Arise Sir Bryan,
It sounds awfully like a contradiction in terms, but Bryan ‘Beegee’ Williams could well be the last of the great rugby romantics. The great All Black, a man dubbed the Jonah Lomu of his generation, has joined quite possibly the most hallowed pantheon of his sport after being unveiled in the New Year Honours as rugby’s latest knight.
The now Sir Bryan Williams is the eighth All Black to be so bestowed, and 10th New Zealand rugby man if you throw in coaches Graham Henry and Gordon Tietjens. He joins a club that includes such icons as the late Sir Colin Meads, the late Sir Wilson Whineray and the great Sir Brian Lochore, and says he is ‘‘very humbled’’ to do so.
‘‘Many of those people have been my all-time heroes as I was growing up, and to be honoured in this way is very, very special,’’ said the Aucklander and iconic Ponsonby club stalwart. ‘‘I certainly wasn’t expecting anything like that. I had received a CNZM two or three years ago
(2013) which by my reckoning was more than enough.’’
Hardly. Williams’ CV stacks up very well among his knightly peers. He played 113 times, including 38 tests, for the All Blacks between 1970-78 and was a big part of some significant moments in the history of this great team, including the 1970 and
‘76 tours of South Africa, the 1971 and ‘77 British and Irish Lions visits, the epic waterlogged test against Scotland in 1975 and the Grand Slam tour of ‘78.
With his Pacific Island roots (though born in Auckland, on October 3 1950, he has Samoan and Rarotongan heritage), he was considered the forerunner of the modern rugby winger.
His sturdy frame, bulging thighs, and natural speed and athleticism made him the tryscoring (66 in total for the All Blacks), excitement machine of his generation. The Lomu of his time.
But he has never stopped giving back to his game and even now, aged 67, is showing no signs of settling into the La-Z-Boy.
He has been a coach and then administrator ever since he finally called it quits as a player in 1982. He has established long and significant involvements with the Ponsonby club, the Barbarians, New Zealand Rugby, the New Zealand Rugby Foundation, Auckland rugby, Samoan rugby and his alma mater and beloved Mount Albert Grammar (MAGS’ No 1 field is named in his honour).
He also carved a career as a lawyer alongside his many rugby involvements.
Asked why he has given so much back to his sport, his answer confirms his status as the aforementioned rugby romantic we have all known him to be anyway.
‘‘I’ve had a love affair with rugby and fortunately rugby has loved me back,’’ Williams says from his home in, you guessed it, Ponsonby.
‘‘I guess you liken it to a marriage – lots of great and really happy occasions, but also some times when things are rough and tough and sad. But we’re still together.
‘‘I’ve been able to participate post my playing career in both coaching and administration and they have been labours of love. When you love the game and you love all the interaction that goes on, all the people you meet, even the media (he chuckles at this), it’s all part and parcel of growing a very special game.
‘‘That capacity in a hard physical contact sport where you knock each other over and then pick each other up and break bread together and have a beer together I think really commends itself. It’s been easy to have a love affair with rugby.’’
Of course his real love affair has been with wife Leslie and he dutifully records her at the top of the list of influences in his long involvement with rugby. They had four children, boys Gavin and Paul and girls Marie and Gina, and now 13 grand-children benefit from ‘‘Poppy’s’’ wisdom.
‘‘I told Leslie I had hung my boots up and she’d see a lot more of me. But pretty much straight away I got involved in coaching Ponsonby with my great mate Maurice Trapp and before you knew it I was on tour again. I’ve spent a lot of time away from home and Leslie deserves a medal herself.’’
Williams also honours his many coaches, from his MAGS first XV mentor Eugene Cheriton, to his first Ponsonby coach Eric Boggs, to All Blacks legends Jack Gleeson and JJ Stewart whom he says helped him become ‘‘the person I am’’.
Similar story with his hundreds upon hundreds of team-mates. ‘‘I played in the amateur era, and fun was the key aspect. You were with your mates, and on tour we would play twice a week. In one case I was away four-and-a-half months, and two others were three-anda-half months. For a young man it was fantastic.’’
He had many, many memorable test moments, but two stand out.
In 1970, as a 19-year-old, he was selected to tour the then apartheid South Africa and was given ‘‘honorary white status’’ in the republic, along with a trio of Maori team-mates.
‘‘It was surreal and also very daunting,’’ said Williams who had to overcome a panic attack when he first landed in the republic. ‘‘Going on tour with guys I had grown up absolutely idolising was scary for me and going to apartheid South Africa also was just as scary.’’
But he has no regrets about taking part on that tour, despite labelling his honorary white status ‘‘a nonsense’’.
‘‘Alongside my three Maori team-mates, I think I played a small part in breaking down apartheid ... going to South Africa and illustrating to the rugby folk that you’re every bit as good as they are, it had an impact.’’
Williams scored two tries in his first match, and emerged as one of the All Blacks’ stars of the tour, playing all four tests in a series won 3-1 by the Boks.
The other standout?
‘‘The Grand Slam tour of ‘78 was probably the culmination of my career. It was my last tour and was special to finish on that note. To play over 100 games for the All Blacks was something I was very proud of.’’
Fittingly, there are no regrets either about missing the professional era. ‘‘You had to make your own way in life, you had to get a career, a degree, pay your own bills and earn your own money. That really does serve you well in life.’’
* The other notable sporting recipient in the New Year honours was leading administrator Liz Dawson, who was made a Member of the NZ Order of Merit.
Dawson has spent more than 20 years in sports management and governance, including with NZ Rugby, the Warriors, Super League’s Adelaide Rams, the North Queensland Cowboys, the Hurricanes and NZ Racing Board.
She is a director of AFL club St Kilda, deputy chair of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, a member of the Oceania Olympic Women and Sport Commission, a member of NZ Rugby’s respect and responsibility review panel, and a board member of NZ Cricket.
"I've had a love affair with rugby and fortunately rugby has loved me back."
Sir Bryan Williams