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Former All Blacks flanker Kevin Meates dies, aged 92

Rugby, Sport | | | By Stuff Sports

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Fomer All Black Kevin Meates, front left, and Tiny Hill, right, meet the cast of The Book of Fame playing in the Repertory Theatre, Christchurch, in 2003. Picture: STUFF SPORTS.

Two-test All Blacks flanker Kevin Meates died in Christchurch on Sunday, aged 92.

Meates was only 22 when he made his debut for New Zealand against Australia in Christchurch in 1952.

He also played the second test against the Wallabies but injuries saw him miss selection for the tour of the UK and France in 1953.

He often played at lock for Canterbury in the mid-1950s but continued to be bothered by injuries, which saw him miss playing for the province against the touring Springboks in 1956. The following year, Canterbury beat an All Black side which had just returned from two test wins over Australia, but Meates broke his leg early in the 11-9 victory at Lancaster Park, which effectively ended his first-class career.

Older brother Bill Meates, who died in 2003, played 20 times for the All Blacks as a winger, including seven tests.

Born in Greymouth in 1930, Kevin Meates was well-known on the West Coast as the boss of Matai Industries, which opened a series of factories on the Coast in the early-mid 1970s.

In 1983, Meates was awarded $800,000 in compensation from the Government after it reneged on a business support package for the West Coast initially pledged by then Opposition leader and later Prime Minister, Norman Kirk.

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