Andy Haden

Andrew Maxwell Haden (26 September 1950Template:Spnd29 July 2020) was a New Zealand rugby union player and All Black captain. He played at lock for Auckland and for New Zealand from 1972 until 1985. He also played club rugby for Ponsonby RFC in Auckland and for clubs in the United Kingdom and Italy.

Life and career

Andy Haden was born in Whanganui on 26 September 1950 and attended Wanganui Boys' College.

Haden moved to Auckland and joined Ponsonby RFC. In 1971 he played for the Auckland Colts and also made his senior provincial debut for Auckland, playing 2 senior games that season. He would go on to play 157 provincial games scoring 12 tries (48 points). He also played eight games for the New Zealand Juniors in 1972 and many appearances for the North Island team in the Interisland match, captaining them in 1984.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

All Black career

Andy Haden made his All Black debut in 1972 against New York Metropolitan on the 1972–73 tour of Britain, Ireland, France and North America. However, his Test debut was not until 1977 against the British Lions. He went on to make 41 Test appearances and scoring two tries.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="NZ Rugby obit">Template:Cite news</ref> Of those 41 appearances, 8 were as captain of the All Blacks.<ref name=AP>Template:Cite news</ref> Haden was noted for his powerful scrummage skills and for his imposing presence at the lineout.<ref name=Reuters>Template:Cite news</ref>

Haden also played club rugby for Harlequins in London and Algida Rome in Italy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Off the field, he published his autobiography, Boots ’n All, in 1983.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> By receiving royalties from the book, he ostensibly tested the sport's strict amateurism rules in force back then. He ultimately prevailed, however, by claiming that being a writer was his profession.<ref name=Reuters/>

Haden was selected as one of the “Five players of the year” for the 1984 and 1985 seasons, in the Rugby Almanack of New Zealand.

Haden was a controversial player,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> who was accused of cheating<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> and unsporting conduct.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The most infamous occurrence of this happened in a match against Template:Nrut at Cardiff Arms Park in 1978. The score was 12–10 in Wales's favour, when Haden and another New Zealand player, Frank Oliver, fell to the ground as if pushed during a lineout after the ball had been thrown in.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The referee awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the match, which Brian McKechnie kicked, winning the game for New Zealand. Later, Welsh legend J. P. R. Williams wrote that Haden should have been sent off. Despite the controversy however, the referee subsequently stated that the penalty had actually been awarded for an actual infringement against Oliver and not the Haden 'dive' as was thought. Haden did not, however, deny that the attempts to cheat the referee were pre-planned, something also confirmed by his captain Graham Mourie.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The match happened on the same day as the annual 'Miss World' competition, which prompted Welsh cartoonist Gren to create a picture of the 'Miss World' event, but with Miss New Zealand lying on the floor, pretending to have been pushed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Haden made his last Test appearance in 1985 against Template:Nrut.<ref name="NZ Rugby obit"/>

Later years

Haden was an agent for various celebrities, including Rachel Hunter.<ref name=AP/> He was given the honorary position of Rugby World Cup Ambassador in 2010, but resigned the post after making controversial statements about a racial quota he alleged the Crusaders to be operating, calling Polynesians "darkies", and then suggesting women raped by sports stars may be partly to blame.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2003, Haden announced that he was beginning chemotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He overcame this bout of illness, but in February 2020 was diagnosed with lymphoma.<ref name="NZH obit">Template:Cite news</ref> He consequently died of lymphoma on 29 July 2020, at his home in Auckland. He was 69 years old.<ref name=AP/><ref name="NZH obit"/>

External links

• Sporting-Heroes.Net – a profile and picture of Andy Haden
• Template:All Blacks