"Now they play all the time and none of the games is easy."
The former Wellington rep halfback says there's a lot of money involved in rugby nowadays.
"I'm quite happy. I'm an All Black," he says when asked if he would have liked to have been in the era of lucrative contracts.
To this day, his pride and joy is a wooden jewellery box he bought for his mother, Margaret Steele, who lives at a retirement home in Havelock North.
On the base of the box are the autographs of every member of the 27-strong touring party.
Only six of the 25 players, he suspects, are still alive.
The two co-managers also doubled up as coaches and camps didn't exist.
"All members must train consistently after selection to the time of assembly," a three-page congratulatory selection letter outlined.
Punctuality was "a matter of vital importance" and arriving five minutes after a bus was scheduled to depart wasn't tolerated.
"Official notices board" at hotels specified meeting times with no clauses for ifs and buts.
Each player was granted 66lbs of personal luggage on the "flying boats" so anything in excess was charged to the union.
Official numbers (Steele's was No 529) were issued to players and were branded on their luggage so hotel baggage men could sort them out.
The union supplied a pair of shorts, socks and a jersey but "extras, such as headgear and shin pads" were the players' prerogative.
"We didn't have mouthguards in those days," says Steele who lost a tooth and broke his nose twice in matches for the Onslow Rugby Club.
The cost of training gear, including two pairs of boots (one for training and the other for matches), came from the players' pockets. The NZRFU issued everyday official wear of a blazer, grey flannels and ties.
An extra pair of flannels, suit jacket and possibly a dinner jacket were on the agenda, too.
Two free match passes were allocated to each member.
They were given 10 fern-leaf lapel badges to distribute to anyone in the first week and six for the remainder.
However, a "no-pestering policy" was imposed to protect players from autograph hunters.
Oh, and swapping jerseys was a no-no but Steele exchanged his with Wallaby counterpart Cyril Burke.
