Former All Black captain, educator and sports administrator Sir John Graham has died.
He was 82 and had been ill for some time.
Sir John played 22 Tests for the All Blacks betweeen 1958 and 1964, including three as captain.
He was headmaster of Auckland Grammar School from 1973 to 1993, former president of the New Zealand rugby union and manager of the New Zealand Cricket side in the late 1990s.
Sir John Graham Photo: Photosport
He was chancellor of the University of Auckland from 1999 to 2004.
Born in Stratford, Sir John attended New Plymouth Boys' High School before attending Auckland University graduating with a MA (Hons) in history.
He represented Auckland during that time, playing against the Springboks in 1956.
He then moved to Christchurch and played for Canterbury between 1958 and 1965, making his first test for the All Blacks in 1958 at loose foward.
Sir John was an intelligent player with a good turn of speed.
In 1959 he withdrew from the All Black trials but in 1960 was selected to tour South Africa.
He played 10 of the 26 matches, including the second and third tests, and captained the team on a number of occasions.
When Wilson Whineray retired, after the tour of Great Britain in 1964, Sir John took over the All Black captaincy, a position he held until retiring from rugby in 1965.
He had played a total of 31 games for the All Blacks, seven as captain.
NZ Cricket manager John Graham in 1999 alongside Dion Nash (left) and coach Steve Rixon. Photo: Photosport
Sir John has been outspoken about rugby, its organisation and its place in New Zealand culture. After touring South Africa with the All Blacks in 1960, he said that "if we had any conscience and feeling for humanity, we should not have been touring South Africa".
Along with Wilson Whineray he declined to attend the matches of the 1981 Springbok tour of New Zealand.
He was also criticial of the presence of advertising on the All Black jersey.
"I may be a dinosaur in this respect, but I don't think anything should go on the All Black jersey other than the silver fern".
Sir John believed New Zealanders focus excessively on rugby.
"I don't think rugby union is anywhere near as important in this country as solving the problems of poverty and unemployment," he said.
"We're happy, aren't we, when our rugby team goes well, yet we're prepared to let some aspects of our nation go almost ignored."
Former All Black captain John Graham congratulates All Blacks captain Richie McCaw after victory over the Wallabies in 2006. Antoher former All Black captain the late Jock Hobbs looks on. Photo: Photosport
In 1994 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to education, and in 1999 was named New Zealander of the Year by North & South magazine.
Sir John was elected president of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 2005, and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Auckland the same year.
In 2011 he was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to education and sports.
Sir John 'produced something very special' - Henry
Former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry said Sir John was a very special person.
He said Sir John had the ability to change people's lives.
"He was a marvellous role model because he had such great standards himself. He was highly driven. He wanted to be successful as an individual, but also when he led a school like Auckland Grammar School, he picked up the staff and kids and took them with him and produced something very special I think," Henry said.
