Gordon Hunter (rugby union)

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Gordon Rowland Robert Hunter (1949 – 9 March 2002)[1] was a New Zealand rugby union player, coach and selector.

Early life and education[]

Hunter was raised in rural Southland, and educated at Southland Boys' High School from 1963 to 1967.[2]

Rugby career[]

Hunter was a member of the Southland Boys' High School rugby 1st XV in 1967. He played wing and the school magazine noted that "on his day his tackles were bone- and morale-shattering."[2]:p.31 After leaving school, Hunter moved to Dunedin and joined the Zingari-Richmond club where he came under the influence of renowned coach Eric Watson.[3] He made a couple of appearances for Otago before a workplace accident left him without his left eye. He subsequently made a career as a coach and selector, coaching Otago, the Otago Highlanders, and the Auckland Blues. He also spent four years as an All Blacks selector in the mid-1990s. He died in Dunedin of cancer in 2002 at the age of 52.[3]

Legacy[]

Since 2002 the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy has been contested annually between The Auckland Blues and The Highlanders.[4] In 2020, the Highlander's coach Aaron Mauger noted the positive qualities that Hunter had demonstrated and co-captain Aaron Smith said that he "cared for his players...[and]...trusted you play your game but also was a bit of a character off the field."[5] Writing in the Spinoff in 2017, Scotty Stevenson recounted several humorous stories about Hunter outside of rugby, concluding, "in essence, he was a coach who loved the game and even more so the boys who played it for him. He was the Detective who left his own fingerprints on New Zealand’s national sport."[6]

References[]

  1. ^ "Loyalty a Hunter hallmark". Evening Post. 14 March 2002. p. 7.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b The Southlandian 1967 (Annual school magazine). Southland Boys High School. December 1967. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Rattue, Chris (16 March 2002). "Rugby: Obituary: Gordon Hunter". New Zealand Herald.
  4. ^ "What you didn't know about the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy". Ultimate Rugby. 31 July 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  5. ^ Hepburn, Steve (August 2020). "Highlanders moved by Hunter's legacy". Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. ^ Stevenson, Scotty (6 April 2017). "Why the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy is a special piece of New Zealand rugby silverware". The Spinoff. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
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