Bernard Sydney Sadler better known as Joey Sadler (July 14, 1914 – 26 June 2007) played rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 for the All Blacks

All Blacks

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

 at scrum half in 1935-36.

Career

Sadler was born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1914.
He first attracted attention playing in the Wellington College

Wellington College (New Zealand)

Wellington College is a state secondary school for boys in Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1874 it opened at its present...

 First XV. Sadler played club rugby for the Wellington College Old Boys and made a Wellington representative side in his first season.

He was picked for the All Blacks 1935-36 squad playing 15 games including 3 internationals on tour in the British Isles

British Isles

The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. He played in both tests in the Bledisloe Cup

Bledisloe Cup

Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...

 against the Wallabies

Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...

 in 1936. Unfortunately, he damaged a nerve in his knee

Knee

The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...

 early in 1937 to such an extent that he never played rugby again.

Sadler was a small player known by the British press as "the pocket battleship" for his strength. He was also a skilled ball player with good leg speed.

Sadler married his wife Noeleen in 1941. They lived for much of their lives in Paraparaumu Beach

Paraparaumu Beach

Paraparaumu Beach is situated to the west of the 'township' of Paraparaumu, located 50 km north of Wellington, New Zealand. The area overlooks Kapiti Island....

.