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‘Black Panther’ remembered

Waka Nathan, a star loose forward for the All Blacks in the 1960s, has died aged 81.

Nathan, who suffered from dementia in his later years, was nicknamed the Black Panther and played 14 tests for New Zealand, never being on the losing side.

He made his All Blacks debut in 1962 on a tour of Australia and was a standout for the side on their tour of Great Britain in 1963-64 despite suffering a broken jaw, scoring 11 tries in 15 matches.

He was described by late All Blacks great Sir Colin Meads as ‘‘that most virile runner with the ball in hand, great at exerting pressure close to the forwards’’.

Former All Blacks prop Bill Bush, who played in NZ Ma¯ori teams selected by Nathan in the 1970s and toured Wales with the team when the latter was manager in 1982, said his death would ‘‘rock the Ma¯ori world, for sure’’.

Bush credited Nathan for helping to revive Ma¯ori rugby after he retired from playing. He was a New Zealand Ma¯ori selector between 1971-77.

‘‘He was a proud Ma¯ori, and a guy with his mana encouraged a lot of guys. We all got on board with him,’’ Bush said.

‘‘He had mana because he was such a great player. Mana, for Ma¯ori, is very important. If you have no mana, you struggle.’’

Respected for his bravery on the field during his playing days,

Nathan wasn’t a big talker off it.

Bush said Nathan wasn’t always comfortable making speeches in public, but there was a different side to him when he was among friends and players.

‘‘He was a man of few words. He wasn’t into giving speeches, he wasn’t that sort of guy. He was very shy. But amongst us Ma¯ori boys he had no problem.’’’

Nathan played 88 games for Auckland after making his debut as an 18-year-old. Late in the 1960 season, he scored a dramatic lastminute try for his province against Canterbury which fullback Mike Cormack converted to retain the Ranfurly Shield with a 19-18 win.

He was a former president of the

Auckland Rugby Union, patron of the Auckland Rugby Union and an Auckland Rugby life member.

He was honoured by Auckland Rugby for his commitment and devotion to the union as a player and administrator with the creation of the Waka Nathan Challenge Cup, which Auckland Rugby’s premier club teams compete for.

‘‘It is with great sadness that Auckland Rugby acknowledges the passing of Waka Nathan,’’ a media release from Auckland Rugby said.

‘‘Waka was a man of incredible mana who devoted a large part of his life to Auckland Rugby. Waka will be missed greatly, and our condolences go out to the Nathan wha¯nau at this time.’’

Sport

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2021-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://fairfaxmedia.pressreader.com/article/282351157923381

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