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You are here: Home » News Comment » Sir Colin Meads Turns 80 years old in 2016; born 3rd June 1936 - and still going strong.
My favourite picture of Meads in action. After he was kicked in the head v France in Paris in 1967, he returned to the field with bandaged head to get the 'baaaastard' who did it!
2 June 2016
It still reads very proudly; Meads played for his country over a span of 15 seasons; No one played longer. His full record of first-class rugby is listed here.
MEADS, Colin Earl born 3.6.1936 in Cambridge.
(Only Club; Waitete, Te Kuiti, New Zealand) Provincial games for King Country 1955(2)-56(6)-57(6)-58(9)-59(6)-60-61(7)-62(9)-63(10)-64(9)-65(10)-66(11)-67(11)-68(9)-69(10)-70-71(8)-72(14), Total for King Country 139 games, 31 tries, 1dropped goal, 99points;
For Combined Wanganui-King Country 1956(3)-65-66(2)-71, 3t; King Country-Counties 1959(2); Centurions Club 1956-57-58-61-70, 3t; WJ Whineray’s XV 1959-66, 1t; Barbarians Club (NZ) 1973(2); Harlequins Club (NZ) 1974; South African 75th Jubilee XV (in SA) 1964(3), 2t; NZRFU President’s XV 1973 (v NZ); NZRFU Invitation XV 1973 (v NZ); President’s Overseas XV (in England) 1971(3); Tongan Invitation XV (in Tonga) 1973(2), 2t; North Is Colts 1955; NZ Colts (U21) 1955(8), 3t; NZ Juniors Trial 1957; NZ Juniors (U23) 1958(10), 3t; Black XV 1957; North Is XV 1956; North Island 1956-57-58-59-62-63-65-66-67-68-69-71, 12g, 1t; NZ Trials 1956-57(2)-58-59-60(2)-62-63(4)-65-66-67(2)-68-69-70(2)-71(2), 22g, 4t; Rest of NZ 1956; A New Zealand XV 1958-65-66;
Full NEW ZEALAND games 1957(10)-58(3)-59(3)-60(23)-61(3)-62(8)-63(26)-64(3)-65(4)-66(4)-67(12)-68(13)-69(2)-70(15)-71(4), 133g (55 tests, 7t), 28t, 1c, 86pts. Career Match total of first class games: 361g, 81t, 1c, 1dg, 253pts.
A loose forward/lock. educated Te Kuiti Primary School and Te Kuiti High School,1st Played HS 1st XV 1950. A Farmer all his working life. King Country coach 1976-81. NZ selector 1986; NZRFU councillor 1992-96, Made NZRFU life member 2007. Awarded NZRU award of the Steinlager Salver 1999 for outstanding service to rugby. Inducted into International Rugby Hall of Fame 1997. In 1999 was voted the NZ rugby Player of the Century. In 2002 the NZRU introduced the Meads Cup for competition among the Heartland unions. Distinguished Companion of the NZ Order of Merit (DCNZM) 2000; Member of the British Empire (MBE) 1971. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II 2009.
A biography Colin Meads – All Black, by Alex Veysey, was published 1974 and became a best seller. Another biography Meads by Brian Turner was published 2002. A third book the A-Z of Meads by Keith Quinn was published in 2010. A Brother of Stan, the 1961-66 All Black. A cousin of Brian and Sam who both played first class rugby. And father of Glynn who was an All Black trialist who played 113 games for King Country.
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A 48 test veteran Jerry Collins tragically died in a car crash in Southern France aged only 34.
KELLEHER, KEVIN
An Irishman and one of rugby’s best performed referees, in charge of 23 internationals from 1960 to 1971. Kelleher had a very successful career as a referee, but he is largely remembered for being the man who sent Colin Meads off at Murrayfield during the Scotland v New Zealand match in 1967.
Kelleher ruled that Meads’s lunging kick at a loose bouncing ball near the Scottish flyhalf, David Chisholm, was dangerous and, having previously issued a warning in the vigorous encounter, he dismissed Meads. As the New Zealander was arguably the world’s most famous player at the time, the sending-off created a storm.
Ironically, Meads and Kelleher became friends and for many years exchanged Christmas cards. Kelleher was flown to New Zealand in 1988 to appear on the TV show ‘This is Your Life – Colin Meads.’
Although New Zealanders poured scorn on Kelleher as a referee, they tended to overlook his exceptional record with the whistle. Kelleher’s first international was Wales v Scotland in 1960, and his last was France v Scotland in 1971.
How many Wanganui club players were in the combined King Country-Wanganui team which beat the 1966 British Lions team in Wanganui?
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