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21 September 2014
A story here which probably means nothing much except for two old Kiwi mates having a bit of fun. And one of them, an old commentator indulging in skiting just a wee bit....! Before being straightend out!
I had a call at home the other night from the 1974 Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres athletics gold medallist Dick Tayler. He's a top bloke and a good mate of mine since those far off days of yore. Here in 2014 Dick passes himself off as a Cantabrian through and through but I always rib him that I definitely know otherwise.
Basically it goes like this; I will always remind Dick that when he won his great Gold Medal he was not running then as a New Zealand rep athlete out of Christchurch with their Red-and-Black Canterbury colours. Nor was he even as a Green-and-Black from his birthplace in South Canterbury! That's because in 1974 Dick was living in Marlborough and as the Marlborough Amateur Athletics Association was then affiliated to the Gold-and-Blacks of my home province of Wellington when Dick was picked to go to the Christchurch Games for his great success he went as part of the Wellington squad to join the New Zealand team.
Ha! Good on yer Dick, y'er one of us!
The two of us have had a lot of fun with our more then slightly obscure gag over the years! Everyone thinks Dick is a long time Cantabrian - and maybe he is now - but factually in his greatest hour he was a Wellingtonian.
But back to the phone call to my place. When Dick calls for a yarn he never introduces himself he just starts talking. But his voice is distinctive and his manner is always cheery. So the other night he opened with a question; "I'm sitting here in a bar with two South Canterbury originals who played their sport to international level for their country and are often thought to be Wellingtonians - but they're not actually! Who do you reckon is here?'
I paused only for about four seconds. Then said quietly down the line....'..OK, one of you is YOU Dick ... and how is Tom?' I said.
I swear I almost heard the phone drop; that was followed by a muffled voice saying 'I knew he'd be onto you Tom! He got you straight away!'
In truth I just took a wild guess. Of course I knew one of the two would have been the Timaru-born Dick Tayler himself. He has always been proud of his origins in South Canterbury but I love his link to Wellington.
But to identify the other man present from my memory-bank which still can surprise me - I instantly made a South Canterbury-Wellington sports connection to the 1968-71 All Blacker Tom Lister. I was correct so Tom was called onto the line and we had a good yarn for a couple of minutes. Mostly about the good old days.
Tom was a terrific player. A loping flanker of great intelligence who came to Wellington to play for the Athletic Rugby Club after three impressive early seasons for his local province. He quickly fitted into a tough loose forward combination with two other top Wellington players of the 1960s, Andy Leslie and Graham Williams. All three became heroes of a young commentator. And all became All Blacks.
Down the line Tom then put me nicely in my place. The proud skiter in me had assumed from memory that having been in Wellington for three seasons 1965-67 that Tom had progressed to the All Blacks from the high standards of play he would have found in the Capital.
'No way,' said Tom, 'The All Black selectors wouldn't look at me until I decided to go south again. After 1967 I went back to much smaller Timaru but the next thing I'm off on the 1968 tour to Australia. And I got all my tours, tests and matches over the next four seasons as a South Canterburian - and never from Wellington!'
I was chastised (in a very kind way) and the conversation ended a short time later.
The story I relate to you here as nothing more than one of the nice things that can happen through men getting together and yarning. There's always something you forget or misplace in your mind. But rugby can still conjoin old mates. Sport does that.
So Wellington fans of a certain age; by all means we can claim Dick Tayler as one of ours - but not the great Tom Lister! He remains a proud All Black, but only out of Timaru and South Canterbury. Just ask the locals down there - including broadcaster John McBeth. He's actually been reminding me of the Lister facts for decades now. I should have listening more closely!
....
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FAMOUS PLAYERS
The game of Rugby Union has always been a possible game for everyman (or increasingly these days for every woman) who chooses it as their recreation or profession. But the game has also attracted famous people from other walks of life to enjoy rugby’s excitement and action;
[With thanks to Wes Clark’s Internet site, here is a selection from his list of “Famous Players”; with keithquinnrugby.com's additions]
British Royalty;
Prince William and Prince Harry; The two played while at Eton, William, rising to the 3rd XV at the famous school.
Prince Edward; played second XV of Jesus College, Cambridge.
Peter Phillips; the son of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, he is the grandson to Queen Elizabeth II. He was an open side flanker on the Scottish Schools team that toured South Africa in 1996. Captained Exeter University to win British University Sports association 2nd XV title.
Politicians
George W. Bush; US President. Played rugby while at Yale University. Played in the team which famously beat Harvard University in 1968.
Bill Clinton; The USA President; was a second row forward for Oxford University, rising to be in the University’s second XV.
Yoshio Mori; former Japanese Prime Minister, who was a rugby player all his life. He played Golden Oldies rugby well into his 60s. He also revealed he toured to New Zealand with a supporters tour to watch Tri Nations rugby.
George Brown; British Prime Minister 2007-2010. When playing for the Kirkaldy first XV as a 15 year old he suffered a detached retina which led to the permanent loss on the sight in one eye.
Jacques Chirac; The cformer President of France. He played for the Youth team of the Brive Club and later at University.
Winston Churchill; It is known he ‘hated’ playing rugby at Sandhurst Military College.
Idi Amin; dictator of Uganda 1971-79. He was good enough to make the East Africa XV in Nairobi. Played mostly as a lock forward. He was reserve in the East Africa XV v the 1955 British Isles touring team on its way home from South Africa.
Roh Tae Woo; former President of South Korea was an enthusiastic club player.
Donal Spring; Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland. Seven caps for Ireland as a lock forward 1978-81.
Keith Holyoake; former New Zealand Prime Minister who played first class rugby. A hooker for five seasons of first-class rugby for the Golden Bay- Motueka Rugby Union (1925-29).
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevera; Marxist guerilla legend in Cuba. Played rugby in his teenage days in Argentina. When he lived in Cordoba his club was Estudiantest. He was so enamored with the game he, and his friends, launched a magazine called ‘Tackle’.
From the film world
Richard Harris; Played in Ireland in two Munster School's trials and represented Munster Under-20s. He loved the game so much he claimed he would give away all of the honours and accolades he won as an actor to have worn the Irish jersey just once. In keeping with his wishes he was buried in his Munster Junior playing jersey.
Richard Burton; Played representative rugby as a youth in Wales; playing at school, University and in the RAF as a flanker. Once on stage doing Shakespeare in a Saturday afternoon matinee, and hoping to learn of the score of a Welsh international match being played at the same time, he demanded of an actor who arrived on stage ‘what news does't thou bring me, good news I hope.’ The other actor apparently mouthed a reply which contained, in a Shakespearean manner, whether Wales had won or lost.
Gerard Depardieu; played a rugby coach in the film “Le Placard” and is a part owner of a Division 1 rugby club in France.
Russell Crowe; New Zealand-born actor who lost one of his front teeth when he was playing rugby as a boy.
Charlie Chaplin; played rugby while at school in England
Hugh Jackman; When attending school in Sydney at Knox Grammar School he was a regular rugby player.
Javier Bardem: He was outstanding rugby prospect in his teenage years in Madrid, Spain. He made the Spanish international teams at Under-16 and under-18 levels as a flanker or prop forward.
Others;
Jacques Rogge; President of the International Olympic Committee. A Belgian international player. He sometimes down-played his playing ability, once saying 'if you stay by your telephone long enough it will eventually rinmg and you will be invited to play for Belgium!'
Owen Hart; The famous WWF wrestler who fell to his death in Kansas City in 1999. He played rugby for Western Canada High School, and he met his wife at a rugby match.
Matthew Pinsett; multi-Olympic rowing gold medallist. He was a regular lock for a number of seasons at the English club, Henley. And also at Eton.
Meat Loaf; the singer apparently played rugby at college in the Northwest of USA.
P.G.Wodehouse; Quoted as ‘one of the leading lights of rugby at Dulwich College, London, around the turn of the century. The school still has copies of some of the match reports he used to write for the school.’
James Joyce; played at Belvedere in Dublin.
Sir Edmund Hillary; the New Zealand mountaineer who conquered Mt Everest in 1953. He played rugby at Auckland Grammar School in the 1930s.
Bolger, Jim. The former New Zealand Prime Minister was a senior club prop forward in the King Country rugby union.
Tony O’Reilly; Irish businessman who was once called by some as one of the world’s richest men. He was an outstanding player who played for the British and Irish Lions and for Ireland. In total he played 29 internationals for Ireland and ten tests for the British Isles (in 1955-59)
Warren Zevon; rock singer of ‘Werewolves of London’ fame. Enjoyed rugby so much he acknowledged the Atlanta Renegades club on the liner notes for one of his albums.
David Tua; fought Lennox Lewis for the World Heavyweight boxing title. Tua once played wing three-quarter at school and in club play in Auckland, New Zealand.
Eric Liddell. A Scottish rugby international and Olympic track gold medallist. His life was depicted in the famous film ‘Chariots of Fire.’
Tony Abbott. The Australia Prime Minister was a First Grade player for Sydney University.
.....[This list is by no means full. Please send additions or alterations to kqrugby@hotmail.co.nz ]
Who was the player in the All Blacks 1991 World Cup team who played in one test (against Italy) and never played for the All Blacks at any level before or after that game?
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