Canada ‘A’ welcomed to New Zealand

April 16, 2006

Via Ian Kennedy at Rugby Canada:

Twenty-eight hours after leaving the Capilano Inn in North Vancouver on Friday at 11 am, Canada’s A team arrived at the Mercure Hotel in Wellington, New Zealand at 9 am NZ time on Sunday. Though long, the journey proved uneventful with a four hour stop in San Francisco and a quick change at Auckland that saw the team greeted in Wellington on arrival, by former All Black captain Andy Leslie (SA 1976) and now Vice- President of the NZRU, and whose sons David and Martin played for Scotland in the mid 90s. Another legendary All Black captain Brian Lahore (captain of the 1973 All Blacks to GB and that very famous Barbarian match) was also on hand.

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(Red Terror notes: the former All Blacks' name is Lochore, not "Lahore." And "Sir Brian" certainly did a lot more than play in a famously overhyped BaaBaa's match -- he was coach of the very first World Cup champions in 1987 and was later knighted.)