Murdoch dies, 74
Keith Murdoch, famously known as the first All Black to be sent home from a tour for indiscipline, died on Friday aged 74.
His sister confirmed the news of his death to Newshub, while his former Dunedin club, ZingariRichmond, flew their flag at half mast on Good Friday to acknowledge his passing.
Zingari-Richmond chairman Stephen Baughan said one of their life members had heard the news from the family.
"I don’t know too much about it because he was a generation older than me,’’ he said.
Murdoch, a big, burly prop, played three tests and 21 matches for the All Blacks between 1970-72, and had a distinguished provincial career for Otago between 1964-72, though he played one season for Hawke’s Bay (1965) and one for Auckland (1966).
But he was widely known for being sent home from the 1972 All Blacks tour to the UK, and then disappearing into the Australian outback, rarely to be seen again.
Baughan said it was his understanding Murdoch had died in Australia. His brother, Bruce, had ‘‘no comment’’ to make when contacted on Friday, but said ‘‘it would be in the paper tomorrow’’.
Murdoch’s life story since that fateful tour was essentially a mystery. In December 1972, hours after scoring the winning try in a
19-16 victory over Wales at Cardiff Arms Park in Cardiff, Murdoch turned up to the Angel Hotel after hours.
When refused entry to the closed bar, Murdoch punched security guard Peter Grant, knocking him to the ground.
Days later, Murdoch was sent home from the tour by All Blacks management, and was never played rugby again.
He disappeared into the Australian outback and was only sighted a handful of times after
1972.
Later that decade New Zealand rugby writer TP McLean tracked Murdoch down to an oil drilling site near Perth, only to be told to get ‘‘back on the bus’’ and leave by a spanner-wielding Murdoch.
In 1980 he was back in New Zealand, living with friends, when he saved a child from drowning in a backyard swimming pool.
His latest sighting was in 2001 when he was a witness at a coronial inquest into the death of an Aboriginal man in the Northern Territory.
Murdoch had caught Christopher Limerick, 20 breaking into his home the night before he disappeared.