Richard Hunt (rugby union)
New Zealand rugby union player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard John Hunt (born 30 March 1948) is a former New Zealand rugby union player, coach and administrator.
| Born | Richard John Hunt March 30, 1948 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| School | Hastings Boys' High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Biography
Hunt played 147 first-class games for Hawke's Bay between 1967 and 1983.[1] In 1970 he was nominated for the Junior All Black trials.[2]
After retiring from his long playing career he was Hawke's Bay's coach where he was known for his sharp team talks and one-liners. He later worked in haulage transport.[3]
He became chairman of the Hawke's Bay Rugby Football Union and fought for Hawke's Bay's inclusion in the top division of the revamped Air New Zealand Cup after a 2005 reform of the National Provincial Championship.[1][4] Hunt regarded helping Hawke's Bay gain premier division status in 2006 as the highlight of his career in rugby administration.[5]
With the support of several other smaller North Island provincial unions (East Coast, Poverty Bay, Thames Valley and King Country) he stood for a seat on the New Zealand Rugby Union's board of directors against former All Black captain Graham Mourie.[3] He was beaten 51–38 by Mourie at the 2010 New Zealand Rugby Union annual meeting. The next year he was elected to the board to fill the resignation of Jock Hobbs.[5] He was later the president of the New Zealand Polo Association.[6]