Sir Colin Meads
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Well, that's just shit news.
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<p>One statistic which defines greatness for me (at least for forwards) is the span of All Black career. Pinetree and McCaw weigh in with 14 years. That is the benchmark for the past 70 years. And may never be bettered. Fitzpatrick also up there with 11 years.</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="pakman" data-cid="605181" data-time="1470952095">
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<p>One statistic which defines greatness for me (at least for forwards) is the span of All Black career. Pinetree and McCaw weigh in with 14 years. That is the benchmark for the past 70 years. And may never be bettered. Fitzpatrick also up there with 11 years.</p>
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<p>Mealamu must have gone close? And Nonu, albeit with a couple of years off.</p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="dogmeat" data-cid="605252" data-time="1470958627">
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<p>Woodcock - debuted one week after Richie. Last test 3 weeks before</p>
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<p>Richie was 2001, Woodcock and Mealamu were on Mitchs first tour along with Ali Williams and Andrew Hore in 2002 from memory .</p>
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<p>Pinetree used to do promotional work for Tanalith and used to tour the ITM branches around the country meeting people and doing a speech over beers and a barbecue afterwards. He was a pretty good speaker and I was lucky enough to spend an hour or so chatting to him while people continuously put beers in front of him. He was knocking back two to my one before the ex realised it was time for me to go at about 9pm, he carried on till about 3 or so at the only place that was still open which was a Kareoke bar. The next year he had a laugh about being dragged off to some den of iniquity until all hours of the night which was a bit different to the version of the story I heard in which he sounded like a more than willing participant. My old man came down the last time which was just after the 2003 rwc and we gave him a bit of stick about mentoring Martin Johnson far too well, from what he was saying they still keep in touch which is pretty cool.</p> -
<p>Never saw the guy play rugby so hard to comment on the greatest, but certainly a true NZ icon.</p>
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<p>Very much so in hilary mould too it seems, the old man was in Te Kuiti on a golf trip and was having a beer at he workingmans club. Meads strolls in, has a yarn to his mates for a bit then joins the old man has his mates for an hour or so. Before leaving as had to pick up fish 'n chips for the wife!</p>
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<p>That was only in November last year too, must have been right on the cusp of the trouble starting.</p> -
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<p> Before leaving as had to pick up fish 'n chips or the wife!</p>
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<p>After that many beers, I'd tend to opt for the Fish and Chips</p> -
<p>Apparently most of Pinetrees jerseys have been sold off in charity auctions over the years for the IHC, this article gives you an idea of his involvement with the IHC over the years <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/rise/issue-five/pinetrees-legacy.html'>https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/rise/issue-five/pinetrees-legacy.html</a></p>
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<p>Being a bit of an older bugger, I saw Meads (as a teenager) and McCaw live on more than one occasion. There's a pretty big gap between those two and no.3 in the Great All Black pantheon. Ritche was a better leader, but Meads probably had the edge in skills. Both gave more than anyone else for their team.</p>
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<p>But it's Meads activities after he stopped playing which are possibly the best testament to the man. Take a few minutes and read...it's genuinely inspiring and humbling.</p>
<p> </p>Pinetree's legacy<div>
<div><img height="175" src="https://www.msd.govt.nz/images/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/rise/rise-issue-5/pinetrees-legacy.jpg" width="217" alt="pinetrees-legacy.jpg"></div>
<p>"Like Sir Ed, he's truly his brother's keeper," Inga the Winger describes Colin Meads. Rise has a cuppa with the All Black legend and IHC/IDEA Services figurehead at Pinetree Farm and discusses his pioneering work for disabled people.</p>
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<p>Colin Earl Meads' rugby feats need no introduction. The fiercely competitive 1.92 metre King Country lock, who broke his arm against the South Africans and kept playing, is widely considered the greatest New Zealander to pull on rugby boots. The commitment of the 14-year, 55-test, never subbed All Black veteran was total. Until last year, Meads worked King Country land, farming fine lamb and beef for kiwi plates. After retiring as a player, he developed his renown as a rugby selector, coach, administrator and commentator.</p>
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<p>Meads' Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit award was as much for his services to the community as it was to rugby. He has actively dedicated himself to community organisations, particularly the IHC, also known as IDEA Services . He has also supported CCS and the Rugby Foundation, a charity for the 70 or 80 rugby players with debilitating spinal injuries.</p>
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<p><strong>Getting involved with Pinetree Farm</strong><br>
Te Kuiti's Pinetree Farm, 10 lush, green acres on the northern outskirts of the heartland town, was purchased by IHC King Country in the 80s, funded through three or four years of Pinetree's speaking engagements. Today it is home for five intellectually disabled men. Over the years, these men have had the chance to learn farming skills here. When Rise arrives at the farmhouse, residents Ian Ram, Hemi Winikerei and Andrew Sirl (pictured right) are stoked about Colin Meads' imminent arrival. He arrives with a firm handshake, his imposing presence and unvarnished charisma same as it ever was.</p>
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<p>In 1971 Meads called it quits on playing for the All Blacks. "I promised the wife two years without any commitments to rugby. Maureen Tilly read this in an interview." Maureen saw an opportunity: She and three IHC colleagues called on Colin, a regular at IHC's Hamilton's annual fundraising gala, for a chat. They wanted someone powerful to help with IHC challenges. "I said 'I don't want a bar of it. I don't know what it's about'. [They said] 'Oh no you're the ideal man'. By the time they'd left I was chairman of the King Country branch … They said 'we want two years of your time'. I'm still there in many ways."</p>
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<p>As a gifted sportsman, Meads always felt he had a responsibility to help the less fortunate. "I was right out of me depth for a start, but you soon learn. Once I got into it I start to push the barrow, particularly for King Country." Meads talks expressively. "I used to go down to see Housing Corp in Wellington and thump the table," he gestures energetically. "We want another [residential] house. Not in two years. Now."</p>
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<div><img height="177" src="https://www.msd.govt.nz/images/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/rise/rise-issue-5/pinetrees-legacy-2.jpg" width="265" alt="pinetrees-legacy-2.jpg"></div>
<p><strong>Raising money for IHC</strong></p>
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<p>After a couple of years Meads was on the IHC National Committee; next thing he was chair of its National Fundraising Committee. "My point of view was that if I could do anything to help using my name as an All Black I'd do it."</p>
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<p>And help he did. Meads fundraised with the characteristic tenacity he showed on the rugby field. Raffling racehorses he purchased at Waikato yearling sales was one of his successful innovations. Every Friday, he'd drive a carload of five other blokes around the North Island selling these raffle tickets. A favourite destination was the Taranaki town Waitara. "They'd buy tickets no trouble at all. They were 10 dollars a ticket, which in those days was quite a lot of money." Whether it was a big meatworks or a hotel, Meads' strategy was similar. "Who's in charge here?" He always gained the manager's permission. "I'd just give these fullas the nod, these other four, they'd do the selling of the tickets. I'd tee it up with the boss, and have a beer with him and talk to him. So that's basically how it worked. Once we'd done this hotel over we were down to the next one.</p>
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<p>"I always think of Waitara as a great place. Cos the most tickets we was selling were in Waitara. We'd only sell half as many in the pubs in New Plymouth. Some one would put us up for the night." Saturday the group would do the pubs down to Wanganui. "We would sell 500 or 600 a weekend, at 10 bucks a throw, there's a lot of money going in the kitty," Meads chuckles affectionately.</p>
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<p>After three years of racehorse raffling, Blenheim-based Irishman Mick Murphy, who had a disabled daughter, came up with the annual IHC Calf Scheme. Since 1984, farmers have donated more than 90,000 calves to IHC, raising more than $20 million, through Wrightson's Sales. Annually the scheme generates over $1 million. "Mick pushed it. He was the main instigator. I got all the credit, which was very unfair," Meads downplays his role. "Mick's still alive today and he's a great stalwart."</p>
<p>"Doing ads and talking a lot," Meads remains the Calf Scheme's Patron. "I spoke recently at a large herd conference cos, as you know, a lot of little farms have been brought up by the big boys. Where a normal dairy herd once upon a time was a hundred cows, now they're in the thousands. I used to say every hundred cows there was, we'd get a calf. Now you fullas have got a thousand, you should give us 10. They snort at that, but we'll get there. You've just do it nicely, and have a drink with them afterwards, and suggest 'you're making a lot of money this year, you can afford another calf' sort of thing."</p>
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<p>Less successfully, Meads was IHC representative on Hamilton's Community Living Trust for six years. "I ended up Chairman of that. We had huge arguments because they 'wouldn't feed 'em properly." Meads got upset with under-budgeting and inadequate resourcing. "They said 'You spend too much'. I left in the finish, I think I got sacked, I'm not too sure. I wasn't the right person for that job."</p>
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<p><strong>Making fast friends</strong><br>
Meads has got a lot of satisfaction and made lots of friends through his IHC work. "It's a privilege". He was especially close with Dean Walker, a Pinetree Farm resident who Meads and King Country IHC boss Noble Smith moved up from Levin. "He was a good guy, old Dean. He was a good guy."</p>
<p>Dean and three of his friends, including Hemi Winikerei, came regularly to support Meads' club Waitete. "He was always a Waitete man. It was all good, unless Piopio was playing. His brother Brett played for Piopio, and he'd tell us we had to cheer for Piopio because Brett was playing."</p>
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<p>Dean became increasingly sociable living at Pinetree Farm, he became known for helping friends like Andrew Sirl. Dean became part of the Waitete community, the club took him under their wing. "Oh Dean could eat. When supper come out at the footy club old Dean was there! They're nice stories." Meads laughs, fondly remembering Dean's love of food. Dean visited the Meads homestead every three or four months for a feed. "He was a big boy Dean. If you know the Walkers, they are all gutses. They all love meat, like good farming stock. Dean was a success story, like with every success story, there's always the ones that aren't so successful."</p>
<p>Meads looks emotional recalling Dean's 2003 death. "And then he get ill in hospital, he got prostate. They thought we were going to lose him at one stage. I went to see him and his eyes just lit up. He came right but then we lost him two or three years later."</p>
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<p><strong>Supporting intellectually disabled people through IHC</strong><br>
Meads is thrilled people like Dean are no longer shut away in institutions, able to upskill and work. "Having Pinetree Farm and the other houses meant we could get people like Dean and Hemi into the community. Tokonui is all closed up now. The big one in Levin is gone virtually. We have a public awareness now that we never used to have. Back in the 50s and 60s parents would keep them away from the public, they'd be locked away. Through the IHC organisation, through the work of people like the J C Munros [IHC Chief Executive Officer], these guys can walk down the street now and people aren't embarrassed. In the old days, no one wanted to know them and they used to dodge them and hide away from them and all that. The very elite people wouldn't take their Down's syndrome children out. They didn't want people to know that they had one.</p>
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<p><strong>Colin Meades: Lifelong advocate of IHC</strong><br>
The Ministry of Social Development's 2008 Social Report found New Zealanders have the highest level of trust of any country. The third most trusted New Zealander, after Willie Apiata and Peter Snell, is Colin Meads. Dean Walker's Mum and Inga the Winger are two of the many who praise Meads' community involvement. Inga tells Rise: "Like Sir Ed, he's truly he's brother's keeper."</p>
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<p>Now 72, Meads wants to downplay his importance, but there's no doubt he remains an essential IHC advocate. This life member of IHC New Zealand and Special Olympics patron remains King Country patron. "In Te Kuiti Colin Meads is just another guy. I don't want to be put on a bloody pedestal. These people [house staff] who look after them, they're the heroes. It's not us clowns who come in once a month or once a week to say hello or how are ya? It's the workforce of the IHC. I was pleased to see in the paper the other day they got a pay raise. I still keep an eye on things."</p>
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<p>Meads calls the next generation to get involved. "Everyone's getting old. We need young people. Everyone should do something, particularly sportspeople." He says New Zealand is more than a great sporting nation. "We're a great generous nation. The farmers and general public of New Zealand are very generous. I want to keep saying that."</p>
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<p>Meads argues forcefully for comprehensive IHC funding. "They're all our people. They should have the best of everything in life, rather than us. And it should be us that provide it for them." Mead's pride in the homes like the one we're sitting in drinking a cuppa is clear. "Everyone's looked after. There's another one in Te Kuiti, two in Otorahunga and a couple in Taumaranui. And they're around the country. What we've achieved here is my lifelong emblem. It's something to be proud of." Pinetree Farm's staff, David Hart and Hariata Potroz, concur: "We certainly are. It's an awesome job."</p>
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<p>Tomorrow Meads is off to talk to a group of schoolgirls fundraising for a swim across Lake Taupo. Not many sportstars with Meads' status - and his demand as a professional speaker - would get their arm twisted to just do the gig for expenses. "I'm a softie." The ultimate hard man reputation is just one element of Colin Meads.</p>
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<p>"Yeah. I'm a softie though at heart."</p>
<div><img height="236" src="https://www.msd.govt.nz/images/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/rise/rise-issue-5/pinetrees-legacy-3.jpg" width="362" alt="pinetrees-legacy-3.jpg"></div>
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<p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/rise/issue-five/pinetrees-legacy.html'>https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/journals-and-magazines/rise/issue-five/pinetrees-legacy.html</a></p>
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Got to do something about the dust in the house , it got in my eyes while reading this
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11816620
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@Victor-Meldrew Meads truly is a great NZer. As humble as ever
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@jegga said in Sir Colin Meads:
Got to do something about the dust in the house , it got in my eyes while reading this
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11816620
Sympathy for DC but none for Ali hahaha. What a cantankerous old coot!
