The Sportsman's Log

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 624, 28 March 1929, Page 6

The Sportsman's Log

ROLLED BY

"ROUSEABOUT"

Australian League Rpgbv team leaves for English tour next July. Annual inter-varsity Easter tournament starts at Christchurch this weekend. Not bne Rugby match, either League or Union, was played in Britain on February 16, owing to all gro-unds being covered with ice and snow. * * * English Skating Champion Over 3,000 people saw the English skating championship won at Cambridge last month by a 19-year-old farmer, Donald Pearson. It was skating weather in England last month all right! A football match at Bridge End was postponed owing to snowdrifts nearly 14 feet deep on the ground! * * * New Heavy-weight Boxer Max Schel Ming, a German heavyweight, is being hailed in AiVierica as the next world’s boxing champion. He bears a remarkable resemblance to Jack Dempsey, is 23 years old. and Aveighs 13st. 31b. He recently knocked out Johnny Risko. Leckie’s Test Grime-Leckie fight takes place at Sydney on Saturday next, not last Saturday, as was erroneously reported elsewhere. Sydney “Sportsman” says the winner may be matched against Willie Smith, of South Africa, on April 6. Fast Three-Mile Run Phil Francis, the international distance runner, always a consistent performer, astonished followers of the sport in Gisborne a few days back by winning the three miles flat championship in 14min 40 2-ssec. His performance Avas very meritorious, as the eveninf, was showery and the going none too good. His time is better than that hitherto registered at any New Zealand gathering, bettering

even Randolph Rose’s record of 14min 45 l-ssec, in 1925, which wrested the record from Simpson. The New Zealand and Australian record of 14min 29 l-ssec, however, is still held by Rose. The performance put up by Francis is not likely to appear among established records, as several conditions required where records are concerned were not fulfilled. Corkhill for Masterton Quite a number of changes are taking place in the Rugby world of Wellington. particularly in the northern part of the province. Tommy Corkhill, All Black and Hawke’s Bay halfback, for whose services there has been considerable competition, has now decided to settle down in Masterton, and intends to play for Red Star. Eastbourne, which played in the senior A grade in Wellington last winter for the first time, was in hopes of securing Corkhill’s services, but apparently he has made other arrangements. Q. Donald Retires Quentin Donald, one of the great Rugby figures of the Wairarapa and of New Zealand, has decided to retire from the game, and will not again be seen on the playing fields of the Dominion, except as a spectator. Quentin Donald, like his brother Jimmy, has a very fine Rugby record, but both players have been unlucky in that they never succeeded in being included in All Black teams sent overseas, except to Australia, though both are admittedly in the first flight of Rugby forwards and have helped on several occasions to make Rugby history. As a “hooker” it is doubtful if New ealand has produced of recent years a more competent exponent of this branch of the game than Quentin Donald. Wairarapa. as well

as New Zealand, will suffer bv reason of his retirement. * * * Reg Trowern fights Jack Paul at Christchurch on Easter Monday night. Cricketer named Bishop made 82 runs in 15 minutes. Better than canonshots even. Australia is still two up in the whole series of Test matches since 1877. Naturally. Two-up is Australia's national pastime. Heading from a newspaper of 1940: “Test match cricketers demand 44hour week.” A. P. F. Chapman omitted himself when he submitted to the Selection Committee of the M.C.C. team the names of the players whom he thought should play in the last Test. In a recent Rugby match at Aidershot the Army beat the Police by 39 points to 3. An arresting score! * * * A professor with a Welsh name has been saying that more bad English is heard in England than in any other part of the British Isles. But that is easily accounted for. England has the largest number of golf courses in the British Isles. * * * Tom Lawton, famous New South Wales Rugby representative, will play in the Queensland Rugby Union’s competition at Brisbane this year. A Knock For Superstition The Welsh Rugby team which played England at Twickenham recently omitted 13 from the numbering of its players. But England won, eight points to three. On the other hand, C. D. Aarvold, No. 13 in the English side, was one of the successes of the match. * * * Potential! An English paper notes that whereas transport workers, craftsmen and miners predominated in the Welsh international Rugby teams a few years ago. most of the backs this season are professional men or potential professional men. Several of the forwards are policemen. Going To Japan Johnny Weismuller, who was supposed to be coming to New Zealand this summer, and didn’t, has now got what he wanted an appointment as swimming coach in Japan. It’s a great thing to be a champion!