Double “Blues” Meet

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20995, 23 December 1939, Page 20 (Supplement)

Double “Blues” Meet

CRICKET AND RUGBY Although there have been several previous instances of New Zealanders gaining the dual honour of representing their country at cricket and Rugby the first occasion on which two such players will be opposed to each other will occur this week-end when Wellington and Auckland meet in a Plunket Shield challenge at Wellington. The players are W. N. Carson for Auckland and E. W. Tindill for Wellington. These two created a record when they both represented New Zealand in Australia at Rugby, as both had toured England with the .New Zealand cricket team. This was the first occasion on which two such players had been included in the one team.

Carson is the first Aucklander to gain the dual honour. Only since the war have any cricketers shown themselves sufficiently good at Rugby to catch the eye of the New Zealand selectors. Other New Zealand cricketers who have worn the All Black Rugby jersey are G. R. Dickinson (Otago), C. J. Oliver (Canterbury) and M. L. Page (Canterbury), Page also captaining the New Zealand cricket team.

The first player to gain Dominion honours in both games was D. McK. Sandham (Canterbury). He played for the New Zealand cricket team before the war and in 1919 toured South Africa with the New Zealand Army Rugby combination.