Who would you most like to be your friend?

By Warren Gamble

Opponents hated him, referees barely tolerated him, but former All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick has emerged from a scrum of celebrities to become the nation's most sought-after buddy.

In a New Zealand Herald-DigiPoll survey asking people to choose who would they most like to be their friend from 12 high-profile New Zealanders, Fitzpatrick was head and shoulders above the rest.

He polled 14.8 per cent of the 663 people questioned nationwide, ahead of world discus champion Beatrice Faumuina (13.9), America's Cup hero Sir Peter Blake (11.2) and news reader Judy Bailey (9.8).

Then came opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (8.1), entertainers the Topp Twins (7), author Alan Duff (6), former radical and now Mayor of Invercargill Tim Shadbolt (4.4), singer Sir Howard Morrison (4.2), businessman Sir Ron Brierley (3.6).

Broadcaster Paul Holmes belied his all-conquering ratings, coming in 11th with 2.4 per cent – below the 2.7 per cent who were not sure.

He was saved from the bottom spot by Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, whom only 1.5 per cent picked as the most desirable friend.

Those who chose none from the list totalled 8.3 per cent, good enough for fifth place.

Fitzpatrick said he felt very chuffed at the result, but wondered what would have happened if former teammate Jonah Lomu had been on the list.

Eight months after announcing his retirement from rugby because of a chronic knee injury, Fitzpatrick said he still received fan mail, mainly from children.

"One of the things I most liked about being an All Black was that you had the ability to make a person smile," he said.

A breakdown of his poll support showed more men (21.1 per cent) than women (9) picked him, and he was a bigger hit among those aged 18 to 39 (17.8) than those over 40 (12.2).

Of the main centres, Auckland was his biggest support base (14), followed by Wellington (10.7), and Christchurch (9.2). Surprisingly the rest of the South Island recorded a 13.8 per cent friend rating for the Auckland captain, more than anyone else on the list.

More National supporters (18.6) than Labour (17.6) and Alliance (11.1) chose Fitzy, as did more people in the higher income brackets and more Pacific Islanders (16.7) than New Zealand Europeans (15.6) and Maori (10.8).

Beatrice Faumuina was the friend of choice for the most women, as well as among Pacific Islanders, Maori, Alliance voters and Christchurch residents.

After Beatrice Faumuina, women chose Judy Bailey.