Sir Colin Meads planting a tree to commemorate the Ohaupo RFC 125th jubilee in 2013 with Brian Matthews, Peter Bloodworth and Rod Fisher.
Sir Colin Meads planting a tree to commemorate the Ohaupo RFC 125th jubilee in 2013 with Brian Matthews, Peter Bloodworth and Rod Fisher.
Former Waikato and Te Awamutu Peace Cup halfback Peter Hollinshead says Sir Colin Meads was not only a great rugby player, he was a great bloke.
One of the most respected men ever to grace an All Black jersey passed away in Te Kuiti after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
"I had the pleasure of playing against Colin three or four times in the 1960s. What impressed me years down the track was the great man's attention for names, he would talk to anyone," Hollinshead told the Courier.
"The last time I saw him was a couple of years ago at the Cambridge Race Trials. I hadn't seen him for years, yet he came and sat down beside me and asked 'How are you going Peter'."
I had the pleasure of playing against Colin three or four times in the 1960s. What impressed me years down the track was the great man's attention for names. He would talk to anyone.
"His horse and mine were in the same trial. His won and went on to win two or three races, so Sir Colin got one back on me after our Te Awamutu Peace Cup rugby team of 1967 had pipped his King Country rep-laden Waitete side with a late Bill Birtwistle try in an epic encounter at Albert Park."
Hollinshead said it was like playing King Country in those days. Waitete had around 12 KC reps, including Colin and Stan Meads, and Te Awamutu has never had so many Waikato representatives.
"It was the toughest game any of our players ever played in. Our pack was much smaller than theirs. I will never forget that day our forwards (Robin O'Neill, Link Quarrie, Graham 'Gumpy' Kay, Keith Tickelpenny, John Turney, Eddie Baker, Hec Martin, Dave Baker, Mike Daly) locked horns with those greats."
Hollinshead said he was lucky to recall anything about the game after fielding an 'up and under' just as he was hit by tough as teak Stan Meads. He would have been off the field and required to stay off had the present day concussion test been in force back then.
Sir Colin Meads, hanging out with journalist James McOnie and Cornerstone trustee Christine Braun to present at a fundraising luncheon.
"Colin and Stan weren't dirty players, they were extraordinary good, hard players."
NZ Racing Desk reports that along with his numerous rugby exploits Meads, who played 133 games for the All Blacks, was also well-known in recent years for his enthusiastic support of thoroughbred racing through participation as an owner in a large number of prominent gallopers.
Meads and his wife Verna were members of several syndicates put together by Albert Bosma's Go Racing operation. He enjoyed success with handy performers such as Tennessee, Charlestown and Billy Mojo.
Their greatest moment came in 2013 when the Stephen Marsh trained two-year-old Ruud Awakening completed a notable double for the Go Racing Almighty Dawn Syndicate in taking out the rich Karaka Million along with the Gr. 1 Diamond Stakes at Ellerslie.
Meads was a regular visitor to the annual New Zealand Bloodstock Yearling Sale series at Karaka and a familiar figure on New Zealand racecourses as he and his wife travelled to support their horses.
