When Johnny Simpson dangled broadcaster Winston McCarthy over the side of the SS Tamaroa on the All Blacks way to South Africa in 1949, there were fears the life rafts might have been needed.
McCarthy had been sponsored by the Government as the official commentator but after several weeks of
close quarter confinement on the boat, his incessant chatter got too much for some of the players.
Simpson and his propping mate Kevin Skinner hung McCarthy over the rail by his ankles with all sorts of threats about ending his prattling. It was only later when each prop confessed he was relying on his mate, that they all realized how close they had come to losing McCarthy in the drink.
The shock cured McCarthy for a day or two as he reflected on his close call.
Simpson was known as "the Iron Man" although that description did seem strange for someone whose test career was done in four years when he suffered a severe knee injury. He was tempted to return, like his good buddy Bob Scott, for the '53-'54 tour to Europe but eventually decided to stay in retirement.
