Bill McCaw, oldest living All Black, dies aged 97

Bill McCaw, pictured in 1951. Photo / National Library

Bill McCaw, who was the oldest living All Black, has died at the age of 97.

He died in a Christchurch hospital on Tuesday.

Born in Gore, McCaw went on to play five tests and 27 games for the All Blacks between 1951 and 1954 as a loose forward, scoring six tries.

He also made 50 appearances for Southland and was part of the team who beat the British Lions 11-0 in 1950.

After retirement, McCaw became a coach and administrator for the Marist club in Invercargill and served for some years on the Southland union’s management committee.

New Zealand Rugby says it was saddened to learn of McCaw’s passing.

“Bill made an important contribution to both the All Blacks and Southland rugby and had the distinction of captaining both sides,” it said in a statement.

“He wore the black jersey on 32 occasions including five Tests and continued giving back to the game in an administrative capacity for both his club and province long after his playing days.”

His son John McCaw, also a loose forward, represented Canterbury from 1986-87.

McCaw played in the famous 1953 test when Wales beat the All Blacks 13-8 in 1953 in Cardiff – the last time the Welsh tasted victory over New Zealand.

He spoke about the match in an interview with the Herald in 2021.

“It’s not such a good thing carrying that ‘honour’ of being in that team to lose to Wales – you can’t get that one off your back. But it’s still a big item of rugby history, isn’t it?

“We always like to think we struck the Welsh at a time when they were at their peak with players like Bleddyn Williams and Ken Jones, and they had some pretty notable forwards too.

“Yes, it always gets thrown up at you – ‘you were in that team which lost to Wales’. I just ignore it.”

McCaw said he’s often asked if he is related to a certain Richie McCaw.

“I tell people look, I’m not related to Richie, but I was the first McCaw All Black,” he said.

Happy 90th Birthday to All Black #527 Bill McCaw. It was a thrill to take Bill and his family for a helicopter ride and picnic in the mountains yesterday.

Posted by Richie McCaw on Friday 25 August 2017

“On my 90th birthday, my family took me out for a helicopter ride and of course who was the pilot but Richie.

“We all enjoyed it and he is such an easy guy to talk to, very down to earth. We didn’t get into match specifics at all – his record is too overwhelming.”