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21 November 2014
NOVEMBER 21 2014
To this point in our tour we've had many wonderful moments, either in seeing the sights of UK and France or loving watching a winning All Blacks team in action. But the whole tour has always seemed to be heading for Wales! Whatever England, Scotland or indeed France have thrown at our tour groups, in terms of things to see and experiences to have - most of us on board the tour coaches have mostly been in a Welsh state of mind.
It's just that there are so many stories to tell and so many slices of All Black rugby history tangled up in our association with the Welsh rugby story. So today was our travelling day to find out what it is like in 2014.
To be sure it was not a good start. The weather as we left the gorgeous Ellenborough Park hotel suddenly turned atrocious and it offered us a soggy welcome into the Principality.
But on the other hand what was most welcoming was our trip tonight high up into the Valleys to the village of Bedlinog where the locals came out in force to offer us a truly typical Welsh rugby welcome. The supper was grand, the beer flowed and this little club's membership made all 70 of us feel very welcome indeed. And when the Treharris Males Voice Choir began their act with typical Welsh songs and humopur we KNEW we were in the land of rugby.
On a personal note the night was capped by finding a jersey from my New Zealand club; the Wellington Football Club from New Zealand's capital city, in a frame on the wall of the clubhouse. As this week I have been elected the President of that very club (we are 'The Axemen' of Wellington) I got the camera clicking for a shot to send back to the club's first newsletter of the new season next year.
All in all a wonderful night in Bedlinog - but at the back of our mind, as we sang our way back to the hotel was a gnawing worry about the test match tomorrow.
But whatever happens the anticipation of the game put us all in a high state of readiness;
Roll on the big game tomorrow!
Comments 1
1932-34 All Black Ernest "Ned' Barry was born on this day; he and his son Kevin (1962-64) and Liam (1993-1995) became the first 'three-generation' All Black family.
GABE, RHYS
Cardiff, Llanelli and Wales
24 internationals for Wales 1901–08
At the age of 12, in 1893, Rhys Gabe walked from his home near Llanelli to watch Wales play Ireland at Stradey Park, a distance of five miles. He and his friends played with a rugby ball all the way there and back, and the game had a profound influence on young Gabe. Thereafter he only wanted to be a centre and based his play on his hero who had played that day, Sam Lee of Ireland.
Gabe made his debut for Wales in 1901 against Ireland at Swansea in a match that marked the last appearance of the great Billy Bancroft for Wales.
Gabe, as a centre capable of beating his opposites with deception and speed, was a brilliant player in the Welsh teams which won the Triple Crown in 1902, 1905 and 1908, and which enjoyed a period of success called Wales’s first ‘golden era’. He also toured New Zealand with the Great Britain team of 1904.
It was Rhys Gabe who made the run that led to Teddy Morgan’s try which enabled Wales to beat the 1905 All Blacks. He also took part in the famous ‘foggy’ game of 1908 when Wales beat England by 28–18. Gabe scored twice that day – one of the tries was not seen by the England defence because of the murky weather.
There is another story that Gabe was kicked so hard in the backside in the Wales v Scotland game in 1905 that he could not sit down for six months! Being a schoolmaster it meant he had to conduct his lessons standing on his feet. However, the records also actually show that he was fit enough to play in Wales’s next match just three weeks later!
Which prominent All Black back didn't play a test till after his 30th birthday?
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28 November 2014 (9 years ago)
Karen
This was a wonderful night spent with some amazing Welsh people