Ex-Hawke's Bay Magpie Keith Murdoch died a week before he was to meet long-lost son

Controversial ex-All Black Keith Murdoch discovered he had a love child prior to his death, but tragically a planned meeting never happened. Photo / Getty Images

Former All Black Keith Murdoch had just discovered he had a secret love child, but died a week before he was due to meet him, teammates have revealed.

The former Hawke's Bay Magpie hardman had lived a bachelor lifestyle in his final years in Australia - where he put himself in exile after he was infamously sent home from the 1972-73 Northern Hemisphere tour after assaulting a security guard in Cardiff.

In the mid-60s, Murdoch had a colourful stint for the Magpies and local Marist club.

He arrived in Napier in 1965 after being named by the Rugby Almanack as one of its five most promising players for 1964.

The Herald on Sunday discovered he had conceived a son in New Zealand, believed to have been before he left for the now-infamous incident in Cardiff.

The pair had found each other and connected, and the son – now in his late 40s - had been planning to travel to Australia to meet his father. But in a tragic twist, the controversial ex-sporting star died a week beforehand, in February 2018, aged 74.

"He had never seen Keith, until he went to his grave," a former All Blacks teammate confirmed.

Keith Murdoch runs on to Cardiff Arms Park for what would be his final test for the All Blacks, a game where he scored a crucial try. Photo / Bill Rowntree

"He didn't go to the funeral - the first time he got anywhere near Keith was after he had been buried. He never met his old man. It's all a bit sad for them."

But the man and his own son did meet some of Murdoch's former All Blacks teammates after his father's death to find out more about him and allay any fears he had about his past. Players included those who travelled with him on the infamous tour, including the side's captain, Ian Kirkpatrick, and lock Andy Haden.

Former All Blacks physio Malcolm Hood also met the son.

"His son has been through a lot of trauma," Hood told the Herald on Sunday.

"He had heard all these terrible stories about Keith and he wanted to find out about his heritage ... and the more he found out about Keith the more he learned that he was a standout guy.

"The meeting took a lot of the demons out of the situation.

"Keith did do some things which did get him into trouble, but he stood up for the underdog and that is exactly what happened [that night in Cardiff]."

Hood described the son as a "very shy guy" who was also the spitting image of his dad.

"He was all set to go over to Australia and meet his dad, but he missed [the chance] by a week.

"And Keith was looking forward to his son coming over ... but he didn't quite make it."

A former senior All Black said those who had met Murdoch's son were glad to have had the chance to talk, including about his character on and off the field.

"He was quite open about letting people know he was Keith's son and getting over the 'Murdoch' thing ... all that bulls*** about how 'bad' he [Keith] was.

"It is a pity that it [Murdoch's reputation] ever got to that."

In just 12 hours in the Welsh capital, Murdoch went from a hero to villain in the eyes of All Blacks management; first scoring a crucial try in the 19-16 win over Wales, then punching security guard Peter Grant at Cardiff's Angel Hotel.

Murdoch was sensationally kicked off the tour, becoming the first - and remaining the only - All Black to be booted from a tour for disciplinary reasons. He was sent home by team manager Ernie Todd, who was struggling in the role as he battled terminal cancer.

Murdoch's son and grandson met with surviving family members of Todd's in a bid to bring unity to the two families.

The New Zealand Rugby Union president at the time, Bill Osborne – himself a former All Black – was heavily involved in arranging the meeting prior to an All Blacks-Wallabies test in Auckland.

"They made it about bringing the two [families together]. Every time something came up about Keith Murdoch, it was about blaming the manager for sending him home. There was always that thing about the family fighting back about that, like, 'It wasn't the old man's fault.' "

In Napier, Murdoch played for the Marist club and appeared in six of the Magpies' 11 matches of 1965 - four at lock, one at No.8, and one at prop.