A life of rugby for Southland legend

Media Release

4 April 2011

A life of rugby for Southland legend

One of Southland rugby’s true legends of the game, Kevin Laidlaw, is thrilled to be selected as the Southland Rugby Legend as part of the Living Legends project. “It’s a big honour”, says Mr Laidlaw.

Born in the small coal-mining town of Nightcaps in 1934 Kevin played rugby for 34 years, his earliest memory playing at St Patrick’s convent school in 1942. He’s still involved in Southland Rugby now, serving on the Southland Rugby Union’s Board of Directors.

A product of the celebrated rugby secondary school, St Kevin's in Oamaru, Kevin played most of his rugby in Nightcaps, where he worked in a family garage. But it was from the Marist club in Invercargill that he first made the Southland representative side in 1956.

He played at second five eighths for Southland against the Springboks that year scoring a try in the side's 23-13 defeat. Laidlaw scored again for Southland in a big win over the Wallabies in 1958 and took a big step towards winning All Black honours in 1959.

He played for Southland against the British Lions, his third appearance against a major touring side, and then had an outstanding match when Southland lifted the Ranfurly Shield from Taranaki, a moment he says that was his best in his rugby career. That performance won him promotion to the All Black squad as a reserve for the fourth test against the Lions at Eden Park and good form in the trials early in 1960 confirmed him in the touring party.

Laidlaw represented New Zealand in 17 All Blacks games, including 3 tests. He made his test debut for New Zealand against South Africa at Cape Town on July 23, 1960. His last test was also against South Africa, at Port Elizabeth on August 27, 1960.

In the 1961 and 1962 seasons he brought his Southland tally of matches to 59 and in each played against touring sides in France and the Wallabies before retiring from playing.

In the 1980s he returned to the Southland side as its coach and his son Paul, also a centre, had a lengthy representative career which in 1985 included an appearance for the South Island. He has been a stalwart of the Southland rugby scene as a player, coach and administrator and his advice to young people is to “join a club and be active – participate and administrate”. Which begs the question he asks himself, is there life after rugby?!

About Living Legends

Living Legends is a community conservation project that is coordinating 17 native tree planting projects throughout New Zealand during Rugby World Cup 2011.

Each planting is being run in conjunction with provincial rugby unions and will be dedicated to a regional ‘Rugby Legend’ who has been selected by the union.

These Rugby Legends are people who have made a significant contribution to rugby in New Zealand.

Living Legends will plant almost 80,000 trees nationwide in 2011, and is making a five year investment to plant a total of 150,000 trees by the end of the project in 2015.

The plantings all take place on public conservation land, and will encourage New Zealanders and overseas visitors to participate in the events.

Plantings will be held in Northland, North Harbour, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taupo, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Wellington, Tasman, Buller/West Coast, Mid Canterbury, Christchurch, Otago and Southland.

Living Legends is a joint venture of Project Crimson, an environmental charity with 20 years experience in community-based native restoration projects and the Tindall Foundation. We are thrilled to have the support of our major sponsors the Department of Conservation and Meridian Energy.

About the Southland Living Legends planting

The location chosen for Southland planting initiative is the Bushy Point restoration area on the Otatara peninsula, which has very significant natural values.

On 11 September 2011, volunteers will plant 5000 additional native trees at this site as part of Living Legends programme of work.

The area has been quoted as having vegetation and habitats of indigenous fauna of national significance. It is home to the best remaining example of formerly more widespread coastal sand dune totara and totara – matai forests in New Zealand, and supports good populations of endemic forest birds including nationally threatened species that are strongly dependent on the forest remnants. It also contains nationally threatened plants as well as native fish species – kokopu, eels, and lizard species.

Since 2000 the Otatara Landcare Group has organised many community planting days, initially within the conservation area, and has managed weed and pest control. With the help of Living Legends the project will progressively turn the area of exotic grasses into a functioning, self-sustaining native ecosystem with features and educational opportunities that can be enjoyed by the public of Otatara and Invercargill for the future.

Ends

© Scoop Media