Living Legends Honours a Manawatu Rugby Great

Media Release

4 April 2011

Living Legends Honours a Manawatu Rugby Great

Manawatu’s Sam Strahan has been selected as a “Rugby Legend” by the Living Legends project. Born in Palmerston North on Christmas Day 1944, Strahan was educated at Apiti School, where he recalls his earliest rugby memory, playing for the Apiti School Midgets.

He then went on to Huntley Preparatory School, and Wanganui Collegiate. After only three games for his home club, Oroua, in 1965 he was selected to represent Manawatu, and attracted the attention of national selectors who included him in the Junior All Black team against the 1966 Lions.

In 1967 the All Black selectors were searching for a lock to partner another of Living Legends “Rugby Legends”, Colin Meads. They went to Napier to study Manawatu's Ranfurly Shield challenge, after which the selector found his lock forward after seeing some outstanding play from Sam. By the end of the 1967 season the 1.95m, 101kg lock was off to Britain with the All Blacks where he partnered Colin Meads in each of the four Internationals. The young farmer had gone away as a relatively junior player but his performance improved with each game on a tour which is regarded as one of the most successful ever, being unbeaten in its 17 matches.

After 23 games for the All Blacks he had never been in a losing team, however, in 1969 he lost his Test position to Taranaki's Alan Smith. Strahan returned to top form in 1970 though, touring South Africa and playing the best rugby of his career, appearing in the first three Tests. After his last All Black game in 1973, Strahan played once for Manawatu then later retired from all first class rugby. Sam is remembered as one of Manawatu's finest All Blacks and for six years the best lineout jumper in the country. All up he played for 36 years - with 45 games for the All Blacks, including 17 test matches.

After hanging up his boots Sam Strahan remained involved in rugby, as coach to his club team Oroua, and also within the Club's administration. In 2002, the Oroua Rugby Football Club made Strahan a life member of the Club, and he has also served as President of the Manawatu Rugby Union, of which he is also a life member. He says the best piece of advice he could give to young players now is to take advantage of every opportunity that comes their way. Sam is looking forward to New Zealand’s hosting of Rugby World Cup, an opportunity he says that will give New Zealand exposure to the world.

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 Manawatu Living Legends planting project Living Legends is planting in the Manawatu Gorge Scenic Reserve, as part of DOC’s Manawatu Gorge Biodiversity project. This project is a major initiative involving local authorities, transport agencies, Department of Conservation, community organisations, Iwi, and individual land owners.

The project has a vision to raise this dramatic landscape to a model of restoration for biodiversity and recreation at a national and international level. On 1 October 2011, volunteers will plant 5000 additional native trees at this site as part of Living Legends programme of work. The upgraded Gorge track is already a must do for walkers from across the country, experiencing the outstanding views not seen from the gorge itself and a wonderful piece of hardwood/podocarp forest. Living Legends will provide an outstanding experience for those involved on the day with the opportunity to get up close and personal with wind turbines, walk part of the Gorge Track, and visit several lookouts. This ambitious project will be more than just a planting day, a day with a challenge that will be worth the effort.

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