Obituary: Tori Reid

By D.J. CAMERON

All Black. Died aged 90.

Not surprisingly, newspaper death notices inserted by relatives tend towards a fond accentuation of the positive.

So when the 1935-37 All Black, S.T. (Tori) Reid, died in Hastings last week, there was the tribute to someone 90 years young, sportsman and gentleman, admired and respected by generations of lovers of The Game.

They could not have put it better, said Eric Tindill, at 92, the oldest living ex-All Black. Tindill first became associated with Tori Reid during the 1935-36 All Black tour of the British Isles and Canada which, because they had three losses and a draw in Britain, has tended to become unfavourably, and unfairly, compared with the undefeated Invincibles of 1924-25.

Tori was a very good touring player, said Tindill. "He was a very friendly fellow, very respectful. He was a very fair player on the field, a big man, always very fit."

He was only 22, 6ft 2in (1.88m) and a whisker under 15 stone (95kg).

The nickname Tori came from Reid's given names. He was born on September 22, 1912, at Te Puia Springs, in the heart of the East Coast, in a hospital known as the Sanatorium. So his parents named him Sana Torium Reid, following a tradition set up by such as Hohepa Jacob, whose son was named Ranfurly, after the shield.

His first-class career started as a 16-year-old for East Coast in 1929 and ended 20 years later with Hawkes Bay.

In 1948 Reid was still a powerful member of the Hawkes Bay pack which shook but did not shatter the Otago armour-plating when Bay lost their Ranfurly Shield challenge 6-12.

He played his last game for Hawkes Bay against Auckland at Eden Park in 1949 - and had the pleasure of finishing his big rugby with a 12-9 win.

Reid played four times for the North Island and for the New Zealand Maori team in 1931, 1936 and 1949.