"You know, you get good at picturing it. Sometimes it's like you're out in front of the teams."
His winning memory in Hawke's Bay Today's competition was his selection for the All Blacks tour of Australia in 1951.
Things were different in those days, he said. The old leather rugby ball was "like a bar of soap" when it rained, and he could remember having to buy his own boots for the tour.
"We paid for everything. You went because you wanted to go, and you wanted to play."
The players had a weekly allowance of 2 pounds 10 shillings, and were officially only allowed a ration of one bottle of beer a week.
How did he get around that?
"We knew the office girls pretty well."
The tour comprised 13 games and 13 consecutive wins for the All Blacks, although there were hiccups along the way.
When the team played United Services at North Sydney Oval, a misplaced tackle knocked out two of his front teeth.
"Fortunately there was a joker on the rugby union who was a dentist."
He was fitted with a dental plate, but the teeth weren't salvageable. He suspects they may still be on the grounds.
"They're somewhere on North Sydney Oval."
He played several other matches before the team returned home, beating Auckland at Eden Park in front of a crowd of 25000.
"We were the first side to ever be undefeated overseas and in New Zealand."
The fullback and kicker had come from humble beginnings in Hawera, Taranaki.
After finishing a day's work as a joiner at 4pm each day, he'd head to the local park and put in a couple of hours' kicking practice.
He said he never imagined he'd one day don the black jersey.
"I didn't have any ambitions -- I didn't have any idea I'd ever get to the top."
Did he have any advice for the boys going into tomorrow's clash?
"It's still the same game. Do the basics right, and you're never far away from winning."
The Top Letter
My name is Maurice (Snow) Cockerill and I am now 85 years old. My fondest All Black memory is when I was selected for the All Black Tour of Australia in 1951.
Those lucky enough to be selected were all sent notifications to report to the Midland Hotel on Tues 5th June 1951, where we were issued our official gear: kitbag, 1 x blazers, 1 pair grey flannels, a tie, 2 jerseys, 2 shorts, 2 pairs of socks and some ferns. Extras such as head gear, shin pads, boots and training gear were for your own account! We were each allowed 66lb of luggage on the Flying Boat, and our weekly allowance was 2 pound 10 shillings. We left Wellington by Flying Boat from Evans Bay, and arrived in Sydney 7 hours 10 minutes later. We stayed at the Oceanic Coogee Bay Hotel, and trained at the Coogee Oval, which was a good 5-10 minutes walk from the hotel. Breakfast was between 8-9, with training starting at 10am sharp. Most jogged around for a while, with some practicing drop kicking and line kicking. Practise usually lasted 1 hour. We didn't have a coach at that time, just 2 managers. Afterwards we would have a chance to practise more - which was when I would practise my conversions. After training there was always a beer or orange juice on the bar - most had orange juice - a lot of the chaps smoked which surprised me, however they could run, train, play and at the end hardly blow after a match! They were magnificent athletes.
Monday 11th June we were playing against Newcastle at their grounds - a crowd of 5148 in the stands, and days takings of 614 pounds. We were putting our gear on and some of the shorts were too small! We had a swap around which sorted out most of the problem - then Tiny White went to put his socks on and they wouldn't fit over his calves - they were all one size!! We remedied this with a pair of scissors. Worse was to come after washing the jerseys - the collars and numbers all turned grey and they shrunk as well - so they had to be replaced. The match score was NZ 20 - Aus 6.
Wednesday 20th June: NZ vs United Services at North Sydney Oval - crowd 3000. Score 15-6. I had two front teeth come out in this game. I was fitted with a partial plate by a dentist who was on the rugby union.
Saturday 23rd June: Sydney Cricket Ground - ground a quagmire - crowd 17110. Score 8-0.
The mud stuck like no other mud I know of and there weren't even showers - only baths! After the match we jumped into them - boots and all to get the first layer of mud off, before we could have a clean bath.
Several other matches ensued before we returned home to NZ - and we remained undefeated throughout. We arrived back in NZ to play against Auckland at Eden Park in front of a crowd of 25000. The score was 9-3 this was the first time since 1926 that the AB's had beaten Auckland. We became the first team to play an overseas tour, then play a game at home on our return and remain undefeated. Overall I scored 50 out of the 375 points accumulated over 11 out of a total of 13 games.
And so the 1951 All Blacks tour of Australia was brought to a very successful closure. We found the hotel meals very poor, and most nights had to walk down the road and have baked beans or spaghetti to fill up and this cost 7/6 (our day's pay!)
73000 people attended those games overall, with takings amounting to 9288 pounds.
