KeithQuinnRugby
Thinking and talking about rugby every day for 50+ years
You are here: Home » All Blacks year by year » 2014 » 2014 All Black tour Diary
In November 2014 for Williment's Sports Tours, along with my wife Anne, I traveled to the UK leading a rugby supporters tour group on the the All Blacks tour. Here is a tour diary.
Williment Sport Travel tour leaders Dave Loveridge and Keith Quinn - who, along with wives Jan and Anne, on the last day preparing to drop underground for a memorable final Welsh mining experience.
24 November 2014
*25 NOVEMBER 2014* Read more »
Comments 0
The hoops of Yellow and black - with the Axeman logo - a long way from home, on the walls at Bedlinog RFC.
21 November 2014
*NOVEMBER 21 2014* Read more »
Comments 1
20 November 2014
*Wednesday November 19 2014* Read more »
Comments 0
Thank you John Cusack for keeping this old 1924-25 rugby memorabilia so proudly in your family. - and showing it to us today.
18 November 2014
*Monday November 17 2014* Read more »
Comments 0
Our Williment Sports Travel Supporters tour group lined up in front of the imposing figure of King Robert the Bruce at Stirling Castle.
16 November 2014
*Saturday 15 November 2014* Read more »
Comments 1
The All Blacks beat Australia 38-3 at Eden Park. Commentator Bill McCarthy described the action as the cameras rolled.
ELLIS, JAN
South-West Africa and South Africa
38 internationals for Sth Africa 1965–76
Along with the tight-loose forward Frik du Preez, flanker Jan Ellis shared for many years the record for most test matches played by a South African. They played in an age when such a total was considered huge.
Ellis came from far-flung South-West Africa (now independent Namibia) where the nearest rugby club was 60 miles (100 km) away. His keenness and determination to play the game soon built into a talent that was recognised in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town, the main centres of South African rugby.
Ellis made the first of his 38 test appearances for the Springboks in New Zealand in 1965. He played modestly for the first six or seven games, but then he discovered his own strength and speed and by tour’s end he was one of the most improved players in the team. Thereafter his powerful running from loose play and strong tackling made him a regular in Springbok sides.
He played many of his tests in the politically-charged atmosphere of anti-apartheid protests, but if such demonstrations worried Ellis it was never seen. His play was always of a consistently high standard.
In 1976 Ellis equalled Frik du Preez’s total of 38 internationals, but was denied the chance to beat the record when he was dropped from the Springboks team after the first test against the All Blacks.
Which Irish rugby player of modern vintage has the nickname of '36?'
What do you think?
Click here to show the answer.