Graham Mourie

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Graham Mourie is a New Zealand former rugby union player and coach. Born on 8 September 1952 in Ōpunake, he grew up in Taranaki and became one of the sport’s great All Black captains. A flanker, Mourie played for Taranaki and for the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, from 1976 to 1982, appearing in 61 matches (57 as captain) and scoring 64 points.

He captained New Zealand on several occasions, including the 1978 Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland. In 1981, Mourie chose not to play against the Springboks during their controversial tour of New Zealand, a decision he has said he does not regret. He returned later that year to captain the team on tours to Romania and France. Mourie also played for the Barbarians and a World XV before retiring in 1982. He and Ron Palenski co-wrote his autobiography.

After retirement, Mourie faced a 10-year ban from coaching, playing, or administering the game for accepting royalties from the book. He returned to coaching with Opunake, helped start the Coastal rugby club in 1995, and later coached at higher levels, including Wellington and the Hurricanes from 2000 to 2002, resigning after a disappointing season.

Mourie has received numerous honors: Taranaki Sportsman of the Year in 1977; a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1981 for services to rugby; induction into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014 and the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 1996; the Taranaki Sports Hall of Fame in 2015. He was also made a Life Member of the Taranaki Rugby Football Union in 2018 and became its Patron in 2019. Outside rugby, he has worked as a farmer and in farming-related roles.