SPORT LEGENDS - Ted Griffith - Churchill of North Auckland rugby

• TED GRIFFIN
THINK of Northland sport and there are many characters that leap to the forefront.
Sid Going, the man they called Super Sid; Peter "Tiger" Jones, the galloping rugby forward from Awanui; Neti Traill, the darling of New Zealand table tennis.
These are all names any true blue Northlander knows well.
But for sheer resilience coupled with personality and, that hallmark of sporting notoriety, success, there are very few who can hold a candle to a bloke called Edward Griffin.
You might know him as Ted, maybe even the "Churchill of North Auckland rugby". You may also know him as that cantankerous bloke who coached the North Auckland rugby side for 21 years.
For if there was one characteristic that set Ted Griffin apart, it was his no-nonsense style of coaching. Blunt, abrasive and irascible he might have been, but there's also another word to describe his technique: Effective.
In his time Griffin guided North Auckland through three Ranfurly Shield tenures (1950, 1960 and 1971), introduced 12 All Blacks to provincial rugby and fashioned a record that quite simply will never be bettered.
Having some doubts?
Well, ponder these statistics of Griffin's North Auckland coaching career: 213 matches, 127 wins, 15 draws, 71 losses, 3219 points scored, 2215 conceded.
In his time in charge North Auckland played their bitter rivals, Auckland (there was no such thing as a franchise partner in those days) 42 times and won 21 of them, drew five and lost 16.
As an indication, since he retired in 1972, North Auckland, these days known as Northland, have only beaten Auckland four times.
North Auckland teams with E.Griffin listed as coach beat France, Fiji, Australia, New South Wales and Tonga. They came perilously close to beating the Springboks and even the British Lions in 1950 (they lost 8-6).
But it wasn't just the results that made Ted Griffin such a legend in Northland sporting circles. His teams captured the public imagination, pushed the tactical envelope and produced some of the most memorable sporting spectacles as a result.
While Griffin was in charge sell-out crowds at North Auckland rugby headquarters, initially at Rugby Park and later at Okara Park, were common. Records show more than 20,000 people watched North Auckland give the British Lions their stiffest test on tour in 1950. When the provincial headquarters shifted to Okara Park, 42,000 people arrived to watch Ranfurly Shield defences against Auckland.
In six defences in 1972, 110,000 fans poured through the gates to see North Auckland play.
They all came to see Griffin's boys, from the mercurial feats of J.B. Smith, to the rampaging runs of ``Tiger' Jones and then the spellbinding ``triple-scissors' move that became the hallmark of the time when the brothers Going (Sid, Ken and Brian) were all playing for North Auckland.
Little wonder then that Ted Griffin became such a cult figure in Northland, and not just with the spectators. Players, too, found him to be a man of mystique, a special kind of rugby coach.
It was Griffin who plucked a raw-boned flanker from club rugby in Awanui and put him in the North Auckland team as an 18-year-old, and Griffin who nicknamed that player "Tiger" Jones.
It was Griffin who first selected Sidney Milton Going, Bevan Holmes, Peter Sloane and Ken Going, all of whom became All Blacks. He coached J.B. Smith, the legendary All Blacks back.
It was also Griffin who after retiring, spoke out against his own union in 1978 when North Auckland won the Ranfurly Shield then controversially refused to defend it for the rest of that season. As a consequence he steadfastly refused to attend any shield defences in 1979.
In his day he had been a player of some repute too, playing for Hawke's Bay and Wellington. He even had as a stint as a national rugby selector.
It wasn't just in rugby that Griffin had a reputation for coaching. The Griffin family were mad keen on horse racing, and with his brothers Ted had several horses win notable races throughout the North Island.
But when it came to provincial colours, he was as Northland as they come, which is why his retirement in 1972 was marked with a street parade in Whangarei.
His input to North Auckland rugby didn't finish there though. Griffin went on to become union president and vice-president, then patron. He was awarded life membership to the union shortly before he died in 1992.