Ten former All Blacks have been honoured with an induction into the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame.
The 10 players inducted at a function in Auckland on Friday are Fred Allen, Don Clarke, Sean Fitzpatrick, Grant Fox, Ian Kirkpatrick, Michael Jones, John Kirwan, Colin Meads, Graham Mourie and George Nepia.
One journalist, the late Terry McLean, was also inducted.
The IRB Hall of Fame is being integrated with the original International Rugby Hall of Fame, with 37 other inductions taking place globally in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup.
There had been five previous New Zealand inductees – Jonah Lomu, Sir Gordon Tietjens, Sir Wilson Whineray and David Kirk as well as the 1888 Natives team.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said those honoured had contributed enormously to the sport.
“This is a great outcome for our game as we bring the responsibility of judging, preserving and chronicling significant contribution to our games history and heritage together under the one body.”
James
Guest
"Watching a budding AB great’s career unfolding in front of you remains one of my favourite past times" - Same here mate.
SamSport
Guest
The inductees were all originally in the International Rugby Hall of Fame, but hadn't been inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame. They merged the two, but a condition was that any inductees not in the IRB Hall of Fame be inducted. So all because of that. Not a huge fan of the IRB's way of selecting inductees -- that is having topical inductees. E.g. British and Irish Lions versus Australia associated people last year. Maybe they'll have a Pacific Island's themed selection one year and we'll see Bryan Williams inducted, who knows?
richard
Guest
Likewise Firstxv.Glad Ian Kirkpatrick finally made it.That it took this long for Kirky and Pinetree to get inducted is a joke.They should have been among the first picked.
Grahame
Guest
Yes, Bring back Buck!
Firstxv
Guest
gaww..I must be a sad one then...I know just about every one of those names... :-(
Ra
Guest
Or Ross Brown
atlas
Guest
found more names in this Hall of Fame - sorry lists do not show country they played for, I don't recognise many of these names. 31 July 2014 The latest inductions will take place at a series of events throughout 2014 and 2015 and the inductees are: Fred Allen, Bill Beaumont, Phil Bennett, Naas Botha, Gordon Brown, Don Clarke, Gerald Davies, Mervyn Davies, Morne du Plessis, Ieuan Evans, Sean Fitzpatrick, Grant Fox, Danie Gerber, Tim Horan, Andy Irvine, Carwyn James, Barry John, Michael Jones, Tom Kiernan, Ian Kirkpatrick, John Kirwan, Jason Leonard, Michael Lynagh, Bill McLaren, Terry McLean, Jo Maso, Colin Meads, Graham Mourie, Hennie Muller, George Nepia, Gwyn Nicholls, Jean-Pierre Rives, Fergus Slattery, Joost van der Westhuizen, Wavell Wakefield, JPR Williams, Keith Wood. 18 November 2013 the inductees were: Thomas Lawton Snr., John Thornett, Ken Catchpole, Mark Ella, David Campese and George Gregan from Australia, while Robert Seddon and the 1888 British team, David Bedell-Sivright, Bleddyn Williams and Jack Matthews, Ronnie Dawson and Gavin Hastings were all honoured. The IRB Hall of Fame was launched in 2006 with the induction of Rugby School and William Webb Ellis. Since then the following legends have been inducted: Baron Pierre de Coubertin, Dr Danie Craven, Sir Wilson Whineray, Gareth Edwards, John Eales, The 1888 Natives Team and Joseph Warbrick, Ned Haig and the Melrose club, Dr Jack Kyle, Philippe Sella, Hugo Porta, William Maclagan, Barry Heatlie, Bennie Osler, Cliff Morgan, Sir Anthony O’Reilly AO, Frik du Preez, Dr. Syd Millar, Willie John McBride, Sir Ian McGeechan, Jean Prat, Lucien Mias, Andre and Guy Boniface, Serge Blanco, Harry Vassall and Alan Rotherham, Cardiff RFC and Frank Hancock, David Gallaher, Barbarian FC and WP Carpmael, Mike Gibson, Dr Roger Vanderfield, Richard Littlejohn, Sir Nicholas Shehadie, John Kendal-Carpenter, David Kirk, Sir Brian Lochore, Nick Farr-Jones, Bob Dwyer, Francois Pienaar, Kitch Christie, Rod Macqueen, Gareth Rees, Sir Clive Woodward OBE, Jonah Lomu, Jake White, Brian Lima, Agustín Pichot, Martin Johnson CBE, John Smit, Sir Gordon Tietjens, Ian & Donald Campbell, Yoshihiro Sakata, the 1924 Romanian Olympic Team, the gold medal-winning USA Olympic Team of 1920 and 1924, Richard and Kennedy Tsimba, Alfred St George Hamersley, Vladimir Ilyushin and Waisale Serevi.
KiwiDave
Roar Guru
No Buck Shelford?
Ra
Guest
Yeah, what Bryan Williams and Super Sid Going did in South Africa in 1970 equates in my mind to what Jessie Owen did to Hitler in the late 1930s. Bee Gee was sensational off that right foot down that left wing. He won the suppressed Black people's hearts, and gave them hope. He did the same for his Samoan people and you are right FirstXV he is still giving back to the people, and the game, humbly and graciously.
Buzzard
Guest
I thought 'Pinetree' Meads was already in the Hall of Fame?
Firstxv
Guest
Maybe its because he's still in the upper echelons of the game in NZ and that it comes later. Bee Gee looks like he'll be around for a long time yet- still putting back into the game after a fabulous career, unfortunately during one of our worst eras.
Firstxv
Guest
Michael Jones remains the best player i have seen in the jersey. Was lucky enough to be playing club rugby in Auckland around the same years as Jones and I recall our whole Otahuhu side remaining back at Waitemata park to watch this new kid we'd all been hearing about a couple of years before Harty picked him up. And he didnt let us down, he was everywhere into everything. Watching a budding AB great's career unfolding in front of you remains one of my favourite past times- the Iceman the best of the lot.
abnutta
Guest
Wouldn't hold my breath. Look at the list of names. It's almost criminal that some of them took an amalgamation to be inducted.
Ra
Guest
So what happened to one of our greatest ever servant of the game as well as the best winger we've produced in my opinion, Bryan Williams ????