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The toughness of prefessional playing programmes in modern times probably mean this photo could never take place again!
Eric Tindill All Black! Meet Eric Tindill cricket star!
12 January 2015
I've always loved this great picture of Eric Tindill of Wellington, the 'Double All Black.' Such men were called that in New Zealand sporting circles. They were a rare group of men who played for New Zealand at both test rugby and cricket. There have only been a very few of them. This picture from 'Crown Studios' in Wellington was a great attempt to capture his double sporting talent. But Eric's record in International sport went even further than playing it.
Usually a halfback but turned into a five-eighths, Eric ‘Snowy’ Tindill played his only rugby test on the All Blacks’ tour of Britain on the 1935-36 tour – the match that is chiefly remembered for English winger 'Prince' Alexander Obolensky’s two tries. (and for the fact that England won!)
Of even greater uniqueness in the sporting career of Tindill, was that he was a ‘double All Black’ which means he played for New Zealand at both cricket and rugby. Of the seven men to achieve this feat, only Tindill played internationals (tests) in both sports.
The Tindill record went further. In 1950 he refereed test rugby (between New Zealand and the British Isles) and eight years later he umpired test cricket. Even further, he was also a New Zealand cricket selector.
Tindill also had the distinction of catching the great Australian batsman Sir Don Bradman off the bowling off Jack Cowie in Adelaide in 1937-38. It was the only time Bradman played against a New Zealand side.
An outstanding sporting allrounder, Tindill also played football and table tennis for Wellington.
Somebody should have made him an All Black rugby selector, just to round his career off nicely!
I was very proud to speak at Eric's funeral in Wellington when he died aged 99 in 2010.
In these days with computer keyboards and paintbox programmes such a picture would be much easier to make today than this one which was made in the years after WWII.
Footnote; The other 'double All Blacks' in New Zealand rugby and cricket are; Bill Carson 1937-38, George Dickinson 1922-32, Charlie Oliver 1925-35, 'Curly' Page 1927-38, Brian McKechnie (1975-81) and Jeff Wilson (1992-2002). To repeat; Eric Tindill was the only one to play tests in both sports.
ends...
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Every day there is Rugby History 15 August 1981
Click to show The barbed-wire test series begins
Anti-tour protests and police surrounding the ground in Christchurch made this a tough watch for the fans. But NZ beat South Africa on this day in the first test by 14-9.
A-Z of Rugby
Click to show JAMES, CARWYN
JAMES, CARWYN
Llanelli and Wales
2 internationals for Wales 1958
A brilliant rugby man whether as a player, coach, lecturer, broadcaster or writer.
Carwyn James had the misfortune to play in the same era as the great Cliff Morgan, and it was not until 1958 that he played flyhalf for Wales, when it beat Australia by 9–3 at Cardiff. James kicked a dropped goal. Later that season he played centre against France, outside Morgan.
It was as a coach that the quietly-spoken James made his mark on world rugby. Without ever having coached Wales, he was elected to guide the 1971 British Isles team in New Zealand. Under his quiet tutelage the Lions played winning rugby against the All Blacks, and James’s innate tactical judgments and expert reading of opposition strengths shot him into world prominence.
His reputation was enhanced in 1972–73, when he coached Llanelli to its famous win over the All Blacks. He was also the guiding hand behind the Barbarians club’s fortunes against the All Blacks in the final game of that same tour — a game said by many to be the greatest game ever played. James later coached with considerable success in Italy, where his influence on the players at the Rovigo club was said to be enormous.
Personal differences between James and some members of the Welsh Rugby Union meant that he never coached the national team, although at the time he was clearly a very good candidate for the job.
After his spell of coaching he turned to writing and broadcasting, where he proved to be very successful, with a turn of phrase that said much for his intellect and rugby wisdom. He wrote several coaching and historical manuals on the game and was an expert interpreter of rugby on television and radio.
James was an ardent Welsh nationalist who turned down an OBE after the Lions tour of New Zealand. He spoke Welsh fluently and encouraged others to do the same.
Carwyn James collapsed and died in the Netherlands in 1983, and was deeply mourned by his friends and colleagues. Many called him a genius of rugby, though it was also said he was a prophet of the game who was never honoured in his own country. The prominent English writer, John Reason, called Carwyn James ‘the best coach the world has yet seen’.
10 Questions to well known sporting people
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Why did the Wallaby rugby team only practice in the afternoons at the 1987 Rugby World Cup?
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