Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 124: Colin Currie

Colin Currie is part of the group of Wellington’s most capped hookers with 63 ‘A’ team appearances between 1959-65.

He also spent one season in 1960 playing for Auckland and etched himself into that union’s folklore by winning a late tighthead that led to Auckland’s winning try over Canterbury in a Ranfurly Shield match.

In Wellington, Currie played for the Wellington Axemen club, helping to lead a revival of that club’s fortunes from competition strugglers throughout the 1950s to being in the hunt to winning the Jubilee Cup at least twice.

He was an all-action hooker, who was strong in his set-piece work and known as a bustling, busy tight forward always in the thick of the action.

Currie first played for the Wellington representative team in 1958 whilst still a teenager. He made four appearances that season.

By 1959 he was Wellington’s first-choice hooker throughout much of the season, playing another 12 games. This included the fixture on 1 August against the touring British and Irish Lions. Wellington’s pack was predicted to match or better their opposites in this game, but that is not how it transpired for Currie and the Wellington forwards as the Dominion reported:

“Lifting their game to new heights reached only once previously on the tour – in the first Test, at Dunedin – the Lions forwards paved the way for a resounding 21-6 win.

“The British Isles went into the match knowing it must contain perhaps the strongest lineout contingent in the country. They not only contained it; they dominated it.

“With their growing success in the forwards, inevitably came the chances for the Lions backs to cut capers, and as the match wore on the brilliant rearguard in red thrilled the 47,000 who packed Athletic Park.

“But Wellington had its moments too. In the first half the forwards poured into the rucks and the backs were always ready to have a run. Wellington led 6-3 at half-time, but the Lions, with the wind behind them, were quick to assert supremacy in the second spell.”

In 1960 Currie moved to Auckland for one year and played for the Northcote club.

An Article on the NZ history website about Auckland rugby recounted the famous Ranfurly Shield game he was involved in:

“In 1960 30,000 fans – a record for a midweek match – poured into Eden Park for the defence against Canterbury. There were no evening kick-offs under lights back then, so many Aucklanders must have pulled a ‘sickie’ that day. This classic shield encounter was worth it.

When the Auckland team bus was held up in traffic, a Canterbury official claimed that the holders had forfeited the shield. Instead, the match started 10 minutes late. The lead changed hands several times and with one minute to play, Canterbury led 18–14. Only a converted try (then worth five points) would keep the shield in Auckland. But Canterbury had the feed to a scrum and the opportunity to effectively end the match with a kick to touch. At this critical moment Colin Currie, Auckland’s hooker, won a tight-head against Canterbury’s test hooker Dennis Young. The ball came to first-five Mac Herewini, whose cross-kick found loose forward Waka Nathan. Known as the ‘Black Panther’, Nathan was once described by Colin Meads as a ‘most virile runner with the ball in hand’. After he ran 15 metres to score under the posts, Mike Cormack’s conversion gave the ‘Aucks’ an improbable 19–18 victory.”

Returning to Wellington and to the Wellington Axemen club, he became a Wellington representative mainstay, with 11 appearances in first-class rugby in 1961, 14 in 1962, 13 in 1963 and 16 in 1964. His last two matches for Wellington were in 1965.

In 1963 he played in his second winning Ranfurly Shield team. This time for Wellington against Auckland, in the 100th game played between the unions. Wellington won 8-3. However the next week, Taranaki came to town and beat Wellington 17-3 and the Log ‘o Wood was off again.

Also in 1963, he played for Wellington against the touring England team. In tough conditions and in a strong wind, England beat Wellington at their own game in the wind and led 14-6 at halftime and 14-9 at fulltime.

Incoming coach Bill Freeman placed his faith in Currie in 1964, playing in all Wellington’s big matches, including a 0-3 defeat to Taranaki for the Ranfurly Shield, and in two 14-14 draws, against Canterbury and Otago.

By 1965, University’s Ken Grant emerged as the first-choice hooker as Currie’s action-packed six seasons of first-class rugby up to that point was winding down.

Currie had also been an All Black trialist in 1961-62.

Currie also appeared for the Centurions club in 1956 and for the Evergreens club in 19623-63.

Including his 12 appearances for Auckland A in 1960 to go with his 63 for Wellington A, Currie played in 75 provincial first-class matches. This places him fourth equal in the list of most-capped Wellington hookers in A team first-class rugby (up to the Super Rugby era), behind Kevin Horan (98 caps), Brian Lloyd (79), John Sage (75) and ahead of Dane Coles (71).

For his club the Wellington Axemen, he was in their side that were runners-up to University in 1958, and in 1959 were in the mix up to the last afternoon of a hotly contested and even season, along with Petone (winners), University, Athletic and Marist. But neither himself (in Auckland) or star lock Ron Horsely (with the All Blacks in South Africa) played for the team in 1960 that were second to Marist and were unbeaten in the second round. The Axemen fell away again in Currie’s final few seasons but he continued to give it his all for his club.

After hanging up his boots, Curried remained active in the Wellington Football Club and was Club Captain in 1969 and 1970 before transferring to Dunedin for work.

In 2020, in the club’s 125th anniversary season, Currie was selected by Keith Quinn as starting hooker in an all-time best Wellington Football Club team.

Currie passed away young at aged 52, on 22 June 1991.

References:

• Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016.
• The Dominion newspaper, July and August 1959
• NZ History website online article: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/auckland-rugby
• Quinn, Keith. Give ‘Em the Axe! 150 years of the Wellington Football Club. Wakefields Digital, Wellington, 2020.
• Rugby Weekly – various editions 1950s
• Swan, Arthur C.; Jackson, Gordon F. W. (1952). Wellington’s Rugby History 1870 – 1950. Wellington, New Zealand: A. H. & A. W. Reed.
• Swan, A.C. History of New Zealand Rugby Football, Volume 2 1946-1957. NZRU, Wellington, 1958.