Few All Blacks have been as versatile and as accomplished, both on and off the field, as Chris Laidlaw. Not only was he one of the best halfbacks who have played for the All Blacks and the captain in a test against Australia in 1968 but he achieved many other distinctions.

He was a Rhodes scholar at Britain's famous Oxford University, became a diplomat and High Commissioner to Zimbabwe, served the Commonwealth secreteriat, became the countrys Race Relations Conciliater, was a member of parliament for a short term and then New Zealands chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund.

As a player Laidlaw was always a prodigy. After excelling for the Kings High School first XV in Dunedin 1957-61 he went straight into senior club rugby with University A in 1962 and made such an impact he was soon into the Otago representative side and in his debut year played for both the South Island and New Zealand Universities.

From his early years, and in particular from one on one sessions with a doyen of Otago rugby and former champion halfback Charlie Saxton, Laidlaw developed a marvellous pass and an accurate kick from the forward base. His natural intelligence also enabled him to be a sharp tactical reader of a game.

He continued his rapid progress in 1963, playing again for the South Island and won selection, even though he was still not 20, for the All Blacks tour of Britain and France. He more than came up to expectations and though the team vice captain Kevin Briscoe was the first choice halfback Laidlaw was preferred for the international against France and the unofficial test against the Barbarians.

In 1964 Laidlaw captained a New Zealand under 23 selection on a tour of Australia and played in the first test against the Wallabies later that year.

By 1965 he had established himself ahead of Briscoe and Des Connor as the test halfback and he had a major role in each of the series wins over the Springboks in 1965 and the Lions in 1966.

Injury stopped him playing the Jubilee test against the Wallabies at Athletic Park in 1967. His replacement was Sid Going, who was almost the same age. From this match there was an intense rivalry between the two for the test position with each making no fewer than three tours together.

Going only occasionally displaced Laidlaw for the test spot, one instance being the 1967 test in Paris against France, or received chances either through Laidlaws injuries or absence in 1969 at Oxford University. For all Going's brilliance Laidlaw was generally preferred both for his steadiness and his combination with the then ranking first five eighths, his club and provincial team-mate Earle Kirton.

Laidlaw had obvious leadership qualities and frequently captained Otago and New Zealand Universities. But he did not become the long term All Black captain many had assumed would be his destiny, especially after leading the colts in Australia in 1964, and his only test as captain was in Australia in 1968 when Brian Lochore was injured.

Laidlaw was one of the first New Zealanders to play extensively overseas. He captained Oxford to a win over the 1969-70 Springboks in Britain and also spent a period in France. Despite his frequent appearances against the Springboks he later became a staunch opponent of contact with South Africa while apartheid remained in force.

As well as his 50 matches for Otago between 1962 and 1967 Laidlaw appeared once for Canterbury in 1968. After the 1970 tour of South Africa, even though he was only 27, Laidlaw drifted away from an active role in New Zealand rugby.

But in 1973 he created something of a media fuss with his book, "Mud in Your Eye," which was a sardonic over-view of the state of the New Zealand game. It was one of the best New Zealand rugby books, crisply written and with many sharp insights. However, his candour upset some administrators and a number of his old team-mates.

In recent years Laidlaw has moderated some of his old acerbity towards the game and has become an intelligent contributor to the media in several branches. Though without any formal training he has shown himself a natural journalist with an ability in print, radio and television. And he has not only been authoritative on rugby but also politics, the arts and international and current affairs.

Profile by Lindsay Knight
for the New Zealand Rugby Museum.

FULL NAME

Christopher Robert Laidlaw

BORN

Tuesday, 16 November 1943 in Dunedin

AGE

66

PHYSICAL

1.75m, 78kg

POSITION

Halfback

LAST SCHOOL

King's High

RUGBY CLUB
(First made All Blacks from)

Otago University

PROVINCES

Otago, Canterbury

ALL BLACK DEBUT

Saturday, 26 October 1963
v Southern Counties at Hove
aged 19 years, 344 days

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Saturday, 8 February 1964
v France at Paris
aged 20 years, 84 days

LAST TEST

Saturday, 29 August 1970
v South Africa at Port Elizabeth
aged 26 years, 286 days

ALL BLACK TESTS

20 (1 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAMES

37 (2 as Captain)

TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES

57 (3 as Captain)

ALL BLACK TEST POINTS

12pts (3t, 0c, 0p, 1dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK GAME POINTS

36pts (8t, 0c, 0p, 4dg, 0m)

TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS

48pts (11t, 0c, 0p, 5dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK NUMBER

641

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

Click on the date to be taken to the Match Card

1963

 26 Oct vs Southern Counties at Hove 32-3  

 2 Nov vs Neath and Aberavon at Port Talbort 11-6  

 9 Nov vs London Counties at London 27-0  

 16 Nov vs South of Scotland at Hawick 8-0  

 23 Nov vs Cardiff at Cardiff 6-5  

 3 Dec vs Midland Counties at Coventry 37-9  

 11 Dec vs Munster at Limerick 6-3  

 17 Dec vs Western Counties at Bristol 22-14  

 26 Dec vs Combined Services at London 23-9  

 31 Dec vs Llanelli at Llanelli 22-8  

1964

 8 Jan vs North-Western Counties at Manchester 12-3  

 14 Jan vs North of Scotland at Aberdeen 15-3  

 22 Jan vs Leinster at Dublin 11-8  

 25 Jan vs Ulster at Belfast 24-5  

 29 Jan vs South-Eastern Counties at Bournemouth 9-6  

 1 Feb vs France B at Toulouse 17-8  

 8 Feb vs France at Paris 12-3  

 15 Feb vs Barbarians at Cardiff 36-3  

 24 Feb vs British Columbia at Vancouver 39-3  

 15 Aug vs Australia at Dunedin 14-9  

1965

 31 Jul vs South Africa at Wellington 6-3  

 21 Aug vs South Africa at Dunedin 13-0  

 4 Sep vs South Africa at Christchurch 16-19  

 18 Sep vs South Africa at Auckland 20-3  

1966

 16 Jul vs British & Irish Lions at Dunedin 20-3  

 6 Aug vs British & Irish Lions at Wellington 16-12  

 27 Aug vs British & Irish Lions at Christchurch 19-6  

 10 Sep vs British & Irish Lions at Auckland 24-11  

1967

 14 Oct vs British Columbia at Vancouver 36-3  

 28 Oct vs Midlands, London and Home Counties at Leicester 15-3  

 4 Nov vs England at London 23-11  

 11 Nov vs Wales at Cardiff 13-6  

 21 Nov vs South-West France at Bayonne 18-14  

 29 Nov vs Scottish Districts at Melrose 35-14  

 2 Dec vs Scotland at Edinburgh 14-3  

 13 Dec vs East Wales at Cardiff 3-3  

 16 Dec vs Barbarians at London 11-6  

1968

 21 May vs Sydney at Sydney 14-9  

 1 Jun vs Victoria at Melbourne 68-0  (Captain)

 8 Jun vs N.S.W. at Sydney 30-5  

 12 Jun vs Australian Combined Services at Sydney 45-8  

 15 Jun vs Australia at Sydney 27-11  

 22 Jun vs Australia at Brisbane 19-18  (Captain)

 13 Jul vs France at Christchurch 12-9  

 27 Jul vs France at Wellington 9-3  

1970

 14 Jun vs Western Australia at Perth 50-3  

 24 Jun vs Paul Roos' XV at Bethlehem 43-9  

 27 Jun vs Griqualand West at Kimberley 27-3  

 4 Jul vs South-West Africa at Windhoek 16-0  (Captain)

 11 Jul vs Transvaal at Johannesburg 34-17  

 13 Jul vs Western Transvaal at Potchefstroom 21-17  

 25 Jul vs South Africa at Pretoria 6-17 (-) 

 1 Aug vs Eastern Province at Port Elizabeth 49-8  

 8 Aug vs South Africa at Cape Town 9-8  

 19 Aug vs South African Country at East London 45-8  

 22 Aug vs Natal at Durban 29-8  

 29 Aug vs South Africa at Port Elizabeth 3-14  

Points scored for the All Blacks

t

c

p

dg

pts

vs South of Scotland, 16 Nov 1963

-

-

-

1

3

vs Midland Counties, 3 Dec 1963

1

-

-

-

3

vs North-Western Counties, 8 Jan 1964

1

-

-

1

6

vs France, 8 Feb 1964

-

-

-

1

3

vs England, 4 Nov 1967

1

-

-

-

3

vs Scottish Districts, 29 Nov 1967

1

-

-

-

3

vs Victoria, 1 Jun 1968

2

-

-

-

6

vs N.S.W., 8 Jun 1968

1

-

-

-

3

vs Australia, 15 Jun 1968

1

-

-

-

3

vs Griqualand West, 27 Jun 1970

1

-

-

-

3

vs Transvaal, 11 Jul 1970

1

-

-

-

3

vs Eastern Province, 1 Aug 1970

-

-

-

1

3

vs South Africa, 8 Aug 1970

1

-

-

-

3

vs Natal, 22 Aug 1970

-

-

-

1

3

Totals

11

0

0

5

48

Test Record by Nation

P

W

D

L

t

c

p

dg

pts

Australia

3

3

-

-

1

-

-

-

3

British & Irish Lions

4

4

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

England

1

1

-

-

1

-

-

-

3

France

3

3

-

-

-

-

-

1

3

Scotland

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

South Africa

7

4

-

3

1

-

-

-

3

Wales

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Totals

20

17

0

3

3

0

0

1

12