KeithQuinnRugby
Thinking and talking about rugby every day for 50+ years
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MY TAKE ON SOME OF THE RUGBY NEWS STORIES WHICH COME INTO MY WORLD.
9 August 2014
*GOOD NEWS AT LAST FOR OUR 'PINETREE!'* Read more »
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9 August 2014
This is great and appropriate really; our great All Black, Sir Colin Meads, for years had been a member of the privately owned International Rugby Hall of Fame - but after the IRB opened up its own website in 2006 Colin was strangely, always ignored. This irked a number of reporters in New Zealand (I can hold my hand up here) who asked 'what was going on?' Read more »
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8 August 2014
The men’s and women’s rugby sevens competitions at Nanjing 2014 will be held at the city’s Youth Olympic Sports Park on 17-20 August, with 72 players taking part in each. Read more »
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These days life is all about FAQ's; so to clear the air for those people who have often asked me just 'how many 15s All Blacks have first come through the Gordon Tietjens sevens coaching teams?' here is the full and definitive list. Note; While it is true Gordon has been coaching the New Zealand sevens team since 1994 his first involvement with a national sevens selection actually came a year earlier in 1993. Read more »
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20 year old Richie McCaw was the new kid in the team as NZ beat Ireland in Dublin by 40-29
GAINSFORD, JOHN
Western Province and South Africa
33 internationals for Sth Africa 1960–67
One of South Africa’s greatest players, John Gainsford played in what was then a record number of internationals for a centre in the Springbok colours.
A big, strong-running centre with positive instincts for attack, he made his first-class debut as a 19-year-old, before joining the Junior Springboks for their 1959 tour of Argentina. He came into the South African test team in 1960, when he appeared in the only test against the Scotland touring team and in all four games the same season against the All Blacks. Thereafter, until 1967, only injury kept him out of test teams.
In his seven seasons as a Springbok, Gainsford earned world-wide respect. After only five years he became the highest-capped South African player, beating the old mark of 28 tests, held by Johan Claassen, in the third test at Christchurch on the 1965 New Zealand tour. This was a feat which he celebrated by scoring two brilliant tries as the Springboks came back from 5–16 at half-time to score a notable victory.
At the time of his retirement, after the 1967 tour by France, Gainsford was also South Africa’s top test try-scorer, with eight tries. Both his appearances and try tally records were broken in subsequent years, but it took until 2001 before Japie Mulder passed his record for being South Africa’s highest-capped centre.
How many test matches for Australia did the three famous Ella brothers play, on the field at the same time?