By ARNOLD PICKMERE
All Black and rugby commentator. Died aged 77
Norman Leslie Wilson was an All Black hooker who went to South Africa in 1949 and Australia in 1951. He was also an excellent summariser for television coverage of rugby in the 1970s and 1980s.
He was the first of a new
breed. As the doyen of New Zealand rugby television commentators, Keith Quinn, said this week: "Before Norm came along it was assumed by television producers that to get tough and strong comment from an ex-All Black about test matches was well nigh impossible.
"They all seemed to belong to a club that clung together with an unwritten pledge that they did not ever 'bag' another from their club.
"Thank goodness Norm had the courage to change that ... He spoke fairly at all times and with an openness that was so refreshing."
Wilson was born in Masterton and played for the Masterton club before serving overseas in the Second World War. After the war he had a season in Gisborne but did not reach provincial level until he went to Otago.
The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand Rugby says he went to South Africa with the All Blacks in 1949 but was kept out of the test side by Has Catley.
He had 20 matches for New Zealand, including three tests. He scored two tries. He represented Otago in 1948 and from 1950-53, also playing for the South Island in 1948, 1950 and 1952.
His stature for an All Black forward was not exceptional. He weighed only 86kg (13 1/2 stone) and was 1.8m (5ft 11in). His occupations included school teaching, managing an oil company and running a motor business.
But it was on television that he became a force, not least through a Saturday morning show on TV1 in the mid-1970s. Appearing with the likes of Bill Freeman and Earle Kirton, he was unfailingly incisive and entertaining.
Wilson never added bizarre new words to the English language like some who succeeded him. But Quinn believes he gave other ex-All Blacks such as Grahame Thorne and Murray Mexted the confidence to follow.
Wilson is survived by his wife, Margaret, and four children.
