‘Gravely ill’ Haden sent home from hospital for palliative care
All Blacks great Andy Haden is battling a cancer relapse and is “gravely ill”.
The former lock, who played 117 matches and 41 tests for the All Blacks between 1972 and 1985, is considered one of the game’s greats. He also captained the All Blacks eight times. A family spokesperson told the
Herald: “Andy is gravely ill and the family would appreciate that their privacy is respected at this difficult time”. In 2003, Haden, now 69, confirmed
to the Herald he had chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and was undergoing treatment.
According to Stuff, Haden was recently sent home from hospital for palliative care after his health took a major turn for the worse. He is understood to have been battling a serious health illness recently.
Initially Haden set out to be a vet, but when he moved out of rural Wanganui to Auckland, he swapped to geology studies which fitted around his blossoming rugby life.
His life in the All Blacks began in a small New York stadium and finished in Buenos Aires. Haden’s All Blacks career was in two parts, beginning in 1972 against New York Metropolitan but he didn’t make his test debut until five years later, against the British and Irish Lions in Wellington.
He listened to eight All Blacks coaches in his 14-year stint, and at the start, was not convinced his calling would be in international rugby.
Haden played a part in one of the All Blacks’ most controversial wins in the 1978 test against Wales in Cardiff when he dived out of the lineout and gained a penalty for Brian McKechnie to kick the late winning goal.
Haden says the idea developed as a remedy for the repeated obstruction the All Blacks jumpers faced throughout the tour and when he dived, referee Roger Quittendon told him he had penalised his marker, Alan Martin, for the foul.
After his rugby career, he ran a celebrity management service, with clients including Kiwi supermodel Rachel Hunter.