Wilson Whineray

Sir Wilson Whineray

Full name	Wilson James Whineray
Date of birth	(1935-07-10)10 July 1935
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Date of death	22 October 2012(2012-10-22)
Place of death	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	94 kg (14 st 11 lb)
School	Auckland Grammar School
University	The University of Auckland Harvard University
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Prop
New Zealand No.	585
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1953 1954 1955 1956–1957 1958 1959–1966	Wairarapa Mid Canterbury Manawatu Canterbury Waikato Auckland	3 9 7 16 7 61
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1957–1965	New Zealand	32	(6)
correct as of 8 February 2007.

Sir Wilson James Whineray, KNZM, OBE (10 July 1935 – 22 October 2012)^[1] was a business executive and the longest-serving captain of the All Blacks until eclipsed by Richie McCaw in 2014.^[2] New Zealand's national rugby union team. Rugby writer Terry McLean considered him the All Blacks' greatest captain.^[3]

Domestic career

Due to his early career as an agricultural cadet, which involved considerable travel around the country, Whineray played for six first-class teams, including Wairarapa, Mid Canterbury, Manawatu, Canterbury, Waikato, and finally his hometown team, Auckland, for whom he made 61 appearances between 1959 and 1966. He also played for the South Island, North Island, and New Zealand Universities sides.

International career

He first played for the All Blacks in 1957. The following year he became captain for the 1958 series against Australia at the young age of 23. He went on to play 77 matches for the All Blacks between 1957 and 1965, 67 of them as captain. These included 32 test matches, all but two of them as captain.^[4] He played mostly in the position of prop.^[5] Whineray was named New Zealand Sportsperson of the Year in 1965.^[2]

Later life

After retiring from rugby, he gained a MBA from Harvard University, where he was a member of the Harvard Business School RFC. He returned to New Zealand in 1969 and started work at Alex Harvey Industries, which became Carter Holt Harvey.^[6] He rose to become deputy managing director, then chairman of the board of Carter Holt Harvey, by then a major New Zealand company, and retired from the board in 2003.^[7] He was the managing director of NZ Wool Marketing Corporation in 1973–74, chairman of the National Bank of New Zealand, and a director of Auckland International Airport and APN News & Media.^[4]

He was chairman of the Hillary Commission, a sports funding body, from 1993 to 1998.^[5][8][9] He was the honorary Colonel Commandant of the New Zealand Special Air Service from 1997 to 2001.^[9][10]

Whineray was knighted in 1998 "for services to sport and business management".^[11] In November 2004, it was reported that Whineray was a top contender to replace Dame Silvia Cartwright as Governor-General in 2006.^[12] Bob Howitt has said that, "had he allowed his name to go forward, he would have become the Governor-General".^[13] He became the first New Zealander inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame, being elected on 21 October 2007 (following the IRB World Cup in France) after a public vote.^[4] He died in Auckland in 2012, at the age of 77.

All Blacks statistics

• Tests: 32 (30 as captain)
• Games: 45 (37 as captain)
• Total matches: 77 (67 as captain)
• Test points: 6 (2 tries)
• Game points: 18 (5 tries, 1 dropped goal)
• Total points: 24 (7 tries, 1 dropped goal)^[5]

References

Further reading

• Howitt, Bob (2010). A perfect gentleman : Sir Wilson Whineray. Auckland : Harper Collins New Zealand.