Frank_Oliver_(rugby_union)
Frank Oliver (rugby union)
Rugby player
Francis James "Frank" Oliver (24 December 1948 – 16 March 2014) was a New Zealand rugby union player and coach. He captained the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in four matches.
| Birth name | Francis James Oliver | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1948-12-24)24 December 1948 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Dunedin, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 16 March 2014(2014-03-16) (aged 65) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Palmerston North, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 107 kg (16 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Lawrence District High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Anton Oliver (son)[1] James Oliver (son)[2] Mark Donaldson (brother-in-law) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born in Dunedin and educated at Lawrence District High School, Oliver made his provincial rugby debut for Southland in 1969. He later also played for Otago and Manawatu, playing a total of 213 first-class games.[3][4]
Oliver played in the forwards as a lock and appeared in 43 matches for the All Blacks — 17 of them full test appearances — between 1976 and 1981, captaining the team in four matches. After retiring as a player in 1983, Oliver coached the Manawatu provincial team from 1995 to 1997 and the short-lived Central Vikings merged team from 1998 to 1999. In Super Rugby he coached the Hurricanes (1996–99) and the Blues (2001).[3][5]
Oliver's son Anton followed in his father's footsteps, representing both Otago and New Zealand, and being All Blacks' captain.[6] They are the first[7] — and so far only — father-and-son combination to have captained the national side. Another son, James, played provincial rugby as a flanker and number 8 for Horowhenua Kapiti (11 games), Manawatu (43 games) and captained the New Zealand Universities team in 2013.[8]
Outside of rugby, Oliver worked in forestry, and was running a sawmill business up until his death in 2014.[6]
- "Frank Oliver". New Zealand Rugby Museum. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- Brown, Matt; Heveldt, Guy; Vannisselroy, Brenton (18 March 2014). "Rugby: Former All Black Frank Oliver remembered". Newstalk ZB. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "Former All Black Frank Oliver dies". 3News. 18 March 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- "All Black captaincy: It's a family affair". The Press. 22 May 2001. p. 28.