Brian (Porky) Green was involved in many rugby roles from player to referee and administrator. Photo / NZME
Brian (Porky) Green was involved in many rugby roles from player to referee and administrator. Photo / NZME
Whanganui, Rangitīkei and Hunterville rugby have suffered the loss of a notable administrator with the death of 72-year-old farmer Brian (Porky) Green.
Brian, who had been unwell for quite a few months, watched on TV as Rue Cler, a racehorse he had shares in, won the last race at Awapunion Boxing Day.
He later felt unwell and was taken to Whanganui Hospital where he died during the night.
Rugby was a major part of his life – as a front-row forward for Hunterville, as a referee and as an active administrator at club, sub-union (Rangitīkei) and union (Whanganui) level.
Brian was a former president and long-time Hunterville committee member who was elected a life member, joining his late father Tom to receive the honour.
He was president of the Wanganui RFU in 2013-14 and served as a Council of Clubs representative on the union's controlling board in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Brian and close friend Tommy Kilgarriff, the current WRFU president who has just completed his tenure in the role, attended numerous Whanganui representative fixtures around the country as well as supporting most Hunterville club matches.
Unfortunately, illness kept him away from watching his beloved Hunterville side win a ninth Whanganui senior club championship title at Cooks Gardens last season.
