Lloyd Ashby – great-uncle of Justin Marshall and one of oldest living All Blacks – dies, aged 94

All Blacks great Justin Marshall has paid tribute to his late great-uncle Desmond “Lloyd” Ashby, one of the oldest living men to have played a rugby test for New Zealand, who has died aged 94.

Ashby, who died at his home in Dunedin on Monday, played one test for the All Blacks in 1958 against Australia and was a regular in Southland’s team in the 1950s, playing 59 games, helping them win the Ranfurly Shield in 1959.

Marshall paid tribute on social media, thanking Ashby for being an inspiration in his own journey in rugby, where he went on to play 81 tests for the All Blacks.

“A very sad day today,” Marshall wrote on Instagram.

“My great-uncle Lloyd Ashby, my Dad’s [Fridge] uncle, passed away.

“He was 94 years old. All Black number 594. I was 948.

“Thank you, Lloyd, for inspiring me and making me believe I could be an All Black from a small town like you. RIP, lost but never forgotten.”

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Ashby was born in Mataura, Southland, in February 1931, and he went on to make his Southland debut in 1951.

He began as a midfielder before transitioning to a fullback.

Ashby played his first All Black trial in 1957 and continued to be a regular trialist until 1960, when he played in two of the matches to help pick the side to tour South Africa.

His breakthrough came in 1958 when he was named to play in the second test against the Wallabies in Christchurch after first-choice fullback Don Clarke was injured.

The Wallabies came away with a 6-3 win, and Clarke returned for the third test.

Ashby remained a key player for Southland and in 1959 played for the province in their Ranfurly Shield victory over Taranaki. But after playing the 1960 trials, injury ruled him out for the rest of the season and that ended his career.

Ashby went on to work as an orchardist and was an Eastern subunion selector in 1961 and coached Kaikorai in 1979.

Several former All Blacks have died recently, including Don McIntosh, who was the oldest living All Black, aged 97. Stu Wilson, a former All Blacks captain, died in June, aged 70.

The current oldest living All Black is Brian Steele, born on January 19, 1929, making him 96 years old.

Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.