That tour, that kick, that flak
All Black Allan Hewson was an unlikely anti-hero. He kicked one of the most important goals for his country, yet the abuse kept coming, reports Richard Knowler.
‘‘It was terrible. I had two young kids at home, both under 3, and a mortgage and then you lose your income.’’
Allan Hewson used to rise in the darkness when the abusive phone callers wanted to have their fun. Nowadays strangers still contact exAll Black Hewson, but unlike the people who once rang in the middle of the night there’s no menace in their voices as they quiz him about one of the most divisive periods in New Zealand sport almost 40 years ago.
Hewson, the man who famously kicked the late penalty that ensured the All Blacks beat the Springboks 25-22 for a 2-1 serieswin in Auckland in 1981, is only too happy to oblige with his time and insights.
The infamous Springboks tour is now studied by young Kiwis in the classrooms, and Hewson enjoys replying to their queries as he takes a quick jog down memory lane.
‘‘The Springboks tour is being taught in history in schools now so I get phone calls with question-and-answer things for the schoolkidswhen they are doing their school work,’’ Hewson, now 66, says. ‘‘I probably get one or two requests a year. It is quite interesting. So it [the goal kick in the third test] is always brought back to your attention that way.’’
Hewson didn’t always enjoy a convivial relationship with thenew Zealand public.
A lightly built fullback whoweighed 73kg if soaked by a southerly gale, he had the misfortune of making people flip their lids when he took the field for Wellington and the All Blacks.
Hewson was booed when he made his test debut against Scotland at the now demolished Carisbrook in Dunedin in 1981, and any visit to Lancaster Park in Christchurchwas enough to make seemingly decent people on the embankment go crimsoneyedwith rage. It wasn’t as if the heckling stopped at Cook Strait; he also got razzed by provincial crowds up north. Thiswas a bloke who played 34 games for his country; he helped the All
Blacks wipe out the British and Irish Lions 4-0 in 1983 and also scored a thenworld record of 26 points against the Wallabies the year before.
Yet the same people who loved to give Hewson a bollocking punched the air with delight when he kicked his match-winner against the Springboks at Eden Park in 1981.
Hewson says much of that match was spent either concentrating on the Cessna airplane that repeatedly swooped overhead to drop flour bombs, or the action in front of him.
He did it all for nothing in the amateur era, and has no regrets about playing the Springboks despite some significant sacrifices. He later lost his jobwith Caltex due to someone higher up not liking the fact he played in the series.
‘‘It was terrible. I had two young kids at home, both under 3, and a mortgage and then you lose your income. My wife was obviously not working at that stage because we had the kids at home.
‘‘It was pretty stressful.’’ Fortunately, amember of the Petone Rugby Club had a transport business and gave Hewson a job, before he got into the insurance game. That led to him opening up the doors on a new business, Hewson Office Products, in 1983 which still operates to this day.
If the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, as it was known at the time, had sympathy for Hewson it did a wonderful job of hiding it.
It was left to his mates from within the Wellington provincial union and Petone who helped him bring home the bread.
Hewson isn’t bitter: ‘‘No, it was a different kettle of fish in those days. There was nothing like that at all, you were on your own in that respect.
‘‘Wellington, through the manager and coach Ian Upston, was great but NZ Rugbyweren’t into that sort of thing.’’
Nowadays Hewson can joke about the way hewas treated by some rugby supporters – he says dealingwith their derision helped keep a clear head as he lined up the famous kick against the Springboks – but he acknowledged they didmanage to get under his skin.
‘‘It wasn’t flash. The worst parts were the phone calls in the middle of the night and when you were away the family were getting calls and letters.
‘‘Goodness gracious, therewas all sort of stuff. It didn’t worry me during games, I didn’t care.
‘‘But I think it had a wee bit of an effect on the confidence, that’s for sure.’’ He likes the fact theall Blacks now have sports psychologists to help players deal with the pressure; Hewson admits he could have donewith that himself, but in his day many players either bottled up their thoughts or tried to drown them in booze.
If an All Black did spill his guts to a team-mate it was while it was at the bar, with neither party likely to remember the ‘‘counselling session’’ the next morning.
In themodern era, the professional players are encouraged to talk about any issues. Mental health is taken seriously ‘‘You didn’t dare to say too much because it wasn’t the thing to do,’’ Hewson says.
‘‘But now they have got mental skills coaches and that would have been quite beneficial forme inmy day, but you just had to get onwith it.
The first time Hewson stepped into a gymwas when he was 33, towards the end of his rugby career. He quickly built up his strength and wished he knew about the benefits of pushing tin earlier.
He now plays golf off a 13 handicap once aweek with a bunch of mates, and although he has a bit of arthritis his body has no major hangovers from his rugby days. He’s also the chairman of Petone Riverside Cricket Club.
Hewson says hewould have loved to have been a professional rugby player, but makes the point that in the amateur days the players had a lot of fun.