Rugby : The match saw a series of long rallies and very close games with Samodelok holding her nerve as Moriarty fought back at the end of the second

NZRU to recognise six decades of Test All Blacks

Six of New Zealand’s most decorated All Blacks were tonight awarded long-overdue Test caps in recognition of their first Test match and to symbolically recognise more than 400 former players who will now be presented their caps in a series of events to be held over the next two years. The six players represented the six decades of All Blacks who did not receive their Test caps when the tradition lapsed in the decades following the Second World War. Capping was re-introduced by the New Zealand Rugby Union in 1997. The former players honoured this evening were: Fred Allen (representing the 1940s); Sir Wilson Whineray (1950s); Sir Brian Lochore (1960s); Andy Dalton (1970s); Wayne “Buck” Shelford (1980s); and Olo Brown (1990s).

New Zealand Rugby Union Chairman Jock Hobbs announced the initiative to retrospectively honour the former Test players at the Steinlager Rugby Awards held at Auckland’s Langham Hotel this evening. Mr Hobbs said the sport of rugby union had, from its early days, adopted the tradition of recognising players at the top level through the awarding of an actual cap. “In our All Blacks history, a player’s first appearance in a Test match has traditionally been rewarded with a Test cap. However, along with international rugby itself, the capping tradition was interrupted by the Second World War and was not re-introduced until June 1997, leaving many of our former All Blacks without the Test caps they had worked so hard to attain. The NZRU is delighted to announce we are undertaking a capping project which will see these players honoured with their All Blacks Test cap at Ceremonies throughout the country by the end of 2011.”

The first of the events will be staged across the main centres during the All Blacks Test season starting in June 2009. Former players will be capped starting with those players from the 1940s. The NZRU will continue to stage events in 2010 and, if necessary, 2011, to honour all of those players yet to receive their first Test cap. “Sadly, a number of our former players are no longer with us,” said Jock Hobbs. “We will be inviting their families to attend the events to receive the caps on behalf of those players.” Of the 414 caps to be awarded, there are thought to be 325 living former All Blacks with 89 having passed away in the years since their Test debuts.

Legends of the game
The six players honoured at tonight’s ceremony and their Test cap history were:

1940s - Fred Allen - All Black Number: 449
Test debut: Saturday, 14 September 1946 v Australia at Dunedin

1950s - Sir Wilson Whineray - All Black Number: 585
Test debut: Saturday, 25 May 1957 v Australia at Sydney

1960s - Sir Brian Lochore - All Black Number: 637
Test debut: Saturday, 4 January 1964 - v England at London

1970s - Andy Dalton - All Black Number: 777
Test debut: Saturday, 19 November 1977 - v France at Paris

1980s - Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford - All Black Number: 860
Test debut: Saturday, 8 November 1986 - v France at Toulouse

1990s - Olo Brown - All Black Number: 910
Test debut: Saturday, 6 June 1992 - v Ireland at Wellington