Obituary: Carl Young

Carl Young hoists the premier trophy in 2004.

* Carl Young, rugby player. Died aged 46.

Carl Young often talked about retiring from rugby - but it never happened.

His loyalty to his club earned him the title of Bay of Plenty's, possibly New Zealand's, oldest premier player.

The 46-year-old Whakatane Marist veteran with 29 consecutive seasons of club rugby, died suddenly this week, taking with him a large chunk of Eastern Bay rugby history.

Young, a plumber by trade, had a suspected heart attack at Whakatane's Aquatic Centre after swimming his daily 20 lengths of the pool.

He was a man who lived and breathed rugby, taking the field just days ago for his club against Poroporo.

At the end of every season for the past five years the veteran hooker had tentatively announced his premier retirement - but added each time that if his team needed him he wouldn't be able to say no.

Every season saw him return to take the field for his club's premier side. In 2004 he conceded the knocks were getting harder to recover from and much younger players - some not even born when he started playing senior rugby - were starting to fill the team.

The Marist stalwart played all his junior and age-group rugby for St Joseph's and in 1976, had just begun his senior career when the club's name changed to Whakatane Marist.

Aside from a stint for Hamilton Marist and the Waikato representative team in the mid-1980s, Young remained loyal to Whakatane Marist, rejoining after returning from Hamilton. He also played at representative level for the Bay.

One of Young's proudest moments was in 2004 when he hoisted the Baywide premier championship trophy above his head after Marist beat Te Puke in the final.

Teammate Steve Mapu, who played alongside Young since 1989, described him as a good man who loved his rugby and also loved a beer.

Mapu said he was at a wedding with Young at the weekend and they had reminisced about the three premier titles Marist had secured - in 1992, 1995 and 2004.

"The 2004 final was one of his proudest moments," Mapu said.

"He was talking about retirement again but I don't think either of us could say when," Mapu added.

Carl Young was buried this week wearing his Marist rugby jersey.

He is survived by his son Todd, 15.