Rugby: Former All Black Joe Morgan dies

Former All Black rugby player Joe Morgan has died, five days after sustaining severe head injuries in a fall at a construction site in Whangarei.

The former Northland player died last night in Whangarei Hospital, where he had been in a critical condition since falling from a ladder on Wednesday.

Morgan's life support was switched off on Friday, while he was still unconscious.

Sister-in-law Lesley Morgan said yesterday that Morgan, 57, had continued to struggle on with no assistance.

His family had kept a bedside vigil since the accident, and Ms Morgan said the support of the community for the well-respected player and family man had been "unbelievable".

"You couldn't get more (support). It's definitely been helping."

Morgan was North Auckland's most capped rugby player, turning out 167 times for the province over a 15-year-long representative career.

He played 22 games and five test matches in a brief All Black career in the mid 1970s.

Since retiring from the game, he also coached Northland representative teams.

Morgan is best known for scoring a brilliant solo try against the Springboks on the 1976 South African tour.


In an otherwise disappointing tour, in which the All Blacks lost 1-3, Morgan's play stood out.


The highlight came during the All Blacks's 15-9 victory in the second test at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein..


From a scrum on the Springbok 22, halfback Sid Going went right then threw a reverse pass to his Mid-Northern clubmate who bolted through a huge gap, leaving Bok captain Morne du Plessis sprawling in his wake.


Not a hand was laid on him. For All Black fans, watching on black and white televisions back home in the middle of the night, it was one of the few uplifting moments of the tour.


- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI), HERALD STAFF