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You are here: Home » Favourite Sports Yarns » Athletic Park in Wellington; When Colin Meads said goodbye there.
3 September 2014
ATHLETIC PARK in Wellington, New Zealand, was a much loved headquarters of the game in the Capital city for over a 100 years. It was finally closed in 1999 and the game in Wellington shifted to the Westpac Stadium in the city centre.
Everyone who played on Athletic Park's surface in its heyday had favourite memories. Here are those of the great lock forward Colin Meads.
MEADS ON ATHLETIC PARK:
He first played for the All Blacks there in the first test match against Australia in 1958. His last game there was in 1973 for the NZRFU’s president’s XV when they beat the All Blacks on their internal tour.
In all Meads played ten test matches on Athletic Park, a record for a New Zealand player and as the ground is no longer in operation his record will not be broken.
“‘From a New Zealand point of view it was my favourite test ground,’ Meads said. ‘Everything seemed to go right there. The ground had such an atmosphere, and was the one I had most success at.’
Meads played in seven winning tests on the park, his other games being a 9-all draw with Australia in 1962, a 20-5 loss to Australia in 1964 and a 13-3 loss to the British Lions, as captain, in 1971.
Meads witnessed two of the best-remembered moments on Athletic Park: All Black fullback Don Clarke’s sideline conversion in a southerly gale in 1961, which helped the All Blacks to a 5-3 win, and Pierre Villepreux’s massive penalty goal for France in 1968, when the All Blacks won 9-3. “‘It was unbelievable, Clarkie kicked it straight across the field and it went over,’ Meads said. ‘Don was pretty confident he’d judged it right, but really it was the biggest bloody fluke around.’
For Villepruex’s kick, some estimates put its distance at well over 60m Meads doesn’t argue. “To me it sounded like about 70 yards. When he lined it up the crowd was laughing and we were saying ‘what a joke.’ But over she went. It cleared the bar with a bit to spare too. Bloody amazing.”
…..
Colin Meads test record on Athletic Park; 1958-71
1958 beat Australia (1st test) 25-3
1959 beat British Isles (2nd test) 11-8
1961 beat France (2nd test) 5-3
1962 drew with Australia (1st test) 9-9
1964 lost to Australia (3rd test) 5-20
1965 beat South Africa(1st test) 6-3
1966 beat British Isles (2nd test) 16-12
1967 beat Australia (75th Jubilee test) 29-9
1968 beat France (2nd test) 9-3
1971 lost to British Isles (3rd Test) 13-3
…..
When the last test match was played on Athletic Park (New Zealand beat France 54-7, 26 June 1999) Colin Meads was asked for his most vivid recollections;
Best Memory; “My greatest memory of playing there was when I captained the President’s XV against the All Blacks in 1973. It was a farewell for me and a great occasion…and we won the game!”
Worst Memory; “We got beaten there in 1964 by Australia. We had won the first two tests but lost the third 20-5 on Athletic Park. It was a thrashing and the last time I featured for the All Blacks as a loose forward.”
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It was 145-17 in Bloemfontein. Marc Ellis scored 6 tries and Simon Culhane kicked 20 conversions. Plus from others there was a lot more!
FAMOUS PLAYERS
The game of Rugby Union has always been a possible game for everyman (or increasingly these days for every woman) who chooses it as their recreation or profession. But the game has also attracted famous people from other walks of life to enjoy rugby’s excitement and action;
[With thanks to Wes Clark’s Internet site, here is a selection from his list of “Famous Players”; with keithquinnrugby.com's additions]
British Royalty;
Prince William and Prince Harry; The two played while at Eton, William, rising to the 3rd XV at the famous school.
Prince Edward; played second XV of Jesus College, Cambridge.
Peter Phillips; the son of Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, he is the grandson to Queen Elizabeth II. He was an open side flanker on the Scottish Schools team that toured South Africa in 1996. Captained Exeter University to win British University Sports association 2nd XV title.
Politicians
George W. Bush; US President. Played rugby while at Yale University. Played in the team which famously beat Harvard University in 1968.
Bill Clinton; The USA President; was a second row forward for Oxford University, rising to be in the University’s second XV.
Yoshio Mori; former Japanese Prime Minister, who was a rugby player all his life. He played Golden Oldies rugby well into his 60s. He also revealed he toured to New Zealand with a supporters tour to watch Tri Nations rugby.
George Brown; British Prime Minister 2007-2010. When playing for the Kirkaldy first XV as a 15 year old he suffered a detached retina which led to the permanent loss on the sight in one eye.
Jacques Chirac; The cformer President of France. He played for the Youth team of the Brive Club and later at University.
Winston Churchill; It is known he ‘hated’ playing rugby at Sandhurst Military College.
Idi Amin; dictator of Uganda 1971-79. He was good enough to make the East Africa XV in Nairobi. Played mostly as a lock forward. He was reserve in the East Africa XV v the 1955 British Isles touring team on its way home from South Africa.
Roh Tae Woo; former President of South Korea was an enthusiastic club player.
Donal Spring; Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland. Seven caps for Ireland as a lock forward 1978-81.
Keith Holyoake; former New Zealand Prime Minister who played first class rugby. A hooker for five seasons of first-class rugby for the Golden Bay- Motueka Rugby Union (1925-29).
Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevera; Marxist guerilla legend in Cuba. Played rugby in his teenage days in Argentina. When he lived in Cordoba his club was Estudiantest. He was so enamored with the game he, and his friends, launched a magazine called ‘Tackle’.
From the film world
Richard Harris; Played in Ireland in two Munster School's trials and represented Munster Under-20s. He loved the game so much he claimed he would give away all of the honours and accolades he won as an actor to have worn the Irish jersey just once. In keeping with his wishes he was buried in his Munster Junior playing jersey.
Richard Burton; Played representative rugby as a youth in Wales; playing at school, University and in the RAF as a flanker. Once on stage doing Shakespeare in a Saturday afternoon matinee, and hoping to learn of the score of a Welsh international match being played at the same time, he demanded of an actor who arrived on stage ‘what news does't thou bring me, good news I hope.’ The other actor apparently mouthed a reply which contained, in a Shakespearean manner, whether Wales had won or lost.
Gerard Depardieu; played a rugby coach in the film “Le Placard” and is a part owner of a Division 1 rugby club in France.
Russell Crowe; New Zealand-born actor who lost one of his front teeth when he was playing rugby as a boy.
Charlie Chaplin; played rugby while at school in England
Hugh Jackman; When attending school in Sydney at Knox Grammar School he was a regular rugby player.
Javier Bardem: He was outstanding rugby prospect in his teenage years in Madrid, Spain. He made the Spanish international teams at Under-16 and under-18 levels as a flanker or prop forward.
Others;
Jacques Rogge; President of the International Olympic Committee. A Belgian international player. He sometimes down-played his playing ability, once saying 'if you stay by your telephone long enough it will eventually rinmg and you will be invited to play for Belgium!'
Owen Hart; The famous WWF wrestler who fell to his death in Kansas City in 1999. He played rugby for Western Canada High School, and he met his wife at a rugby match.
Matthew Pinsett; multi-Olympic rowing gold medallist. He was a regular lock for a number of seasons at the English club, Henley. And also at Eton.
Meat Loaf; the singer apparently played rugby at college in the Northwest of USA.
P.G.Wodehouse; Quoted as ‘one of the leading lights of rugby at Dulwich College, London, around the turn of the century. The school still has copies of some of the match reports he used to write for the school.’
James Joyce; played at Belvedere in Dublin.
Sir Edmund Hillary; the New Zealand mountaineer who conquered Mt Everest in 1953. He played rugby at Auckland Grammar School in the 1930s.
Bolger, Jim. The former New Zealand Prime Minister was a senior club prop forward in the King Country rugby union.
Tony O’Reilly; Irish businessman who was once called by some as one of the world’s richest men. He was an outstanding player who played for the British and Irish Lions and for Ireland. In total he played 29 internationals for Ireland and ten tests for the British Isles (in 1955-59)
Warren Zevon; rock singer of ‘Werewolves of London’ fame. Enjoyed rugby so much he acknowledged the Atlanta Renegades club on the liner notes for one of his albums.
David Tua; fought Lennox Lewis for the World Heavyweight boxing title. Tua once played wing three-quarter at school and in club play in Auckland, New Zealand.
Eric Liddell. A Scottish rugby international and Olympic track gold medallist. His life was depicted in the famous film ‘Chariots of Fire.’
Tony Abbott. The Australia Prime Minister was a First Grade player for Sydney University.
.....[This list is by no means full. Please send additions or alterations to kqrugby@hotmail.co.nz ]
In 1987 and 2011 the All Blacks were the first rugby nation to win the World Cup twice; but which country was the first to win the World Cup's THIRD place match twice?
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