Legends all in black: Five of New Zealand's finest

Wilson Whineray

32 caps, 1957-65

THE rugged prop, who led the All Blacks in 30 Tests, was fortunate to captain some of the game's greatest players, including Colin Meads, Kel Tremain and Don Clarke. Yet there is little doubt that, in the days when coaches were almost non-existent, was the key influence who moulded these outstanding individuals into the most formidable team of the time. Whineray's All Blacks lost only once in 36 games on their 1963-64 tour of Britain, Ireland and France, and when he retired in 1965 after leading New Zealand to a 3-1 series win over South Africa, his team-mate Waka Nathan said: "We'll never have another captain like him."

Colin Meads

55 caps, 1957-71

A GIANT, though athletic, lock from the evocatively named district of King Country, Colin Meads was the archetypal never-say-die All Black, and the forerunner of today's dynamic, all-purpose rugby forwards. He was a dominant jumper at a time when line-outs were far from a foregone conclusion, and his strength in the scrums, mauls and rucks was as legendary as his apocryphal training habit of running up mountains with a fully grown sheep under each arm. But Meads' unquenchable competitive spirit meant that he occasionally blotted his copybook, most notably at Murrayfield in 1967 when he became only the second player to be sent off in an international.

Graham Mourie

21 caps, 1977-82

LIKE Whineray, the explosive Taranaki wing-forward captained New Zealand in all but two of his internationals. Despite his natural shyness, Graham Mourie lost only three of his Tests in charge and enjoyed his greatest triumph when he led the 1978 All Blacks to a Grand Slam of the four home countries. His mental toughness was also evident off the field when he refused to face the touring Springboks in 1981 on moral grounds. His team- mate Andy Haden said: "He was thoroughly respected for his decisions even though many people considered them astray." That Mourie returned to lead the All Blacks against Australia a year later before retiring to his farm underlined that respect.

Grant Fox

46 caps, 1985-93

A FLY-HALF in the classic 10-man-rugby mode, Grant Fox trails only Michael Lynagh and Gavin Hastings in the all-time international points table. His tally of 645 is still almost twice the number clocked up by his nearest Kiwi challenger, the present All Black stand-off Andrew Mehrtens. Fox's prodigious kicking, both from hand and for points, was one of the crucial weapons of New Zealand's successful campaign to lift the inaugural World Cup in 1987. In the days when Test rugby tended to be an attritional, forward-dominated affair, Fox was invariably under orders to kick for position and, despite the critics, few players have matched his skill in that department.

Sean Fitzpatrick

92 caps, 1986-97

WHEN, earlier this year, Sean Fitzpatrick grudgingly acknowledged that his damaged knee would not recover sufficiently for him to play international rugby again, a nation almost went into mourning. New Zealand's most capped player had led his country in a record 52 Tests since 1992, losing only 12 of them. As a captain, he had become a national icon, a symbol of Antipodean defiance; while as a hooker, the Aucklander was a mighty force in the loose, a fierce scrummager and a peerless line-out thrower. "Fitzy is something special," wrote his former international coach Laurie Mains. "He possesses that x-factor of which all great All Black captains are made."