French still

top in ball games

Superior in the ball games were, again, the French —certainly in technique—although the results did not always reflect the true state of play.

When the men’s volleyballers took to the play areas, French Polynesia was favourite for the gold, New Caledonia looked certain for the silver, with American Samoa and Wallis and Futuna even odds for what was left. Guam, Fiji and the Cooks brought up the rear.

Under the pools system, French Polynesia, the superior team, finished clutching the silver medal, with the gold going to New Caledonia and the bronze to American Samoa. The French Polynesians lost out because of the draw.

Fiji was the surprise. Unlucky to have drawn against French Polynesia and Wallis (Wallis being the silver medallists at Port Moresby), they diplayed a high standard, with great potential, but failed because they lacked experience, especially in making use of the rules. A New Caledonian coach has generously offered to go over and give Fiji a hand in building up a team.

Rivalry among the American Samoans and New Caledonians (sharing the same pool) heated tem pers at times. The Cook Islanders, who apparently had picked up their first volleyball only four months previously, were never really in the competition.

Women’s volleyball was another demonstration of French dominance, with New Caledonia, French Poly nesia and Wallis and Futuna de serving the honours they took. The French really are in a class of their own.

Basketball was also dominated by the French, whose technique was first-rate in both men’s and women’s events. They were fast and accurate, with good defence as well as offence.

It was their defence—or perhaps the balanced offence and defence—that kept them on top, but surprisingly failed to protect them from the PNG women, the best team to come out of that territory, which had enough stamina and speed to take the gold.

Since this is the second successive

Games in which they have achieved this, PNG women basketballers have to be treated with great respect and it’s probably a slander to say, as was said sometimes, that PNG is “just lucky to have this lot”.

The Guamanians, great showmen, were good.

In softball, Nauru, Port Moresby silver medallists, were unlucky to have had the third base suffer a leg injury in the first game, which put her out of the competition, and no replacement settled down in her position. Nauru was knocked out after a game struggle and went home ahead of time, as the softballers com prised the entire Nauru contingent.

American Samoa, Guam, PNG and French Polynesia continued to fight it out, each heckling its opponent continuously from the bench. This is an American practice which now seems to have spread—as irritating to spectators as it must be to the team in there batting. They should all call a truce at Guam.

The Guamanians, the Moresby gold medallists, again took the gold, this time from PNG, with American Samoa again taking the bronze. The New Guineans had worked their way resolutely to their medal.

Rugby (or

something)

The kindest thing to do about South Pacific Games Rugby is to ignore it until Fiji and Tonga get back on the field. They haven’t been seen together since 1963. In Noumea in 1966 neither of them turned up, and in Port Moresby in 1969 only Fiji turned up, to compile cricket scores against all-comers.

Not surprisingly, neither Fiji nor Tonga was represented in Papeete, and the resulting matches were not up to the standard one would expect from the Suva Grammar School, which probably would have trounced the lot of them.

Western Samoa defeated the Cooks for the final, 23 to 9, with French Polynesia wiping Wallis and Futuna 14 to 0 for the bronze. New Cale donia deserved the bronze but found itself in the wrong half of the draw.

The results shouldn’t be taken as a guide to anything. The Cook Islands played stereotyped New Zealand football, Wallis and Futuna were complete beginners, the French Poly nesians played only to be in it as the host country, and only the Samoans played an aggressive, unorthodox football.