Some very talented and famous rugby names come from the area including Jeff Wilson, referee Paddy O’Brien and Brian McKechnie.
The phrase ‘Double All Black’ was given to those who played rugby and cricket for New Zealand.
Two sons of Invercargill managed this feat.
Brian McKechnie was the first.
He played in Southland teams between 1976-1983 with All Blacks Steve Pokere and Leciester Rutledge.
McKechnie also played 26 times for the All Blacks including 9 tests scoring 148 points between 1977 and 1981. He was highly proficient but by no means exceptional.
Controversy followed McKechnie
In a famous test at Cardiff Arms Park in 1978, McKecknie kicked the goal that won the game. Nothing wrong with that but the penalty was given to New Zealand after lock Andy Haden cheated the Welsh by diving out of the lineout as if he were pushed.
No rugby fans in Wales have forgotten and fair enough.
Then, in the 1981 cricket World Series Cup in Australia, Trevor Chappell was ordered by brother Greg to bowl an underarm delivery for the last ball of the final against New Zealand. The Kiwis needed a 6 from the last ball just to draw the match.
It was McKechnie who faced the ball. He had only just come to the crease.
The full story is played out in this 8min video.
He blocked it and them threw the bat away in disgust but has since forgiven the Chapells for the incident.
McKechnie was a capable cricketer and genuine all rounder. The boundaries at the MCG are very big but it is possible that McKechnie could have reached them.
That he didn’t get the chance has immortalised him in sporting folklore history.
Jeff Wilson on the other hand was a genuine talent.
A schoolboy athlete, Wilson represented Southland in basketball, athletics, cricket and rugby.
He once scored 66 points in a high school match and was playing in the NPC before he left school.
Wilson came to prominence while studying at Otago University in Dunedin where he made the All Blacks in his first year, 1993. He went on to play in the 1995 and 1999 World Cups and scored a total of 234 points.
Wilson scored 4 tries in 60 tests – a record at the time.
Cricket
Wilson played for New Zealand in 2 series before channeling all of his energies into rugby from 2005.
His cricket statistics are not flattering but there was a memorable victory over Australia when Wilson hit the bowlers to all corners of the ground.
Paddy O’Brien was a track athlete and police detective before becoming a professional referee.
O’Brien had a turn of pace that he focused on the long- and triple jump. In rugby he was a wing and full back.
He began refereeing in 1984 and was New Zealand’s referee of the year 6 times between 1995 – 2004.
O’Brien became a professional referee in 1996 in the Super 12 turning his back on a 17 year career in the New Zealand Police.
He is now head of the IRB Referees Board.
