Eric Tindill, one of New Zealand's most illustrious sportsmen, has died in Wellington aged 99.
He was one of only seven double All Blacks and the only one to have played both rugby and cricket Tests. He was the world's longest-lived Test cricketer and the oldest surviving All Black.
Born in 1910, Eric Tindill worked as a public servant and represented New Zealand in the days of amateurism, when public servants were paid half their salaries when they were playing overseas and received three shillings a day expenses.
He disagreed with the move to professionalism and doubted today's players had more enjoyment from their sport than he did. He believed in playing for the love of the game and for the honour.
He played 17 times for the All Blacks between 1935 and 1938, but made only one Test appearance, against England at Twickenham in 1935.
In 1937, he took the second step in his international sporting career, making his Test cricket debut against England at Lord's.
The Second World War disrupted his international career and he next played cricket for New Zealand in 1946 and again in 1947. He played five Tests in those 10 years.
He also represented Wellington in football and table tennis.
When his playing days ended, Eric Tindill turned to officiating, with great success. He umpired Test cricket, refereed Test rugby, was a national cricket selector, treasurer of the New Zealand Boxing Council, and wrote two books about rugby. He preferred rugby to cricket, although his cricket playing days had their moments, including catching out the legendary Sir Donald Bradman in a game against South Australia
In 1995 he was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame and in 2000 he received the Halberg Award for services to sport.
