Joe Stanley was a quiet achiever in rugby, but an achiever on a grand scale. All his teammates from the 1980s and 90s rate him as the best centre of their time. He didn't have a sprinter's pace or a ram-rod fend but he did have rugby vision and the ability to do the right thing at the right time, every time. He gave his wings and fullback an armchair ride and provided the opposition with nightmares.

Joseph Tito Stanley was born in Auckland on April 13, 1957. Like the famous Slav marshal with whom he shared his name, he had to wait a long time to be recognised but when recognition came it was complete. He was a late bloomer on the international scene - hardly a baby, he was a member of the Baby Blacks in 1986 - but graced international rugby for six years. In that time he made 49 All Black appearances, with very few in a losing team.

Stanley's progress had been unspectacular but steady. Known as a reliable centre and a ferocious defender, he first received national prominence by keeping Steven Pokere, a current All Black midfielder, out of the 1984-85 Auckland teams. The rights and wrongs of this selection were hotly debated before Pokere resolved the issue by moving to Wellington.

By 1986, Stanley had introduced a bit more variation into his game, or simply improved those he already had, to the point where he was international class. The absence of the Cavaliers opened the door and he marched in. It was to be a long time before anyone else took over.

One of five players to appear in every test of that troubled year (John Kirwan, David Kirk, Frano Botica and Mike Brewer were the others), he very soon became a key part of the backline. Kirwan and Kirk were the only more experienced players in the backline, as Stanley was already well past 50 matches for Auckland, and that experience and refusal to panic stood the All Blacks in good stead. It would continue to do so for several years. He played 27 consecutive tests and was never left out until 1990.

A brilliant passer of the ball, Stanley had the ability to read opposition defences and put his man into a gap. This talent was central to so many of the special performances turned on by Auckland and New Zealand teams of that era, with wingers of the calibre of Kirwan and Wright and fullbacks like Gallagher, Harris and Ridge cashing in to the fullest. If those players didn't score the try themselves, they often made it for one of the loosies backing up on the inside.

All the teams Joe Stanley played for scored tries by the cartload. A very high percentage were scored by the back three, while the master centre scored very few. He was a classic centre, a servant rather than a finisher. He could finish when the opportunity presented itself, but was always looking to use the whole width of the field and every man in the team.

As representative commitments began to pile up, Ponsonby saw less of him. When he was available, he brought an air of calm and control to the backline. The young players around him learned a great deal and were never put into 'hospital' situations - if the crunch was coming, Stanley would take it himself. He never set up a man in a worse position than he was.

When he was finally replaced as the All Black test centre, in 1990, it was by another Ponsonby man, Craig Innes. The younger man, without having Stanley's exquisite touch, had obviously been well taught. Joe Stanley remained an All Black through to the 1991 Argentina tour, the elder statesman in the side, helping young players come to grips with the demands of international play.

Stanley himself had been hampered by a viral complaint over several seasons, which often saw him in a distressed condition on the paddock. That condition, while unpleasant, was never allowed to interfere with the primary task, building a winning margin for his team.

A quiet man, he was never one to make statements to the press, allowing his on-field deeds to speak for him. Within a few years, son Jeremy was again putting the family name to the fore, and he, too, has reached All Black level. Three players (lan Jones, Olo Brown and Walter Little) share the distinction of playing in All Black teams with both Stanleys, a very rare thing in international rugby. Stanley's biography, Smokin' Joe covers his career far more fully than can be done here.

He made a name as a great tourist and was a player who enjoyed every minute of his involvement in the game. In the time since his representative days closed, he has played in Japan, acted as a tour guide on many occasions and, in 1998, assisted in the coaching of the Auckland side. Joe Stanley's involvement in rugby is nowhere near at an end.

Profile courtesy Ponsonby District Rugby Football Club.

FULL NAME

Joseph Tito Stanley

BORN

Saturday, 13 April 1957 in Auckland

AGE

53

PHYSICAL

1.78m, 83kg

POSITION

Centre three-quarter

LAST SCHOOL

Mt Albert Grammar

RUGBY CLUB
(First made All Blacks from)

Ponsonby

PROVINCE

Auckland

RUGBY NICKNAME

Smokin

ALL BLACK DEBUT

Saturday, 28 June 1986
v France at Christchurch
aged 29 years, 76 days

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Saturday, 28 June 1986
v France at Christchurch
aged 29 years, 76 days

LAST TEST

Saturday, 23 June 1990
v Scotland at Auckland
aged 33 years, 71 days

ALL BLACK TESTS

27 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAMES

22 (2 as Captain)

TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES

49 (2 as Captain)

ALL BLACK TEST POINTS

16pts (4t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK GAME POINTS

12pts (3t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS

28pts (7t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK NUMBER

874

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

Click on the date to be taken to the Match Card

1986

 28 Jun vs France at Christchurch 18-9  

 9 Aug vs Australia at Wellington 12-13  

 23 Aug vs Australia at Dunedin 13-12  

 6 Sep vs Australia at Auckland 9-22  

 26 Oct vs Selection du Centre at Clermont-Ferrand 23-19  

 28 Oct vs French Selection at Toulon 25-6  

 1 Nov vs Rousillon-Languedoc Selection at Perpignan 59-6  

 8 Nov vs France at Toulouse 19-7  

 15 Nov vs France at Nantes 3-16  

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  

1988

 28 May vs Wales at Christchurch 52-3  

 11 Jun vs Wales at Auckland 54-9  

 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  

 16 Jul vs Australia at Brisbane 19-19  

 20 Jul vs N.S.W. B at Gosford 45-9  

 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  

 8 Oct vs British Columbia at Vancouver 48-3  

 18 Oct vs Pontypool at Pontypool 47-6  

 25 Oct vs Neath at Neath 26-15  

 28 Oct vs Llanelli at Llanelli 11-0  

 4 Nov vs Wales at Cardiff 34-9  

 11 Nov vs Munster at Cork 31-9 (-) 

 18 Nov vs Ireland at Dublin 23-6  

1990

 16 Jun vs Scotland at Dunedin 31-16  

 23 Jun vs Scotland at Auckland 21-18  

 17 Oct vs Provence/Cote D'Azur Invitation XV at Toulon 15-19  

 24 Oct vs A French XV at Brive 27-24  

 30 Oct vs Cote Basque-Landes at Bayonne 12-18  

 6 Nov vs A French XV at La Rochelle 22-15  (Captain)

1991

 22 Jun vs Buenos Aires at Buenos Aires 37-9  

 25 Jun vs Tucuman at Tucuman 21-9  

 2 Jul vs Cuyo at Mendoza 47-12  

 9 Jul vs Mar del Plata at Mar del Plata 48-6  (Captain)

Points scored for the All Blacks

t

c

p

dg

pts

vs Italy, 22 May 1987

1

-

-

-

4

vs Argentina, 1 Jun 1987

1

-

-

-

4

vs Wales, 14 Jun 1987

1

-

-

-

4

vs Queensland, 10 Jul 1988

1

-

-

-

4

vs France, 1 Jul 1989

1

-

-

-

4

vs British Columbia, 8 Oct 1989

1

-

-

-

4

vs Provence/Cote D'Azur Invitation XV, 17 Oct 1990

1

-

-

-

4

Totals

7

0

0

0

28

Test Record by Nation

P

W

D

L

t

c

p

dg

pts

Argentina

3

3

-

-

1

-

-

-

4

Australia

8

5

1

2

-

-

-

-

-

Fiji

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

France

6

5

-

1

1

-

-

-

4

Ireland

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Italy

1

1

-

-

1

-

-

-

4

Scotland

3

3

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Wales

4

4

-

-

1

-

-

-

4

Totals

27

23

1

3

4

0

0

0

16