, Franklin, Tauranga, Maniapoto, Thames-Hau-raki, Whakatane and Piako in the men’s department. The following girls’ teams aro competing: Auckland A, Auckland B, Auckland Collegiate, Whakatane, Franklin A, Franklin B, Tauranga, Kaipara, Whangarei, Waipa, Piako, Hauraki Plains and Waikato. THE SPORTING SPIRIT An aspect of country hockey at once apparent to the city critic is the lusty hitting and powerful “hustling” tactics employed, more particularly, of course, in the men’s matches. There is a delightful care-free abandon exhibited throughout the series, which leads one to believe that the contestants are primarily out for the fun of the carnival rather than the reward which goes to the eleven that gets beaten fewest times. Some splendid expositions and some third-rate scrambles have been exhibited during the present clashings. But for the most part the various encounters have been of a high order and, from the side-line, eompellingly interesting. As fortunes have waxed and waned

to date it seems there is every possibility of the cup going north again into Rodney’s keeping. The tide of YVaipa, which has flowed strongly for so long, is apparently ebbing for a season. TOWN REPRESENTATIVES The team to represent Auckland, in a match against the country representatives to-morrow, is as follows: Highfield (St. Luke’s), Williams (St. Luke’s), Gardiner (Somerville), Radc-liffe (University), Cole (Somerville), Steele (St. Luke’s), Reid (North Shore), Anthony (North Shore), E. Watts (Somerville), C. Watts (Somerville), Philpotts (University). Reserves: Haggett (Somerville), Fletcher (Mount Eden). COUNTRY TEAM The following team lias been picked to represent the country in a match against the town representatives to-morrow:-Goal, J'. Thompson (Piako); fullbacks, J. Hammond (Tauranga), L. Spiers (Waipa): halves, R. Smith (Rodney), C. Turnbull (Whakatane), H. Crickett (Piako); forwards, R. J. McNamara (Franklin), Candy (Thames), T. Grimmer (Rodney), J. Goertz (Rodney), B Spiers (Waipa). Emergencies: Backs. J. Salmon (v\ nangdrei), E. Smith (Franklin); forwards, C. Finch (Waipa), C. Hewlett (Whangarei). Senior B Grade Somerville Colts.—B. Cooper, R. Hunter, C. Smith, G. Gutry, C. Preston, W Heard, D. Maxwell, G. McNab, C. Edwards,' L. Edwards, S. Crocker. University Whippets.—Winn, Goodcnough, Burnett, Chambers,. Noakes, Smith, Spencer, Adams, Lamb, Taylor, Hubble. Second Grade Mount Eden. —Brown, Horspool (2), I-lirst (2), Jenkins, Taylor, Anthony, Cole, Jones, Jansen. Wesley.—lreland, Clark, A. M. Burton, Densem, Chappell, Fleet, Silvester, O. Slaney, K. Slaney, A. B. Burton, Crabtree. Somerville. —T. Brown, M. Smith, C. Moore, H. Skinner, C. Stainton, R. Barker, D. Maxwell, G. McNab, T. Gough, L. Edwards, B. Craig. Papatoetoe.—Knight, Thompson, Lusby, McFarland, Rankin, Catt, Cutforth, Lowe, Moore, Carr, McGovern. University.—Kayll, Alexander, Leonard, Wilson, Broun, White, Blake, Carter, K. Leonard, S. Hay, Brodie. Third Grade University A. —Straubel, Jones, Whitley, D. Woolcott, Markham, A. Tizard, Aubin, Kiff, McDowell, C. Woolcott, Robins. University B.—Kayll, Utting, McCullock, Chappell. Vallance, Fitzpatrick, McGill, Smith, Houchen, Knight, Marshall. Waitemata.—Cooper, Stott, Roberts, Schorman (3), Saps worth, Walton, Johnson, Patten. Wesley A.—Ford. Arnold, H. Wallis, F. Wallis, Aitken, Vinall, Williamson, Gatland, Chappell, Hossfall, Bord. Wesley B. —Leadley, Court, Draper, T. Carr, Dickens, Simpson, A. Carr, J. W. Parker, McDowell, Blight, W. G. Parker. Mount Eden.—Gilmore, Dee, Rogers, Wilson, Browning, Paa, Palmer, Munro, Cole, Lomax, Reid, Clark. Fourth Grade University.—Carter, O’Sullivan, Wilson, Battley, Gittos, Goodsir, Taylor, Merry, Simpson, Warin, Greer. Papatoetoe. L. Wolfe, Snelling, Smytheman, Greer, Wilson, Marshall, Leonard, French, Moore, Cameron. Emergencies: Mellsop, C. Wolfe. Somerville.—R. Inglis, J. Jordan, C. Mason, L. Grieve, R. Johnson, R. Sherson, R. King, C. Beer, C. Douglas, H. Brooker, E. Siebert, F. Moody. Mount Eden.—Darroch (2), Surman, Bowden, Schofield, Bushell, Fletcher, Jones, Jenkins, Purser, Beale, Grayson, Newby, Lomax, Pike. LADIES’ MATCHES Junior Grade Y.W.C.A. (A). —tMisses Matthews, Finch, McConkev, Syrns, Railley, Biddle, McMicken, Rawle, Fraser, Scarborough, Corson. Y.W.C.A. (B.). —Misses Jones, Rickard, Roberts, Blair, Eccles, Buckley, ‘Woodford, Edwin, Locke, Blair, Biddle. Reserve: Miss J. Baxter.