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THE CHINA MAIL, OCTOBER 18, 1938.
BAROMETER SET FAIR FOR
NEW RUGBY SEASON
Players Returning From S. Africa With Increased Reputations
IRELAND'S OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK
(By HOWARD MARSHALL)
London, September 19.
There will, I daresay, be some stiff muscles and sore shins among Rugby footballers this morning. Although the larger London clubs have not yet fully roused themselves from their summer sleep, the season may be said to have started in earnest on Saturday.
It is a season of high promise. The triumph of the sadly de- pleted British team in the last Test against South Africa still rings most cheerfully in our ears. Clubs are brimming with enthusiasm. Critics are sharpening their pencils. Spectators are polishing up their unfavourable comparisons with the good old days. The great game, in short, is under weigh once more, and, like true war-horses, we scent battle from afar and hear the militant stirring of rich
controversy.
MARGARET SCRIVEN
+
RETAINS TITLE
London, To-day. Miss Margaret Scriven, the holder, beat Miss M. McKelvie in the final of the Queen's' Club Cov- ered Court Ladies' Singles Cham- pionship, yesterday by scored of 6—3, 4—6, 6-1.—Reuter,
SHANGHAI JUST SUCCEED
K.F.C. Late Recovery
Unavailing
An interesting bowls game was.
"REVIEWER'S"
SPORTS COMMENTARY
Low Ranking of Tommy Farr
GOOD deal of notice is taken gen-
erally of the annual N.B.A. world rankings. The low ranking of Farr is due to his defeats by Braddock and Baer, but it is interesting to note that
he is likely to meet Tony Galento be- fore the end of the present year under the promotion of the Philadelphia promoter, Herman Taylor.
Taylor has said that he will match
Farr with Galento in the event of max scame.ing refusing to meet Farr.
It might have, peen more tactful if
witnessed at the Kowloon Football Club yesterday afternoon when the home team entertained, a rink from Shanghai and lost by the only shot our gut-heavyweight champion, Len after a remarkable recovery in the Harvey, had been ranked leading chal- lenger to John Henry Lewis, especially latter stages of the game.
as it was stated in New York recently The visitors started in fine style oy the promoter, Jimmy Johnston, that and scored a five on the first head Lewis and Harvey would. box for the and at the seventh head were lead-title in New York this month. ing by 9 shots to 3. At the 11th head they had increased this, to 15-7, but a three on the next head by the Football Club reduced their ar rears and they followed this up with three singles. The Football club were now playing well and at the 19th head had reduce the lead
Not too much controversy, let us tight we might well beat South hope, though the very vitality of | Africa. the game must bring with it argu- Here is the point. In the first ment and fierce discussion.
two Test matches we were beaten At the moment we are gasping forward. In the third tremendous for our second wind. Grounds are encounter we more than held our "brick hard, and as we bounce round, own with the Springbok scrumma- wondering, why we ever expose our-ges, and won in the last few selves. voluntarily to such brutal minutes. bone-crushing, we can spare a When we consider that such thought for the busy months players as W. Wooller, Cliff Jones (now, alas! retired), R. C. S. Dick ANY LESSON'S?
and R. W. Shaw, to name only four, -Personally, I find it hard to take could not make the journey to South Rugby football really seriously un-Africa, and that those who did go the Football Club needing three til October, though there are severe- suffered so heavily from injury, we ly practical reasons why provincial may reasonably conclude that our clubs find it. necessary to play standard of back play is far higher strenuously through September than we thought. heat-waves.
ahead.
SCRUMMAGING AGAIN
.
to 19-18.
The last head was an exciting one,
to tie.
a.
Hall and Fergusson had each a shot and Field was just a trifle
The ranking of Small Montana as No. 1 flyweight is absurd, because he was beaten by Jurich under champion- ship conditions. Jurich and Kane met at Liverpool where the latter won the world title on a points decision.
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In issuing its rankings the associa- Gunner Baerlund, of Finland, placed tion names, Joe Louis champion, with arter Galento. Then come Max Baer
and Bob Pastor.
are; }
The principal rankings of the N.B.A.
HEAVY: Champion, Joe Louis. Con. tenders: 1, Tony Galento; 2, Gunner Baerlund (Finland); 3, Max Baer; 4, Bob Pastor; 5, Tommy Farr (G.B.).
·LIGHT-HEAVY: Champion, John
heavy with his last wood when at-Henry Lewis. Leading contender: Al tempting to draw the third shot,
Gainer.
K.F.C.
R. Hail
an
it
V. Chittenden T. Ferguson W. Field (Skip) Head
1
Shots
0
0 0
3
1
It will be particularly interesting All that is needed, therefore, is to to see whether the British touring stiffen our scrummaging, and Rugby team will bring back with them any football at home should reach lessons from South Africa which exceptional level of excellence. can be widely applied. This tour, Serummaging-dare I mention incidentally, has caused us to re- so soon, or will you fling the paper vise our opinions of the relative down and rush screaming from the strength of the Rugby playing coun-room? Scrummaging, for all that, remain the key to the mysteries,
tries.
We had heard fearsome tales of and if the clubs will draw that the Springboks. A year ago they inevitable conclusion from the went to New Zealand and crushed South African tour, and act upon it, the All Blacks by orthodox tactics we have a flourishing season ahead.
Mark Ni-[of us. brilliantly executed.
"
S'HAI
K. L. Swartzell
A. M. Gutierrez
J. M. C Lopes J. W. Brierley (Skip)
Shots 5
Б
2
7
0
1
1
2
11
0 11
3
14
10
14
11
15
12
10
0
15
13
1 11
0
15
14
1 12
0 15
15
1 13
0 · 15
16
0 13
4
17
2 15
0 19
18
1 18
0 19
19
2 18
20
0 18
21
2 20
0 19 2 21 0 21
NONOQHHTONINON
4 00 03 10 15 DO KOLDR4800
.19
MIDDLE: Champion, Al Hostak. Leading contender: Young Corbett.
WELTER: Champion, Henry Arm- strong. Challengers: 1, Ceterano Gar- cia; 2, Tony Fractini (Italy).
LIGHT:
strong.
Champion, Henry Arm- Contenders: 1, Lou Ambers; 2, Baby Arizmendi; 3, Davey Day; 4, Pedro Montanez.
-FEATHER: Title vacant. Contender: Joey Archiba.d.
BANTAM: Champion, Sixto Escobar. Contender: Kayo Morgan.
FLY: Peter Kane (G.B.).
MR.
★
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Scottish Union's
Owner
TR. JAMES V. RANK, who bought Scottish Union, the St. Leger winner, for 3,000 guineas at the Don- caster Bloodstock Sales two years ago, breeds Great Danes, Irish Wolf-hounds and cattle as well as racehorses.
He is the eldest son of Mr. Joseph Rank, the millionaire miller, who has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to Methodist organisations.
∙cholls, a great player and a shrewd Just how much the tour will affect critic, praised them to the skies, our own representative matches and ranked them as one of the out-this winter remains to be séen. standing teams of all time. They Some of the players may be kept out proved in New Zealand, he main-of the game by their injuries, and tained, that orthodoxy was still the all of them will be tired and jaded, best policy, and that the most cun- for. their South African summer has ning of modern defensive systems been
exceedingly an
strenuous could be beaten by sound scrum-affair.
our hard-worked selectors.
He took up racing on a big scale maging, swift passing and straight They will return, a number of
The trial matches, however, are only a few years ago, and in 1934 running.
them, with increased reputations. still far ahead. The selectors will bought the famous Drul's Lodge rac- “LAMES TO THE SLAUGHTER" G. T. Dancer, the Bedford forward, spend many an afternoon on the near Salisbury, where his flat-racers ing establishment, at Middle Woodford, The British team, by no means for example, appears to have amply touch-line at small and friendly are trained by Noel V. S. Cannon, and fully representative, went out to justified the faith of those who grounds, watching a forward here his National Hunt horses by G. Evans. face these supermen with some think so highly of him, and it is or a three-quarter there, savouring Lord Derby, won more in stakes this Mr. Rank has, with the exception of trepidation. Major Hartley and worth noting, from an international with the rest of us the stir and season than any other owner. With his innocents, we thought, were point of view, that the Irishmen tumult of the struggle. No doubt the Epigram he won the Goodwood Cup going like lambs to the slaughter, were largely responsible for the scrummage laws will still plague us and the Queen Alexandra Stakes at and we waited for news of shatter-final triumph at Cape Town. Mor- by their complexities.
Ascot, Another. of his bigger wins No doubt ing defeats.
was the Newbury Summer Cup with be his Black Speck,
.
RECONSTRUCTION DAYS
P.R.C. BOWLS
Gradually it appear-gan and Cromey, at half-back, Mc- the theory of the game will ed that our players were by no Kibben in the centre, and Boyle on hammered into strange shapes by means outclassed. They suffered the wing, with Graves, Alexander, various. hands. an almost paralysing series of Walker and Mayne in the pack, give "We shall argue, as we have always casualties, but they continued to Ireland a big share in the honours done, and criticise, since in criticism TEAM TO MEET win matches.
and a sound,zeasonic, optimism lies one of the chief pleasures of Letters began to reach me from this year.
the spectator who has played the SHANGHAI TO-DAY South Africa full of admiration for
game, himself. Argument can be our play behind the scrummage. Even so, the four home countries, friendly however, and criticism The following have been chosen to Our half-backs and three-quarters, and England in particular, will be constructive, and it would they said, were the best ever seen considerably occupied with
be represent, the Police Recreation Club in recon pleasant to think that in the main their game against the Shanghai Lawn in South Africa. The Springboks |struction: Mr. John Daniell's re- we shall be content with generous ing at 3 p.m.
Bowls Association this afternoon, stårt- were learning much-needed lessons turn to the England selection com-appreciation.. in open attack. Our speed
C. Dowman, G. Perkins, J. Fender and mittee, will enliven the proceedings We can afford to be generous. and A. E. Carey (skip). daring were revelations to op- with caustic comment and shrewd The Rugby barometer, I am con-will be held in honour of the visiting Asteak-and-kidney-pudding dinner ponents and spectators alike, and if judgment, and Mr. H. C. Catche vinced, points to set fair, and we team in the evening at the Club, fol- only we could secure the ball in the side should be a valuable recruit to have great days before ung
lowed by an impromptu concert,