Mighty Totara of NZ Rugby

All Black and NZ Maori legend Pat Walsh has died of cancer aged 71. Renowned for his versatility, Walsh played 13 Tests in four positions between 1955 and 1963. He served as an All Blacks selector from 1969 to 1971 after a knee injury ended his playing career, and went on to work as a hotel publican and philanthropist. NZ Herald obituarist Don Cameron describes Walsh as “one of the legendary characters of New Zealand rugby – and certainly among the mightiest totaras of the Maori game … He had speed, skill and superb balance anywhere in the backline and spiced these assets with the mischief (and sometimes the mystery) that only Maori seemed to possess in those days of uninhibited rugby.”

Pat Walsh: 6 May 1936 – 23 November 2007