November 26 - 1924 All Blacks prepare for Welsh Test

The All Blacks had no mid-week match before the Welsh test in Swansea on November 29. Seven player not required for the match went direct to Swansea whilst the test squad went to “the quiet little town” of Tenby in Pembrokeshire. After so many strenuous matches rest rather than solid preparation was what the team needed, hence only light training was done.

The team received a civic reception when they arrived at Tenby on Monday evening, were invited to a meeting of Squire Seymour Allen’s hounds on Tuesday (and were disappointed at not seeing a run) and on Wednesday the 26^th inspected some of the local sights.

From “With the All Blacks in Great Britain, France, Canada and Australia 1924-25” by Read Masters. Pub. 1928 by Christchurch Press Co. Ltd p.85.

“On Wednesday afternoon we motored to Carew, and inspected Carew Castle, a magnificent ruin which presents a most picturesque assemblage of turrets, bastions, and battlemented walls richly mantled with ivy. The Castle exhibits very remarkably two distinct stages in castle architecture— the Edwardian west front illustrates the feudal castle of a Norman knight; the north side shows the facade of a beautiful Elizabethan mansion, which was begun by Sir John Perrott, but never completed. We were then taken to Pembroke Castle. Upon our arrival at the Castle gates, the Mayor and Corporation, together with a number of townspeople, greeted us. The Mayor made a very fine speech, and presented our Manager with a handsome illuminated address from the people of Pembroke. The Castle, which has a long and very eventful history, commencing early in Norman times, and ending with its dismantling by Cromwell, is a noble ruin, strikingly situated on a rocky hill. It must have been almost impregnable before the introduction of artillery.

A large crowd of people gathered at the station to bid us farewell when we left Tenby at 2.30 on Friday, 28th, to arrive at Swansea three hours later.”