Big achiever from small town
From small places great ambition springs. That’s true of New Zealand as a nation and most definitely true of its provincial towns and rural districts that have nurtured so many lives of substantial achievement.
William Roberts ‘‘Robin’’ Archer, who died on March 9, aged 87, is an example.
A celebrated member of a notable Southland sporting family, Robin was born in Invercargill on September 19, 1930, to Charles William (known as Chas or Bill) and Alice (nee Roberts) Archer.
The family grew up mainly in Gore, where Chas Archer established a building business in the 1930s that his sons joined in the 1950s.
The Art Deco-style house at 22 William St somehow accommodated Robin and the seven siblings who followed him: his brother Watson (Wattie), and sisters Rayna, Linley, Hillary, Nancee, Jill and Alywyn.
Chas represented Southland at rugby and was a talented athlete, competing professionally in the 1920s alongside his brother Jim, who played twice for the All Blacks as a wing forward in 1925.
Alice Archer was involved with Southland Country netball and selected and coached a young Lois Muir (nee Osborne), later famous as a Silver Ferns player and coach, to her first representative honours.
That background naturally sparked the next generation’s enthusiasm for sport and Robin, Wattie and Linley competed at provincial, national and international levels.
Robin was active in cricket and athletics, and always maintained that training and competing in athletics over the summer fitted him for the rugby season.
However, it was rugby that became the focus of his sporting ambitions.
Even in the 1950s his 1.73m, 73kg frame didn’t immediately suggest ‘‘elite first-five eighth’’.
However, combined with a passion nurtured by his First XV experience at Gore High School, a sharp analytical mind, a thirst for constant improvement and a fierce competitiveness, it was enough to fuel a career of rare distinction. Robin’s first senior representative honour was achieved in Dunedin where he was selected for Otago while a Bachelor of Science undergraduate at Otago University in 1953.
He gained national recognition playing for Rest of New Zealand, a New Zealand XV and New Zealand Universities in 1954 and became All Black No 563 in the first two tests against Australia in 1955.
After 24 matches for Otago, Robin returned to his home union and played the rest of his career for Southland.
He played the first and third tests against the Springboks in the great series of 1956 and, despite being injured in both matches, played his part in the winning of them. This was the era of no replacements.
He remembered of the third test: ‘‘I had my shoulder strapped up, and went back on as roving fullback. The South African second five broke through and I was standing behind the backline as extra fullback. The Springbok had two unmarked men outside him, but he didn’t see me and I got him ball and all.’’
That stopped an almost certain try, late in the game.
It was in the same test, held in Christchurch, that Robin had a perfect view of Kevin Skinner’s famous response to the brutality of the South African forwards.
‘‘Skinner sorted out the Boks. He went down against Koch, who pushed him down, the scrum broke up, and Skinner warned Koch. They went down again, Koch tried again, Skinner landed a beautiful punch and Koch came up wobbling around, the Boks’ eyes standing out on stalks. Skinner switched sides and did the same to Bekker on the other side. Then the Boks were sorted.’’
Eight appearances on the 1957 Tour of Australia marked the end of Robin’s All Black career, but he continued to be a leading player at top level, regularly appearing in All Black trials up until
1961 and gaining South Island selection for the third time in 1959.
Robin was named Southland’s Sportsman of the Year in 1961.
Five years later, at the age of 35 and after deciding to play on for the sake of his beloved brother, by then suffering motor neurone disease, Robin was the outstanding general of the Southland side which stunned the touring 1966 British Lions side in their opening match with a 14-8 victory.
Robin was always clear about the greatest joy of his rugby career – it was playing alongside Wattie for the Pioneer Club and Eastern Southland, and anchoring the powerful Southland backline from 1957 to 1963.
‘‘Wattie was such a good player, far better than me. He rated me better than him! He was such a strong-minded, determined player on attack and defence.
‘‘In the Shield game against Taranaki he landed a tackle against Ross Brown and I swear Brown went back about ten yards. Wattie could build up tremendous energy.
‘‘I played with pretty good second fives, but Wattie was my favourite, and always will be. It was just so good to play so much rugby with him.’’
Following his retirement from rugby, Robin successfully pursued business interests as the Managing Director of Archer Building Contractors Ltd, and later as Chairman of the private property and bloodstock company Archer Corporation Ltd.
He and Muriel raised their three children in Gore, then moved to Christchurch in 1989 where they lived for
22 years before a final move to Auckland in 2011.
Robin Archer died in Auckland on March 9, 2018, and is survived by his wife Muriel, daughters Susan and Kate, son Les, their spouses Michael Martin, Don Agnew and Katie Bundle, and grandchildren Thomas and Alexandra, Georgia and Bridget, and Isaac, Sarah and Matthew. Robin’s sisters Linley McMeeken, Hillary Mortimer and Jill Milne also survive him.