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6 November 2014
All Black Dairy Day 1; Auckland to Heathrow
Thank you to Air New Zealand for a smooth flight on NZ2 to London today. We flew in a Boeing 777-300 which the airline staff were only to proud to tell us was only three weeks old.
The two dozen or so All Black supporters who have paid up on the Williment Travel tour following the 2014 All Blacks to UK, and who flew out of Auckland, were met at Los Angeles Airport by another 30 or so fans who had signed up to take the earlier All Black game in Chicago. They were all chuffed to have made the extra effort to go to USA and spoke warmly of the reception that had been offered to them by the local Chicago fans and officials. The second group is led by the ex-All Black captain David Loveridge who is as regular in this type of travelling now as he was in his illustrious playing days. Dave and his wife Jan and my wife Anne and I will lead parallel tours for Williments over the next three weekends.
We touched down in the new-look Terminal2 at Heathrow and what a pleasure it was to zoom so speedily through customs and baggage there. It is now such a contrast to the dreary old days of yesteryear there.
We were met by staff of Gulliver's travel and all of us were soon relaxing the comfortable rooms at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel. A smooth flight followed by an efficient welcome and transfer - what more could we weary travellers have asked for?
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All Black Diary Day 2; In London
The first people in our party who were down to breakfast might have been the farmers who are used to being up at the crack of dawn but I was not sure of that as I was far from being first to emerge from my room for the day.
Today was a recovery day from the rigors of the long flight. Some of the Dave Loveridge group took the opportunity to go on the underground to see the massive display of poppies (some 880,000 of them) who are planted in the ground at the Tower of London to commemorate the lives lost by the Allied forces in World War I. They came back hugely impressed.
Most of the rest of our people went out in various directions to see the sights of preference in this great city.
Over the road from our hotel we have discovered the Stanhope Hotel which we have already dubbed as our late afternoon meeting point. Tonight it proved a popular first place for people to report on their day's activities and their hopes for the weeks ahead.
Comments 0
It was the Welsh RU's 100th Centennial game. Expectations were high in Cardiff that day for a big home win but Graham Mourie's All Blacks took the cake 23-3!
QUINNELL, DEREK
Llanelli and Wales
23 internationals for Wales 1972–80
5 internationals for British Isles 1971–80
QUINNELL, SCOTT
Llanelli, Richmond and Wales
52 internationals for Wales 1993-2002
3 internationals for British Lions
QUINNELL, CRAIG
Llanelli, Richmond, Cardiff and Wales
32 internationals for Wales 1995-2002
One of the big names of Welsh rugby through the 1970s, Derek Quinnell was a rugged and durable forward who could, and did, play in various positions in international matches. Later, his two sons Scott and Craig, who were bigger physically than he was, both played for Wales and one of them followed him into a British Lions touring team.
Derek Quinnell hit the headlines when he was named for the 1971 British Isles tour to New Zealand as the only uncapped player in the side. While on tour he made his international debut against the All Blacks at Wellington. His first game for Wales was as a replacement against France in Cardiff in 1972. In his long career, which included three tours for the British Isles, he played in four teams that beat various All Black sides, which could be a record for a British player – twice in tests for the British Isles, once for the Barbarians and once for his club Llanelli, in its famous game in 1972.
When his playing days were over Quinnell was quickly promoted, first to being a Welsh selector and then as assistant coach of the Welsh team for the Rugby World Cup in 1987.
The first of his sons, Scott, made his debut only 13 years after his father quit. Scott became hugely popular with Welsh fans throughout a career which lasted ten seasons. He was a massive man and his barging runs from the number eight position were seen as a symbol of hope for Welsh rugby that success would follow if everyone could follow the example set by big Scott.
His career had a number of twists and turns. He was lured to rugby league in 1995 and played for Wigan. That meant he missed the World Cup that year. But with the arrival of the professional rugby union game he was back by 1997. He tried his hand with the Richmond club in London but when they fell on hard times he went back to his home town of Llanelli. In his time he went on two Lions tours but in one, to South Africa in 1997, he did not play in any of the test matches. It was in 2001 that he really showed what he could do. In that year’s Lions team he played in his usual bustling style and was rewarded with selection in the three test matches against Australia. The legion of British fans who followed the tour loved him and, one suspects, the Aussie fans admired him.
He played well after returning home but grew weary of the consistent back and knee problems and after playing against Canada in Millennium Stadium in 2002 he waved to the crowds afterwards and announced his retirement. He had had a long and illustrious career.
Craig Quinnell was the younger of the two test-playing brothers. He first appeared against Fiji in 1995, a game won by Wales by only 19-15 (two tries each). He was dropped after that, and took 3 years to regain a starting test position. Craig was a lock forward similar in style to his older brother and some respects played in his shadow, though when the two were together they were a powerhouse pair for Welsh teams.
A third brother Gavin played professionally in Wales as well.
The family lines of this family were added to with the addition of the great Barry John into the mix. Derek Quinnell and Barry were brothers-in-law which makes all the boys the nephews of the former great flyhalf.
Who was the first All Black captain to be red or yellow carded in a test match?
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