Richard_Loe
Richard Loe
Rugby player
Richard Wyllie Loe (born 6 April 1960) is a retired All Black prop forward. He is a sports broadcaster on BSport, Radio Live and SKY Sport.
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| Birth name | Richard Wyllie Loe | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1960-04-06) 6 April 1960 (age 64) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 116 kg (18 st 4 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Christchurch Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Olivia Loe (daughter) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Loe was born in 1960 in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is a nephew of Alex "Grizz" Wyllie.[1] He was married to Felicity.[2] Two of their daughters, Jessica and Olivia Loe, have represented New Zealand in rowing.[3][4]
A product of Christchurch Boys' High School and its 1st XV captained by Steve Hansen, Loe played for a number of age-grade Canterbury sides. Originally pursuing a career with the stock agency firm, Pyne Gould Guinness, Loe played for the Glenmark and HSOB clubs, making his senior debut for the former at the age of 17. Loe began his first-class career with Canterbury in 1980, before playing for Marlborough and, for the majority of his career, Waikato from 1985 – 1994, before returning to Canterbury for the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Loe also played in France with RC Vichy from 1990 to 1992. Loe was known as a dirty player and was banned for 6 months for eye gouging in a match against Otago.[5]
Loe's international debut came in 1986 at the age of 26 against the French Barbarians. Loe represented New Zealand in the Rugby World Cup on three occasions. He was part of the 1987 Rugby World Cup victorious All Black squad, playing in two tests versus Italy and Argentina. He then played on the All Black team that lost to Australia in the 1991 Rugby World Cup semi-final. He was also part of the side that lost the 1995 Rugby World Cup final 12–15 to South Africa in a game where the All Blacks had been favorites. His last test was in 1995, when, aged 35, he was part of the New Zealand side that beat France 37–12.
He played 49 Tests between 1987 and 1995, as part of a front row that included Sean Fitzpatrick. His test record consisted of 37 wins, 2 draws, and 10 losses. In addition, he played 29 non-test matches for the All Blacks, 3 as captain.
Throughout his career he received numerous bans for striking,[6] eye gouging and other foul play.
Following retirement, Loe retired to his dairy farm and became a sports columnist in New Zealand. He also does touch line commentary for Sky TV in New Zealand and is an occasional guest on the rugby TV show re-Union. He does a 'Farming and Footy' show called On The Field on sport radio station LiveSPORT which is replayed on Radio Live (and LiveSPORT) the following day.
- "S.I. strong". The Press. 25 September 1976.
- Bidwell, Hamish (5 May 2010). "Loe girls off to World Champs". The Press. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- "Olivia Loe". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- "Jessica Loe". International Rowing Federation. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
- "Top 10 rugby thugs", Wynne Gray, 3 July 2009, The Herald
- Paul, Gregor (16 April 2006). "Infamous acts of rugby violence". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
On the Field Radio Show on Bsport (http://www.bsport.co.nz/FarmingOntheField/tabid/264/language/en-NZ/Default.aspx)