The quiet Springbok who exuded quality
OBITUARY: LIONEL WILSON
The family of Lionel Wilson are only just starting to uncover how highly regarded he was on the rugby field.
Lionel Geoffrey Wilson, 84, died at the Princess Alexandra Rest home in Napier on Sunday.
Hidden by his quiet persona and slender build was that he was regarded as one of the best to don the Springboks’ No 15 jersey.
Stories of his exploits on the field were rarely shared with his family. But as they gather in Napier to honour his life, his legacy has started to gather more light.
Son Murray Wilson said his father was not one to boast about his rugby prowess while he was growing up with his two brothers.
In recent years, those untold stories were lost as he battled alzheimers.
‘‘Dad was quite a quiet kind of person. We are learning stuff about him now that we never knew,’’ Murray said.
‘‘He did tell us some things, but there is a huge amount of things that I have found out in the last couple of days about his career and how he was quite a sturdy and reliable fullback. I have read some glowing words that I never knew before.’’
Lionel’s rise to the Springboks came in 1960 when the convertedhalfback was surprisingly called into the side for the third test against the All Blacks. The series was teetering at one game apiece. Captain Roy Dryburgh was dropped and Lionel was an unknown replacement to the Bloemfontein fans in the No 15 jersey. News of his promotion was broken to him by father Billy Wilson.
The selectors had Lionel in mind as the foil to the All Blacks’ kicking great Don ‘‘The Boot’’ Clarke.
Chris Greyvenstein’s 20 Great Springboks recounts drunken fans chanting ‘‘Go home, Wilson, go home’’ outside his hotel room the night before the test.
But just two minutes into the third test Lionel proved his worth. Clarke launched his first bomb Lionel’s way and the then 24-yearold caught it, along with every other during the match.
From there, Lionel became the incumbent fullback, missing just one test through a leg injury before his retirement in 1965.
‘‘He had a nickname, Speedy, that the team gave him. It was a bit of tongue-and-cheek because as a fullback he was not that quick,’’ Murray said.
His final tour was to New Zealand in 1965 where he solidified his spot in South African rugby history turning on some of his best rugby.
After the second test of the tour, which the All Blacks won 13-0, captain Wilson Whineray credited the performance of Lionel noting
that the score would have been much higher had Lionel not been there.
The book noted he was a fullback of the ‘‘highest quality’’.
‘‘His well-nigh perfect handling and fielding, accurate line kicking and good positional sense allied to a quickness of movement all contributed to the making of a fullback of class.’’
He retired with 27 tests to his name, the most for a Springboks fullback until 1996.
After stepping away from rugby, he focused on his career as an insurance salesman. But he also led a handful of rugby tours - a tour to New Zealand in 1976 convincing him that he should leave South Africa.
In 1978, Lionel, wife Pam and their three sons moved to Palmerston North where he managed the Old Mutual building.
Murray said his father’s passion for rugby played a key role in their upbringing.
‘‘He just loved his sport and we were caught up in that. There are photos of us dressed up in his Springbok jerseys and holding rugby balls when we were three, four and five in the backyard. Everything revolved around rugby.’’
Murray remembered his father always keeping in top physical shape. ‘‘He was always very fit and used to have us on that he was the fittest in the family. He ran his last marathon when he was 56.’’
In 2006, he returned to New Zealand for the final time settling in Napier.
‘‘We always looked up to him, he was a great dad.’’
Lionel’s funeral is at the Beth Shan Funeral Home in Napier at 2pm on Thursday.