Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 138: Ian Uttley (University)

In 1959 Ian Neil Uttley was head prefect of Wellington College, captain of the athletics team and captain of the First XV. Four years later, aged 21, he was an All Black out of the champion University club and he played two tests against England.

Uttley was a small in size but lion-hearted on the rugby field, and subsequently a coach and in business. Sadly, he passed away in 2015 when him and his wife Christine were killed in a vehicle crash on the Napier-Taupo Highway.

Uttley was born in Christchurch on 3 December 1941. He grew up in Karori and attended Wellington College where he was head prefect, athletics captain and captain of the First XV as a slight but highly elusive and dangerous centre in his final year of school in 1959.

He joined University in 1960, alongside his great mate and fellow All Black Wolfe who was older than him by two months, Unlike Wolfe, who was an instant club and representative rugby star after spending four years in the New Plymouth Boys’ High School First XV, Uttley wasn’t fast-tracked into the senior side. He spent his first season in club rugby playing age grade rugby for the student.

He was earmarked for higher honours with his sporting and leadership background at school and on the field where his reputation as a swift running centre with silky skills and a penchant for setting up tries for those around him developed.

His father Ken Uttley was a former Otago and New Zealand Universities midfielder and Manawatu’s coach in 1957, as well as being a first-class cricketer for Otago throughout the 1930s. His uncle Leslie also represented Southland in 1936 whilst his grandfather George had played for North Otago at the turn of the century and was an educator who amongst other posts was Scots College Principal 1916-22.

Anderson in his University history book wrote that Ian Uttley’s nickname was the Grey Ghost owing to his pale appearance and his uncanny knack of spotting a gap in the defence and appearing on the other side of the line!

It all happened fast for Uttley in 1961.

He made his Senior A debut on the wing for University in a 13-0 win over WCOB early in the season.

Ian Uttley’s name on the teamsheet for University in his Senior A debut match.

The following week the Rugby Weekly commented that “Varsity’s I.N. Uttley may yet be a little slight for a winger, but he has a quick turn of speed and plenty of determination.”

He played the next four games on the wing, before filling in at fullback for Mick Williment against St Pat’s OB in a 0-5 loss in early June. He soon moved to his preferred position of centre and played the remainder of the year there.

Another Rugby Weekly entry later in the 1961 winter reads: “I.N. Uttley makes his mark with every game; he tackles well above his weight and has deceptive speed with that smooth-flowing run.”

Uttley would play representative rugby for Wellington from 1961-65 and again in 1968.

His three games for Wellington in 1961 were all in the ‘B’ team, his first representative try coming in a 25-6 win over Horowhenua on 9 September that year (the same day that the top side was challenging Auckland unsuccessfully for the Ranfurly Shield).

Uttley started 1962 for University at centre, with Neil Wolfe at first-five and Mick Williment at fullback. He opened the season by scoring two tries against Oriental in a 26-8 win.

He was subsequently injured for several weeks, but returned in good form, prompting the Rugby Weekly to punch out following a 12-8 win over big guns Onslow that he was “the best back by a considerable margin. A beautiful runner.”

University would finish third behind joint winners Marist and Onslow.

Uttley went on to play right matches for the Wellington A side in their 1962 campaign. The team’s overall form was erratic, but Uttley scored two tries in Wellington’s 35-13 win over South Canterbury on 22 August, two tries against Waikato in a 17-16 win on 8 September and another two against Whanganui in a 29-12 win on 19 September.

Uttley finished the season on an upward trajectory and continued this into 1963.

He returned to University and club rugby early in the year, then then on 18 May played centre for Wellington in their match against the touring England team. In poor conditions, England won 14-9.

He was chosen for the All Blacks a week later and the 21-year-old became University’s 13th All Black when he played in the first Test against England in Auckland. Uttley lined up at centre outside second-five University teammate Neil Wolfe and with Pōneke wing Ralph Caulton on one wing. The All Blacks won 21-11.

The Rugby Weekly wrote that “Uttley was, with other backs, a victim of the scruffy play in the first spell, play which never settled down…however it did in the second spell and Uttley played quite a definite part in the businesslike way the backs went about their work. Certainly warranted another Test.”

A week later he played in the second Test 9-6 win, this time outside Pat Walsh from Counties who scored a vital try. This was Uttley’s second and final international.

Two days after that, on Queen’s Birthday Monday, he was back at centre for University versus Marist in one of the biggest club games of the season. Mick Horan’s Marist won 11-8.

University hung in there and a 22-10 win over Onslow gave their supporters hope, but they fell away to finish third overall.

For Wellington, Uttley played in 12 games in 1963, in what was a roller-coaster season remembered for the matches on 31 August and 7 September. The first saw Uttley and Wellington beat Auckland 8-3 to lift the Ranfurly Shield; the second saw them lose to Neil Wolfe’s Taranaki 3-17 in their one and only defence.

Uttley started 1964 by missing several club games through injury and playing for New Zealand Universities in their three-test series against Australian Universities.

Indeed, this season was a tough one to follow for University fans, their club being constantly disrupted with he demands of players such as Uttley, Mick Williment, Alan Osborne, Gary Hermannsson and others to representative fixtures.

The Wellington A team, under new coach Bill Freeman, played a couple of games on Saturdays that directly clashed with club rugby, such as the 14-14 draw with Canterbury on 11 July. Perhaps the match that hurt most was their unsuccessful 0-3 Ranfurly Shield challenge to Taranaki on 8 August, which took five players out of University’s line-up against Wellington College Old Boys. WCOB won 6-3 and this meant that University shared the Jubilee Cup with Marist instead of winning it outright.

This was Uttley’s only Jubilee Cup title.

Uttley played another dozen matches for Wellington 1964, finishing the year strongly with wins over Auckland (21-12) and Canterbury (24-14) respectively.

University were again up with the leaders in 1965 but again dropped away to finish second behind Athletic – similar issues of representative teams and other demands taking players such as Uttley out.

Wing Alan Osborne scored six tries in one match against WCOB (won 42-6) and five in another against Taita (won 31-3) early in the season, with Uttley in top form in setting some of these up.

The biggest representative match of the year was undoubtedly that against the touring Springboks, and it was one of Wellington rugby’s finest hours.

Wellington beat the tourists 23-6 on 3 July and Uttley scored Wellington’s only try five minutes from halftime that put them up 17-3. Uttley would later tell media “that was my greatest thrill in sport.”

Later in the tour he played for New Zealand Universities. The South Africans prevailed 55-11 in Auckland – but this didn’t tell the story of what happened.

During this match, Uttley, Mick Williment and halfback Chris Laidlaw were all forced from the field in the first half. This was prior to injury replacements being allowed in games, so NZU played much of the game with just 12 players. This was a catalyst for the rule change allowing injury replacements.

Additionally, Uttley left the field with concussion, one of many that he suffered during his rugby career, and which likely contributed to him getting early onset dementia or [undiagnosed] CTE later in his life.

In 1966 he was in Auckland and played for Auckland B and in 1967 he was in the Bay of Plenty and played for that province.

He returned to Wellington in 1968 and was back in University’s team playing second-five or centre throughout most of the season. University were again second, this time to Petone.

He played another eight matches for Wellington in 1968. Overall, it was a disappointing year for the top team, winning seven of 15 games. They finished with a flourish, Uttley a try-scorer in a 29-12 win over Waikato and three days later they beat Canterbury 16-12.

Uttley finished with 52 matches for Wellington A and 82 first-class encounters overall.

He returned at University’s vice-captain in 1969 but ruled himself out of representative rugby owing to work commitments.

University were third in the inaugural Swindale Shield competition, as man [allegedly] walked on the moon that July. In the new standalone second round, they beat Marist 19-9 and Athletic 19-5 to challenge Petone. But a 9-19 loss to Petone meant that Uttley would finish his career as a Jubilee Cup runner-up again.

Now retired, aged 27, his next adventure was moving to London for two years with his job at Shell Oil, whom he would work for over many year.

In the 1970s he moved into administration at his club and spent four years between 1975-78 as University’s Senior A coach.

He later moved to Hawke’s Bay, where he spent the remainder of his life, becoming a Hawke’s Bay Magpies supporter.

On 15 September 2015 tragedy struck. Uttley and his wife Christine were both killed in a traffic accident on SH5 near Te Pohue. The accident was the result of another vehicle coming the other way crossing double yellow lines in the path of the oncoming Uttley car. They were never apprehended. He was 73 and she was 74.

References

• Akers, Clive. New Zealand Rugby Register 1870-2015. New Zealand Rugby Museum, 2016.
• Anderson, John. Victoria University of Wellington Rugby Football Club. The story of the Green and Golds 1902-1987. Tolan Printing Company, Wellington, 1988
• Club Rugby – Wellington against South Africa 1965 http://www.clubrugby.co.nz/wellington/story.php?id=1402
• Rugby Weekly – various 1960-69.
• Veysey, Alex and Fox, Bob. Wellington’s Rugby History 1951-1979, Part 2. Tolan Printing Co, 1979.
• Headline Photo credit: Ian Neil Uttley, All Blacks rugby trialist. Crown Studios Ltd :Negatives and prints. Ref: 1/2-195697-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/23050254