Latest news with #EbonyandIvory
1News
8 hours ago
- Health
- 1News
'A good man': Stu Wilson remembered by Tauranga Hospital colleague
Former All Black Stu Wilson has been remembered as a good friend and a hard worker by a former colleague at Tauranga Hospital. It was confirmed today the former captain and winger died peacefully in his sleep over the weekend aged 70. Regional team leader Bruce Raynel told 1News Wilson joined the Tauranga Hospital orderly team in 2021 following a stint in the hospital related to his heart. "Stuey, fair dinkum, he wanted a job. He wanted to pay back to some of the heart specialists that saved his life and he thought the best way to do it was to become an orderly," said Raynel. "We were a bit hesitant to start with because an All Black, in a hospital, people are going to get to know him so he's going to get delayed from bringing jobs back and we're going to be wondering where he is. But old Stuey, he was good. ADVERTISEMENT "He would stop and have a quick chat with people, but he'd also say 'no I've got to get to my next job'." Stu Wilson and Bay of Plenty District Health Board orderly service regional team leader Bruce Raynel in 2021. (Source: Supplied) Wilson was 'good value' Raynel described Wilson, who finished up at the hospital late last year, as a good orderly who did what was asked of him, without question and "got on and did the job that he had to do". "He was good value, and he mixed with everybody. Staff, patients and especially the guys in the lodge." Rarnel said it was "pretty special" to have hired an All Black. Wilson controversially retired from rugby while still in his prime after co-authoring the book Ebony and Ivory alongside fellow winger Bernie Fraser, which went against rugby's governing rules at the time. ADVERTISEMENT "One of the staff actually said they had the book Ebony and Ivory that him and Bernie Fraser put together. And this person didn't have their book signed, and I had one that wasn't signed as well. And Stuey said, 'well bring them in and I'll send them to Bernie and get him to autograph them for you'." Little did the staff know Fraser was based in Perth at the time and Wilson had the books sent all the way there to be signed. Stu Wilson (left) and Bruce Raynel (right) outside Tauranga Hospital. (Source: Supplied) "It was pretty hard case. Nah he was a good man alright. Good fun having him around." Donuts, coffee and anecdotes Raynel shared some other warm memories and personal quirks of Wilson's, including his love of donuts and good quality coffee. "He's called back a few times for a coffee and a donut. Donuts was his thing. He'd buy donuts on his way home for work. He'd buy three. One for himself on the way home, one for when he got home so one for his wife and one for him.' ADVERTISEMENT Raynel said he was particular about his coffee and had his own plunger. "Stu said at the interview that it wasn't about the money or things like that, he just wanted to give back to an environment that helped him along the way and gave him a few extra years to live after the cardiac problem he had." Raynel said there were many people who recognised him for his All Black fame - staff and patients alike. "He didn't want a leadership role with us, because the only time he was ever the leader of the All Blacks, they lost," he laughed.
Otago Daily Times
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
All Blacks great dies
Stu Wilson in action against the South of Scotland in 1983. Former All Blacks great Stu Wilson has died at the age of 70. Wilson was regarded as one of the world's finest attacking players during his heyday with the All Blacks in the early 1980s, finishing his career with 19 test tries - a record for the All Blacks at the time. The blond-haired flyer played 85 matches for New Zealand, including 34 tests, while his first-class career comprised 199 first class games, mostly built up during nine years of service on the right wing for Wellington. He forged a lethal combination with fellow Wellington and test winger Bernie Fraser, and the pair went on to co-write a book Ebony and Ivory, which was published in 1984. Wilson signed off on his All Blacks career a year before that, when he was captain of the tour squad that played tests against England and Scotland in the UK. He was captain in all eight matches on that tour. He went on to become a radio and television commentator, known for injecting humour into his match analysis. Born in Gore, Wilson was a student at Wairarapa College in Masterton before joining the Old Boys club in Wellington. Big for a winger at the time, Wilson stood 1.83m and weighed 86kg when he first toured with the All Blacks to Argentina in 1976. He was only the 12th man in NZ Rugby history to score more than 100 first-class tries - 104 - many of them bringing the crowd to their feet with his speed and classic outside swerve. He was also proficient at capitalising on opposition mistakes, and made it a trademark to toe ahead a loose ball before diving on it to score. Among his most famous displays was a hat-trick of tries against the British Isles at Eden Park in 1983. He achieved a hat-trick on the same ground against Scotland two years earlier. His retirement in 1984 - while he was still in his prime - was sparked by controversy over the Ebony and Ivory book. Under International Rugby Board rules, players were not allowed to accept book royalties, something Wilson believed was unfair. At the time, many players had adopted various subterfuges to get around this.
