KeithQuinnRugby
Thinking and talking about rugby every day for 50+ years
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I always travel with a notebook to jot down the hard case or significant sporting stories I hear. My thinking is - 'these are too good to lose.' This website is a perfect place for me to publish them.
16 August 2014
On a recent away rugby trip (to Nanjing for the Summer Youth Olympic Games rugby sevens) a group of us were sitting around, like reporters do, having a drink and chewing the chat. During the course of the conversation I picked up two or three great stories - all of which will be drip-fed into this 'yarns' selection on the www.keithquinnrugby.com website. Read more »
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10 August 2014
Another Peter Fatialofa story; this one from well-known New Zealand author, columnist and broadcaster Phil Gifford. Read more »
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6 August 2014
From an interview Jonah did for the IRB's World of Rugby TV show. Read more »
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17 July 2014
Referees haven't always stayed neutral! Read more »
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17 July 2014
I liked this story which was told to me by a local New Zealand referee who swore that this is how he tried to get his message across before every (lower grade) game he ever had the privilege to control. Read more »
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17 June 2014
I liked this about athletes adapting to any conditions in an attempt to practice to get better in one's chosen sport. This story was told at the funeral of well-known Wellington and New Zealand Sports administrator Ian Wells in early 2014 by Ian's life-long sporting friend Ian Christison. Read more »
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5 June 2014
The Manu Samoa rugby team burst into the world scene in 1991 with a stunning entry into the second Rugby World Cup. Read more »
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14 July 1969
I suppose this story only has a vague connection with sport and television. I mention it here because many times in my lifetime of working in the medium of TV commentary I have heard people try to tell me, and other commentators, just 'how it (TV commentary) should be done!' Read more »
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The All Blacks and Scotland end at 0-0 - the most recent occasion (up till 2014) that the ABs have had this 'nil/nil' score in a game.
BAXTER, JAMES
Birkenhead Park, and England
3 internationals for England 1900
Respected as a diligent and determined administrator in England, but reviled in New Zealand as the man who stole the All Blacks’ birthright, ‘Bim’ Baxter holds a key place in rugby history.
Already a member of the IRB, and England team manager to Argentina in 1927, Baxter was appointed manager of the 1930 British touring team to New Zealand and Australia.
There he was outspoken, to say the least, in his denunciation of the New Zealand wing forward position. Baxter stated the wing forward was ‘nothing more than a cheat’, and his influence on the world scene led to the framing of laws which effectively stamped out the two-man front row, and with it the wing forward position.
Baxter was also highly critical of the game of rugby league. When being shown the sights of Auckland, Carlaw Park, the local rugby league ground, was pointed out to him. Baxter offered a quip that has always been quoted by Kiwi league followers when their rivalry with rugby union is discussed. Baxter said of the park, ‘Every town must have its sewers.’
Baxter was an international referee on nine occasions and was on the IRB from 1926–39. A silver medal-winning yachtsman at the 1908 Olympics, Baxter was also involved in golf and rowing.
Which well-known sevens rugby coach made this memorable quotation? 'At the Hong Kong sevens bowls and plates are only for eating off - not playing for?'
What do you think?
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