KeithQuinnRugby
Thinking and talking about rugby every day for 50+ years
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From my travels I have collected many photos; had them sent to me or saved them, because, well, behind most of them there is a good story!
10 June 2015
A visit to the Carmarthen Athletic Club in west Wales is well worthwhile. I did it in 2015. The collection of jerseys and memorabilia is famous throughout the rugby world. The club's unique boot collection was started by the President Gwynne King Morgan back in the 1960s. He approached members of the 1967 All Blacks who, because of an outbreak of foot and mouth disease were not allowed to take their boots home. Mr King swooped - and Colin Meads's pair - with an autographed card still attached - proudly still sits there. Read more »
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15 May 2015
If you are in England and near the town of Rugby in Warwickshire it really behoves you to pay a visit, right? So this year I did and after a night in the nearby village of Dunchurch a visit to Rugby on its Market Day was a must - and fun. Read more »
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8 May 2015
It is known that 13 All Blacks died in World War I. Three All Blacks died in Flanders Fields, Belgium. This year on a tour with my wife and friends I visited the three headstones of those who fell in Flanders. This one was at the Underhill Cemetery, near Messines in one direction and Ploegsteert on the other. (The Kiwi soldiers and others called it Plug Street in the same way the town of Ypres became 'Wipers' in mis-pronunciation.) The Underhill Cemetery was so named because it near to a spot that Kiwi tunnelers began to dig to undermine the German held town (of Messines). Read more »
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8 May 2015
It was with a particular sadness that I visited the last resting place of the Ponsonby Club's All Black hooker from 1913 and 1914, George Sellars. Read more »
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6 May 2015
I consider it a very good fortune from my life to have visited the gravesite of the first All Black captain Dave Gallaher a number of times. I first went in 1991 with some All Blacks of the second Rugby World Cup team. But that day one of the team behaved very badly by goose-stepping between the rows and rows of quietly standing headstones. When the player even stuck two fingers under his nose and raised one arm in a disgusting 'Hitler Salute' as he marched I could have killed the young bastard! Read more »
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22 April 2015
I've been lucky enough to go to the Japan Sevens for the last few years. Its always a fun event to be at, and not always held in the finest of weather conditions. Now we hear that this year's event will be the last in Tokyo. From next year Singapore will follow after the Hong Kong tournament. So in future we'll miss seeing sights like the one here - which shows all the local staff''s shoes outside the Japanese TV production and commentary boxes at Chichibu Stadium. Read more »
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The All Blacks beat USA by 51-3 at Berkeley, California. The result plus big defeats by Australia in 1914 helped USA concentrate on their own football!
KEARNS, PHIL
New South Wales and Australia
67 internationals 1989-99
A Wallaby World Cup winner in 1991 who went on to play in three World Cups and become one of the world’s toughest and most competitive hookers. Back in 1989 Phil Kearns was one of Bob Dwyer’s young Wallaby picks, chosen out of Sydney club play to play the All Blacks. He was part of Dwyer’s long term plan with Australia’s future in mind. The plan worked. Players like Kearns, Tony Daly, Tim Horan and Jason Little all came through to be major factors in Australia’s victory over England at Twickenham to secure the second World Cup final.
In his career Kearns’ most competitive rival was the New Zealander Sean Fitzpatrick. They met on a number of occasions and several times they were rival captains as well. Kearns captained his country ten times in all but was then replaced as leader by Michael Lynagh for the 1995 World Cup.
Injuries took their toll on Kearns several times during his career. And after he suffered a severe Achilles tendon tear it was thought he might never make the top tier of play again. But after a gap of 18 months he was back in time to be part of the Wallaby squad which won again in the World Cup of 1999. Such courage to return was typical of this tough, uncompromising player who was much admired wherever he played.
In his retirement years he has continued his association with the game via Television commentary in Australia.
Players with the surnames of Jones, Williams and Thomas when added together made up how many players in the Welsh squad at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia?
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