Frank Oliver (rugby union)
New Zealand rugby union player (1948–2014)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
24 December 1948
| Born | Francis James Oliver 24 December 1948 Dunedin, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Died | 16 March 2014 (aged 65) 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biography
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]