The great Pinetree has fallen
All Black legend Colin ‘‘Pinetree’’ Meads has died at the age of 81, a loss that will be mourned throughout the rugby-playing world.
Meads, who died on Sunday, was the most famous of amateurera All Blacks, an icon who remained a highly popular figure here and abroad decades after his outstanding playing career ended.
In 133 matches for the All Blacks between 1957 and 1971, the tough-as-teak King Country lock played 55 tests and became recognised throughout the world as the face of New Zealand rugby.
He was a colossus of a bygone era, well before the advent of professionalism led to a huge increase in the number of tests played each year.
At 1.92 metres and 102 kilograms, he was small by today’s standards but always gave the impression of being a giant and complemented his natural athleticism with a rare ferocity.
Meads played hard and expected his opposition to do the same.
Although he began his international career as a flanker, it was as a lock that he played most of his rugby.
He could play too hard, leading to dark moments in his career. In 1966 he punched British Lion David Watkins; in 1968 Australian halfback Ken Catchpole’s career was effectively ended when he was torn from a ruck; in 1969 Welsh hooker Jeff Young suffered a broken jaw, courtesy of Meads.
His most infamous run-in with officialdom as a player was in 1967 when he was ordered from Murrayfield in the test against Scotland.
In his defence it must be said that Meads was also the victim on occasions. During a test against France in Paris in 1967 a brutal kick to the head meant he had to play out the match with a huge bandage covering the wound.
In South Africa in 1970, his arm was broken. Incredibly, he returned to play out the match. Later he appeared in the test series with his arm encased in a protective splint.
It was just another chapter in the incredible Meads legend. There’s no doubt he was one of the greatest rugby players ever seen.
When he broke his back in a motor accident in the late 1971 the nation was shocked.
Shock turned to awe when he returned to rugby the following winter, although he made himself unavailable for the All Blacks.
His status with New Zealanders was confirmed when his biography sold a record 58,000 copies. An updated biography in 2002 also sold strongly.
He turned to administration and coaching at provincial level and had a brief stint on the national selection panel.
He became front page news again in late 2007 when he sold his 102-hectare meat and wool farm so he and his wife Verna could move into town, all of 3.5 kilometres down the road to Te Kuiti.
He turned his hand to public speaking and advertising products on television, most famously tanalised fence posts, most infamously Provincial Finance.
Meads received just about every honour the game bestowed, including membership of the International Hall of Fame and the New Zealand Sporting Hall of Fame.
In August 2016, it was announced the rugby great had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Meads’ last major public appearance was in Te Kuiti in June, when a statue of the 81-yearold was unveiled on his hometown, a great occasion for one of the great rugby players.
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