Neil Wagner (l), Mark Graham (C) and Lisa Carrington. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Neil Wagner (l), Mark Graham (C) and Lisa Carrington. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
This article ran in March and is one of the most popular stories on nzherald.co.nz in 2023.
On his 37th birthday, Neil Wagner sprinted 20 metres, before diving full-length with a torn hamstring and bulging disc in his back to allow Kane Williamson to score therun that won the Black Caps the first cricket test against Sri Lanka in Christchurch.
It elevated him into an elite group: The Kiwi sportstars who can leave their wallets in their pockets whenever they enter a New Zealand bar, for the rest of their lives.
Even before his Hagley heroics, Wags was already on the list. His lion-hearted, fully-committed approach to pace bowling, regardless of the match situation, wicket and weather conditions or personal workload, is without peer.
Richie McCaw
Our greatest All Black doesn’t really need much in the way of explanation, but here’s a guy who stayed at the top of his game for the best part of 15 years and emerged from the devastation of 2007 to lead us to two Rugby World Cup wins. If that’s not enough, he played the knockout rounds in 2011 with a broken foot. Herculean.
Richie McCaw and Dan Carter were criticised by some before winning the 2015 World Cup. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Dame Valerie Adams
No-one exemplifies Kiwi heart, spirit and life-force more than Dame Val. She is a genuine Kiwi treasure, who represented us at the very top of her sport for longer than seemed possible. She went to five – count them – FIVE Olympic Games, and ended her career with medals of all colours and utterly deserved accolades of all kinds.
Hamish Bond and Eric Murray
In a sport notorious for taking its participants well past the pain threshold of mere mortals, our iconic Kiwi Pair reigned supreme for an astonishing length of time. To put their bodies through what they did, as often as they did, and stay miles ahead of the chasing pack over a period of prolonged dominance is something we’re unlikely to ever see repeated.
While others on this list would probably request a cold beer, Taylor’s penchant for fine red wine might perhaps cost a little more, but it’d be worth it. From humble beginnings, casual dressing room racism and stripped national captaincy to endure as one of the greatest run-scorers in our history is a tale of true resilience. Just knight him, already.
Mika Vukona
No-one has given more to basketball’s black singlet - and the many others he wore - than Vukona, who somehow made everyone he played alongside better, simply by his presence. Whether it was banging boards and bodies, dishing out assists or scoring buckets himself, everything he did came from a place of deep desire to be his very best, every time. Steven Adams says Vukona was the man who inspired him the most. Set up the bar tab.
Lisa Carrington
Try to stay upright in a racing kayak. Once you’ve mastered that, try and make it move. Then make it move quickly. Then make it move quicker than anyone else for more than a decade, and find something deep inside yourself at pinnacle events which allows you to blitz the competition, time after time. Carrying around all those gold medals must be thirsty work; get the girl a drink.
Grant Elliott
There are very few singular sporting moments that have galvanised the entire country in an instant of pure ecstasy, but Elliott produced one, late on a March evening in 2015. His down-the-ground six off Dale Steyn at Eden Park to take New Zealand to its first men’s Cricket World Cup final has become part of our folklore. Everyone knows where they were that night.
Joanah Ngan-Woo
Speaking of iconic moments on that patch of grass, Ngan-Woo pulled off the greatest line-out steal in New Zealand rugby history at Eden Park to seal the Black Ferns’ World Cup win late last year. It’s now New Zealand’s very own “Hand of God” which has a World Cup-winner’s ring on it and should never be seen dipping into her own pocket to pay for a drink.
Joanah Ngan-Woo and Wayne Smith celebrate. Photo / Getty
Paul Coll
Toiling away for years, often far away from the Kiwi sporting consciousness, Coll has become the epitome of the pugnacious Kiwi battler and thinks nothing of repeatedly diving headlong across a squash court to keep a rally alive. His ascension to the top of his sport’s tree in recent years is testament to a stubborn refusal to accept anything less than 100 per cent from himself.
Dame Susan Devoy
Before Coll picked up a racket (or was even born), Devoy was blazing a trail for Kiwis in the sport. In the 1980s, she didn’t just play squash, she literally was squash. Eight British Open and four World titles only begin to tell the story of someone who utterly dominated her sport for a decade. Incomparable.
Menopause and meltdowns got in the way of Dame Susan Devoy's TV dream. Photo / Woman's Weekly
Sir Buck Shelford
The bloke had his scrotum rucked open, and played on. Are you going to turn him down?
One of our original hard men, Graham played rugby league at a time that wasn’t for anyone other than the most stout-hearted men. He was named New Zealand Player of the Century and was the first Kiwi inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame, but a description from author John Coffey sums him up the best; he was Captain Marvel and the Six Million Dollar Man wrapped into one.
Going to one Olympic Games is an incredible achievement, but when you go to five and win each colour medal in a sport where the elements are against you as much as your fellow competitors, you’re getting into rarefied air. Kendall did that, and has since gone on to hold high-level positions in the IOC and Athletes Commission to ensure others are rewarded for their endeavours too. The best sailor in her family, and that includes another Olympic gold medallist.
Brendon McCullum
Perhaps a slightly controversial inclusion given his current role with England, but Baz’s deeds in a Black Cap demand inclusion here. He dragged the team along through sheer force of will and refused to bow to any opponent. His leadership at the 2015 World Cup provided us with one of our great sporting rollercoasters. Oh, and he once scored 302 as well.
