SCULLING.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 September 1915, Page 7

SCULLING.

THE WEBB-HANNAN RACE. By Telegraph.—Pres« Association. Wanganui, Yesterday. Webb and Hannan have both practically completed their training for the match to be decided on Friday for the New Zealand sculling championship. Both report themselves very fit and confident. Hannan will strip at list 91b, and Webb a couple of pounds lighter. Writing on Sunday, a correspondent says:— Though the doings of Webb and Hannon on.the river have not attracted a great deal of attention so far, interest in next Friday's sculling match for the championship of New Zealand is growing apace. Webb is looking so well, and sculling with so much dash, that he promises to start a strong favorite, though there are not wanting those who doubt his ability to make good again, despite the fact that to all appearances he is rowing as well as ever. On the other hand, his admirers are enthusiastic as to his condition, and are confident that he is not only as brilliant as ever, bjit that he will stay as well as in any previous race. He appears to have no trouble in holding Archie Sharpe, his pacemaker, who has to take three or f our more strokes to the minute to hang on to Webb. The latter has gone back to his old style of rowing, and now rows with the straight leg, keeping his knees together, instead of opening them to let his body through when reaching out for a stroke, in the Australian fashion. He rowed with his knees together as an amateur; also in his races against Stanbury, C. Towns, and Tressider, all of which he won, and he appears to be going as fast as ever now, while the ease with which he gets his work in is remarkable.

Hannan is putting in plenty of solid work, and is also doing some sprinting '. occasionally. Ho had a ten-mile row on Thursday, and yesterday did just a I mile. He is in splendid fettle, and can bo relied upon to go the full distance at a very solid pace. The Kaiwarra man has astonished many by rowing two miles or so at top specM and then finishing quite fresh, and there are some who 1 think he will wear the Wanganui man 1 down by dieer plugging. > It remains to be seen if Webb can still show the same staying power that characterised his rCwing in most of his former races; if so, Hannan will have a tough contract on hand to break him up.