Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 122: Bob Lendrum

Not to be confused with the player of the same name and first-five who played 131 first-class games for Counties and one test for the All Blacks in 1973, Bob Lendrum’s first-class career went no higher than Wellington.

Robert Edward Lendrum was a Wellington representative in 1963 and 1964, and a Wellington B representative up to 1966.

The lock-forward was a key player in battling Oriental’s side that had briefly flickered into Jubilee Cup contention at the start of the 1950s, before generally being in the bottom half of the competition and competing for the Hardham Cup in the following decade.

Lendrum was a leader in Oriental’s forwards  in 1963 when they celebrated their 75^th year and were coming off a 1962 season in which they finished at the rear of the field in the Hardham Cup.

In both 1963 and 1964 Oriental were solid Hardham Cup contenders and won a handful of big victories in the first rounds over the bigger Jubilee Cup sides.

Lendrum was mentioned in briefs in the Rugby Weekly over a sustained period of time and at the start of the 1964 season he was talked up by the Rugby Weekly as a player to watch that year in club rugby:

“Oriental will be looking for R.H. Lendrum to reach peak fitness. He’s one of the most effective forwards in the championship when he’s able to go flat out from start to finish.”

For the most part he formed an effective partnership at lock for Ories with Noel Farnan, although he also played some games at flanker as well, while regular hooker and prop combination Keith Mettrick and Eric Hart were regular Wellington representatives.

He played 3 games for Wellington at lock in 1963 (not including the international against England and neither the Ranfurly Shield win over Auckland) and a further 15 in 1964 as one of Wellington’s first-choice forwards selected that year. He also played for the Wellington Centurions for a number of seasons.

For Wellington in 1964, he was part of a team under new coach Bill Freeman that was widely considered to be the best provincial team in New Zealand that year. This side played 17 games for 13 wins, two draws and two losses.

Lendrum was in the side that played six games in a fortnight which included four games in a week on their South Island tour from late August to early September. He also played in a 0-3 Ranfurly Shield challenge loss to Taranaki,

Previously, Lendrum started his rugby career in Whangarei and played for Northland before moving to Auckland and the Ponsonby Club where he had his Premier debut.

He represented Wellington between 1963-1966, went to Fiji for work as a surveyor and coached their national team whilst there, before returning to New Zealand and living in Upper Hutt.

His job as a surveyor took him to Fiji where he coached the Fijian national team for three years until he returned to New Zealand and settled in Upper Hutt.

In Upper Hutt, he soon joined the club and began coaching the Premier Reserve team. He introduced the Lendrum Memorial Trophy as a tribute to his wife Bev.

Lendrum was a proud life member of Upper Hutt Rams and of the Centurions and always maintained strong links with Ories.

He was a Life Member at both the Upper Hutt Rams and Oriental-Rongotai. These two clubs play for the Bob Lendrum Trophy in the first round of the Swindale Shield.

He was also a Hutt City Councillor.

He was educated at Ellerslie Convent and St Peters College Auckland.

He passed away in Upper Hutt on 19 March 2021.

References:

• Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016.
• Club Rugby – previous article on Bob Lendrum https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2021/03/23/former-ories-and-upper-hutt-player-and-coach-bob-lendrum-passes-away/
• Rugby Weekly – various editions 1950s and 1960s.
• Veysey Alex & Fox, Bob. Wellington’s Rugby History 1951-1979, Part 2. Tolan Printing Co. 1979.