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AB tour diary Day 6; in France.10 November 2014
The city of Lille readies itself to honour is World War I dead at this memorial tomorrow.
11 November 2014
Monday 10 November 2014
Our two rugby tour supporter's groups, travelling in Europe for Williment Sport Travel, have taken a detour from the rugby to visit France and spend a few days here. Today the Dave Loveridge and Keith Quinn groups (ably joined by their wives Janine and Anne) woke up in Lille, northern France.
It was a holiday Monday here today as the country marks its commemoration of WWI horrors with no shops or banks open virtually from Friday through to Wednesday. Tomorrow will be the big day for us and the French nation as they recall the terrible start, in 1914 of what they called 'The Great War.'
So today was a relaxing day for the Kiwi tourists Myself I switched to a French breakfast of cheese and ham; 'fromage et jambon' with lovely jams on french bread. Washed down with strong coffee etc. (I love this country and feel very at home here)
The afternoon was taken up with a tourism coach ride around the top sights of Lille. Charles de Gaulle was born here so his home is marked and there are various statues and tributes to his powerful memory.
For dinner tonight Messrs Loveridge and Quinn - with a couple of other hardy kiwis, decided to eat the local delicacy, of steamed mussels. They arrived in front of me looking nothing like what we might expect back home. In the bowl on the table were over 100 of the succulent little blighters!
Anyway; after I had eaten them I leaned back and said to the world, 'I must remember to walk every day when i get back to New Zealand!' Dave enjoyed his as well. Merci beaucoup Lille!
It was a nice relaxing day!
.....
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Every day there is Rugby History 22 July 1961
Click to show France pays NZ a rugby visit at last.
And three new All Black caps; Connor, Wolfe and McKay conjure up a try in the very first minute in the first test at Auckland!
A-Z of Rugby
Click to show BADELEY, Ces
Badeley, Ces
Auckland, North Auckland, and New Zealand
2 internationals for New Zealand 1921
Although he played first-class rugby between 1916 and 1928, and in 15 matches for New Zealand 1920–24, Ces Badeley is better known as the man who was briefly the captain of the 1924 All Blacks.
Twenty-three of the players who later were to become the ‘Invincibles’ on their tour of Britain, France and Canada, first made a four-match visit to Sydney. Badeley was the captain, but played only the first match because of a knee injury. Returning to New Zealand, the team, and Badeley, played two further matches, and the captain’s play received wide praise.
Although the New Zealand union had stated the captaincy would be reviewed before the British tour, it was a surprise when, no sooner had Badeley made a speech on behalf of the team at a parliamentary farewell, than Cliff Porter was announced as captain.
In later years, Badeley supposed his knee injury was a reason, but it is possible that a clique of senior players privately decided on Porter during the voyage back from Sydney. Mark Nicholls was said to be a key factor in these deliberations as – like Badeley – he was a five-eighths, and a confident one at that: Nichols apparently was in no doubt he should play all the major matches.
The offhand treatment of Badeley didn’t finish there. He played only two games on the 32-match tour, despite being regularly clearly fit to play. In fact his major activity for the rest of the famous tour was to act sometimes as back coach.
Once the team was well on track for its unbeaten record, Badeley had no chance of playing. The under-utilised young wing, Alan Robilliard, who himself had only four games in Britain and France, has said that the unbeaten record became paramount to the team and it was inevitable the top players would be fielded for most games.
10 Questions to well known sporting people
Today's KQ Rugby Quiz
Which New Zealand Tennis Sponsor's representative always included two of his 'own' invented words in his speeches at the Heineken Open prize givings in the 2000s - and what were the words?
What do you think?
Click here to show the answer.
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