Ormond one of the best in NZ football

MAESTRO: Iain Ormond on the ball as Terry Parkin gives chase in an exhibition game at Rugby Park in 1974 to celebrate Gisborne Thistle’s 50th anniversary. Gisborne Photo News picture

Former New Zealand international footballer Iain Ormond has reportedly died after a short illness.

For several years in the early 1970s, Ormond was widely regarded as the best attacking player in New Zealand football.

He played on the wing for Blockhouse Bay, where his father Bert was coach. He also played a season with Stop Out.

Bert Ormond, his wife Esther and their family came to Gisborne, where Bert played for Eastern Union in the early 1960s. Iain played schoolboy football here.

He and his brother Duncan both played for New Zealand, Iain scoring a hat-trick against New Caledonia on his international debut.

Bert Ormond and Duncan’s daughter Vicki also played for New Zealand.

A Facebook page dedicated to Wellington football from the 1960s onwards carried the news that Iain Ormond died on Friday after a short illness.