For one who dominated the All Black first five eighths position in the late 1980s through to the mid 90s, and was one of the most potent scorers in all test history, Grant Fox had a surprisingly low key entry into the national side.

Indeed, it took three tours before he established himself as the number one first five eighths as he firstly had to assert his claims against the incumbent for much of the early to mid 80s, Wayne Smith, and then Frano Botica.

Fox first became an All Black on the short 1984 tour of Fiji. He played only in two midweek games, with Smith preferred for the unofficial test, and in his appearances shared goalkicking duties with second string fullback Mark Finlay.

On the 1985 tour of Argentina Fox played the first test, his international debut, when Smith was affected by illness and dropped a goal. But those were his only points on tour for fullback Kieran Crowley was the number one kicker. Then in 1986 in France Fox, having suffered through a ban incurred for going on the Cavaliers' tour of South Africa, was the first five understudy to his close rival, Botica.

But Fox's incredible feats for Auckland through the 1984-86 seasons, in which his rate of scoring was phenomenal, meant his claims to be in the starting XV for the inaugural World Cup were irresistible. Fox in that tournament proved to be one of the All Blacks' main weapons and in six matches he finished with 126 points, an average per game of 21.

Such was Fox's value that his now understudy, Botica, never got on the field, though in hindsight little would have been lost had he been used at some stage in some of the other matches.

Over the next four seasons Fox, usually with an unlucky Botica on the bench, had an unchallenged role in All Black test and touring sides. He toured Australia in 1988, Wales, Ireland and England in 1989, France in 1990 and Argentina in 1991. He also played all the domestic tests in this period against Wales, France, Argentina, Australia and Scotland.

As it had been for Auckland, Fox's rate of scoring was astronomical and soon he had accumulated several All Black test records, eclipsing even the mighty Don Clarke.

For all his exploits Fox was often the target for criticism which tagged him as a stodgy and unimaginative player. Certainly he was not a player of great flair, as was Botica, and he was never a dashing runner.

His inability to score tries almost became a matter for joking, which even Fox shared. He did appear to score against Ireland in 1989 at Dublin but ironically the try was ruled out because during a quick lineout Sean Fitzpatrick had had a foot in the field of play while throwing the ball in.

Yet Fox, despite his lack of flamboyance, was a highly effective test player and it was significant that at all levels those on his outside such as John Kirwan and Terry Wright were prolific scorers.

Fox appeared to have gone into a decline when he struggled with an abdominal injury through the 1991 season and he had an especially difficult time at the second World Cup.

When a new coaching-selection panel under Laurie Mains was appointed for the 1992 season it seemed that his All Black future was uncertain, especially when Walter Little was preferred at first five for the bulk of the early season centenary tests.

But for the tour of Australia and South Africa Mains reinstated Fox as the premier first five-eighths and though now a veteran he played for most of the 1992-93 seasons with all his old confidence. He retired after the 1993 domestic season during which he had a leading role in tests against the British Isles, Samoa and Australia.

much he had come to mean to the All Blacks was reflected in the difficulty finding his replacement over the next 18 months. This was only settled by the emergence in 1995 of another outstanding first five and goalkicker in Andrew Mehrtens.

Though Mehrtens eventually exceeded many of Fox's scoring records the Fox statistics remain imposing. In 78 matches for the All Blacks he scored 1067 points and in his 46 tests 645 points, his sole try coming against Scotland in 1990. In 303 first class matches he scored a record 4112 points, of which 2746 came in 189 games for Auckland. A key member of the great Auckland sides of 1985-93, Fox scored 932 points in Ranfurly Shield rugby, nearly three times more than anyone else.

Fox remained prominent in rugby in later years. He worked for a company specialising in ground signage, was frequently an informative television comments man and he was on the coaching staffs of both Auckland and the Blues, sharing in Auckland's NPC triumphs in 1999 and 2002-03 and in the

Ranfurly Shield win of 2003.

Profile by Lindsay Knight
for the New Zealand Rugby Museum.

FULL NAME

Grant James Fox

BORN

Wednesday, 6 June 1962 in New Plymouth

AGE

48

PHYSICAL

1.75m, 72kg

POSITION

First five-eighth

LAST SCHOOL

Auckland Grammar

RUGBY CLUB
(First made All Blacks from)

Auckland University

PROVINCE

Auckland

ALL BLACK DEBUT

Wednesday, 17 October 1984
v President's XV at Suva
aged 22 years, 133 days

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Saturday, 26 October 1985
v Argentina at Buenos Aires
aged 23 years, 142 days

LAST TEST

Saturday, 31 July 1993
v Samoa at Auckland
aged 31 years, 55 days

ALL BLACK TESTS

46 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAMES

32 (1 as Captain)

TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES

78 (1 as Captain)

ALL BLACK TEST POINTS

645pts (1t, 118c, 128p, 7dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK GAME POINTS

422pts (1t, 107c, 64p, 4dg, 0m)

TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS

1067pts (2t, 225c, 192p, 11dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK NUMBER

857

The All Black Games that Fox played.
(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced

Click on the date to be taken to the Match Card

1984

 17 Oct vs President's XV at Suva 39-0  

 24 Oct vs Eastern XV at Suva 58-0  

1985

 15 Oct vs Rosario Selection at Fisherton 28-9  

 22 Oct vs Cordoba Selection at Cordoba 72-9  

 26 Oct vs Argentina at Buenos Aires 33-20  

1986

 21 Oct vs French Selection at Strasbourg 42-12  

 28 Oct vs French Selection at Toulon 25-6  

 4 Nov vs Cote Basque Selection at Bayonne 21-9  

1987

 22 May vs Italy at Auckland 70-6  

 27 May vs Fiji at Christchurch 74-13  

 1 Jun vs Argentina at Wellington 46-15  

 6 Jun vs Scotland at Christchurch 30-3  

 14 Jun vs Wales at Brisbane 49-6  

 20 Jun vs France at Auckland 29-9  

 25 Jul vs Australia at Sydney 30-16  

 21 Oct vs Japan 'B' at Tokyo 94-0  

 28 Oct vs Asian Barbarians at Kyoto 96-3  

 1 Nov vs Japan at Tokyo 106-4  

1988

 28 May vs Wales at Christchurch 52-3  

 11 Jun vs Wales at Auckland 54-9  

 19 Jun vs Western Australia at Perth 60-3  

 22 Jun vs Randwick RFC at Sydney 25-9  

 26 Jun vs Australia 'B' at Brisbane 28-4 (+) 

 29 Jun vs N.S.W. Country at Singleton 29-4  

 3 Jul vs Australia at Sydney 32-7  

 10 Jul vs Queensland at Brisbane 27-12  

 13 Jul vs Queensland B at Townsville 39-3  

 16 Jul vs Australia at Brisbane 19-19  

 23 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 42-6 (-) 

 30 Jul vs Australia at Sydney 30-9  

1989

 17 Jun vs France at Christchurch 25-17  

 1 Jul vs France at Auckland 34-20  

 15 Jul vs Argentina at Dunedin 60-9  

 29 Jul vs Argentina at Wellington 49-12  

 5 Aug vs Australia at Auckland 24-12  

 14 Oct vs Cardiff at Cardiff 25-15  

 28 Oct vs Llanelli at Llanelli 11-0  

 31 Oct vs Newport at Newport 54-9  

 4 Nov vs Wales at Cardiff 34-9  

 11 Nov vs Munster at Cork 31-9  

 18 Nov vs Ireland at Dublin 23-6  

 25 Nov vs Barbarians at London 21-10  

1990

 16 Jun vs Scotland at Dunedin 31-16  

 23 Jun vs Scotland at Auckland 21-18  

 21 Jul vs Australia at Christchurch 21-6  

 4 Aug vs Australia at Auckland 27-17  

 18 Aug vs Australia at Wellington 9-21  

 24 Oct vs A French XV at Brive 27-24  

 27 Oct vs French Barbarians at Agen 23-13  

 3 Nov vs France at Nantes 24-3  

 10 Nov vs France at Paris 30-12  

1991

 19 Jun vs Cordoba at Cordoba 38-9  

 25 Jun vs Tucuman at Tucuman 21-9  

 29 Jun vs Argentina 'B' at Buenos Aires 22-6  (Captain)

 6 Jul vs Argentina at Buenos Aires 28-14  

 13 Jul vs Argentina at Buenos Aires 36-6  

 10 Aug vs Australia at Sydney 12-21  

 24 Aug vs Australia at Auckland 6-3  

 3 Oct vs England at London 18-12  

 13 Oct vs Italy at Leicester 31-21  

 20 Oct vs Canada at Lille 29-13  

 27 Oct vs Australia at Dublin 6-16  

1992

 18 Apr vs World XV at Christchurch 14-28  

 22 Apr vs World XV at Wellington 54-26 (+) 

 24 Jun vs South Australian Invitation XV at Adelaide 48-18  

 28 Jun vs N.S.W. at Sydney 41-9  

 4 Jul vs Australia at Sydney 15-16  

 12 Jul vs Queensland at Brisbane 26-19  

 19 Jul vs Australia at Brisbane 17-19  

 25 Jul vs Australia at Sydney 26-23  

 1 Aug vs Natal at Durban 43-25  

 8 Aug vs Junior South Africa at Pretoria 25-10  

 15 Aug vs South Africa at Johannesburg 27-24  

1993

 12 Jun vs British & Irish Lions at Christchurch 20-18  

 26 Jun vs British & Irish Lions at Wellington 7-20  

 3 Jul vs British & Irish Lions at Auckland 30-13  

 17 Jul vs Australia at Dunedin 25-10  

 31 Jul vs Samoa at Auckland 35-13  

Points scored for the All Blacks

t

c

p

dg

pts

vs President's XV, 17 Oct 1984

-

2

4

1

19

vs Eastern XV, 24 Oct 1984

-

1

2

-

8

vs Argentina, 26 Oct 1985

-

-

-

1

3

vs French Selection, 21 Oct 1986

-

3

4

-

18

vs French Selection, 28 Oct 1986

-

2

3

-

13

vs Cote Basque Selection, 4 Nov 1986

-

-

-

1

3

vs Italy, 22 May 1987

-

8

2

-

22

vs Fiji, 27 May 1987

-

10

2

-

26

vs Argentina, 1 Jun 1987

-

2

6

-

22

vs Scotland, 6 Jun 1987

-

2

6

-

22

vs Wales, 14 Jun 1987

-

7

1

-

17

vs France, 20 Jun 1987

-

1

4

1

17

vs Australia, 25 Jul 1987

-

1

3

1

14

vs Japan 'B', 21 Oct 1987

1

11

-

-

26

vs Asian Barbarians, 28 Oct 1987

-

14

-

-

28

vs Japan, 1 Nov 1987

-

15

-

-

30

vs Wales, 28 May 1988

-

6

-

-

12

vs Wales, 11 Jun 1988

-

8

2

-

22

vs Western Australia, 19 Jun 1988

-

7

2

-

20

vs Randwick RFC, 22 Jun 1988

-

1

4

1

17

vs N.S.W. Country, 29 Jun 1988

-

1

1

-

5

vs Australia, 3 Jul 1988

-

3

2

-

12

vs Queensland, 10 Jul 1988

-

3

3

-

15

vs Queensland B, 13 Jul 1988

-

3

3

-

15

vs Australia, 16 Jul 1988

-

2

1

-

7

vs N.S.W., 23 Jul 1988

-

2

2

-

10

vs Australia, 30 Jul 1988

-

3

4

-

18

vs France, 17 Jun 1989

-

2

3

-

13

vs France, 1 Jul 1989

-

3

4

-

18

vs Argentina, 15 Jul 1989

-

7

2

-

20

vs Argentina, 29 Jul 1989

-

6

3

-

21

vs Australia, 5 Aug 1989

-

2

4

-

16

vs Cardiff, 14 Oct 1989

-

2

3

-

13

vs Llanelli, 28 Oct 1989

-

-

1

-

3

vs Newport, 31 Oct 1989

-

7

-

-

14

vs Wales, 4 Nov 1989

-

3

4

-

18

vs Munster, 11 Nov 1989

-

3

3

-

15

vs Ireland, 18 Nov 1989

-

1

3

-

11

vs Barbarians, 25 Nov 1989

-

3

1

-

9

vs Scotland, 16 Jun 1990

1

4

1

-

15

vs Scotland, 23 Jun 1990

-

1

5

-

17

vs Australia, 21 Jul 1990

-

1

1

-

5

vs Australia, 4 Aug 1990

-

3

2

1

15

vs Australia, 18 Aug 1990

-

-

2

1

9

vs A French XV, 24 Oct 1990

-

3

2

1

15

vs French Barbarians, 27 Oct 1990

-

1

3

-

11

vs France, 3 Nov 1990

-

2

3

1

16

vs France, 10 Nov 1990

-

2

6

-

22

vs Cordoba, 19 Jun 1991

-

4

2

-

14

vs Tucuman, 25 Jun 1991

-

2

3

-

13

vs Argentina 'B', 29 Jun 1991

-

2

2

-

10

vs Argentina, 6 Jul 1991

-

1

5

-

17

vs Argentina, 13 Jul 1991

-

4

4

-

20

vs Australia, 10 Aug 1991

-

1

2

-

8

vs Australia, 24 Aug 1991

-

-

2

-

6

vs England, 3 Oct 1991

-

1

4

-

14

vs Italy, 13 Oct 1991

-

3

3

-

15

vs Canada, 20 Oct 1991

-

3

1

-

9

vs Australia, 27 Oct 1991

-

-

2

-

6

vs World XV, 18 Apr 1992

-

-

2

-

6

vs World XV, 22 Apr 1992

-

1

-

-

2

vs South Australian Invitation XV, 24 Jun 1992

-

4

5

-

23

vs N.S.W., 28 Jun 1992

-

4

1

-

11

vs Australia, 4 Jul 1992

-

1

1

-

5

vs Queensland, 12 Jul 1992

-

1

3

-

11

vs Australia, 19 Jul 1992

-

2

1

-

7

vs Australia, 25 Jul 1992

-

2

3

1

16

vs Natal, 1 Aug 1992

-

4

5

-

23

vs Junior South Africa, 8 Aug 1992

-

2

2

-

10

vs South Africa, 15 Aug 1992

-

3

2

-

12

vs British & Irish Lions, 12 Jun 1993

-

-

5

-

15

vs British & Irish Lions, 26 Jun 1993

-

1

-

-

2

vs British & Irish Lions, 3 Jul 1993

-

3

3

-

15

vs Australia, 17 Jul 1993

-

-

5

-

15

vs Samoa, 31 Jul 1993

-

2

7

-

25

Totals

2

225

192

11

1067

Test Record by Nation

P

W

D

L

t

c

p

dg

pts

Argentina

6

6

-

-

-

20

20

1

103

Australia

15

9

1

5

-

21

35

4

159

British & Irish Lions

3

2

-

1

-

4

8

-

32

Canada

1

1

-

-

-

3

1

-

9

England

1

1

-

-

-

1

4

-

14

Fiji

1

1

-

-

-

10

2

-

26

France

5

5

-

-

-

10

20

2

86

Ireland

1

1

-

-

-

1

3

-

11

Italy

2

2

-

-

-

11

5

-

37

Samoa

1

1

-

-

-

2

7

-

25

Scotland

3

3

-

-

1

7

12

-

54

South Africa

1

1

-

-

-

3

2

-

12

Wales

4

4

-

-

-

24

7

-

69

World XV

2

1

-

1

-

1

2

-

8

Totals

46

38

1

7

1

118

128

7

645