Hawke’s Bay former All Black Neil Thimbleby dies: Magpies shield hero Blair Furlong pays tribute to teammate

Magpies legend Neil Thimbleby has died, aged 84. Photo / Warren Buckland

Blair Furlong and Neil Thimbleby were largely inseparable for 61 years.

They played club rugby together, for Hawke’s Bay together and toured South Africa with the All Blacks together in 1970.

Thimbleby died, aged 84, this week but his contribution to rugby and Hawke’s Bay will always be remembered.

“He’s in a better place,” Furlong said.

“He’s had a rough couple of years and it was really sad going to see him over the last couple of years and it’s sad when you say he’s in a better place, but that’s probably what it is.”

Thimbleby’s 158 appearances for Hawke’s Bay, from 1959 to 1971, remains a record.

“Thimbo was just a great guy and, for a big, gnarly prop, an absolute gentleman and really humorous,” Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union chief executive Jay Campbell said.

“He held court and he’d have you in stitches when he was with Blair and co and talking about their exploits.

“A nicer man you wouldn’t find. He had time for everyone.”

A tighthead prop, Thimbleby played in an era before replacements, playing every minute of those 158 matches for Hawke’s Bay, as well as 12 tour games and one test against the Springboks on that 1970 tour.

“He was the first man to play 100 games for Hawke’s Bay, which was massive then and it’s still huge now,” said Campbell.

Campbell also talks in awe of Thimbleby playing “101 consecutive games” in that eventual tally of 158 for the Magpies.

“No, he didn’t play 101 consecutive games. He only played 99,” corrected Furlong.

His recollection is that Thimbleby made some unflattering remarks to a referee following a Marist club match against Tamatea, ahead of Hawke’s Bay’s northern tour to play Counties and Auckland.

“So he was up before the judiciary on Tuesday and they put him out for a week, which meant he played 99 in a row and missed his 100,” said Furlong.

Thimbleby and Furlong became a bit of a “double act” over the years, coaching the Magpies together from 1979-81 and being involved in the Saracens club. Furlong then became president of the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union and Thimbleby, its patron from 2011 until the present day.

One was rarely far from the other when Hawke’s Bay were playing at McLean Park and they saw a lot of each other socially.

“He gave me my nickname of Putsa, which means ‘puts the lights out’, which I used to do when I was younger,” Furlong said.

“We’ve been good mates.”

Hamish Bidwell joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2022 and works out of the Hastings newsroom.