Member profiles

Melissa Ruscoe

One of a clutch of Black Ferns who are now Barbarian members, Melissa Ruscoe has a long list of achievements, highlighted by the rare feat of captaining her country in two different sports.

The 40-year-old had 23 caps for the Football Ferns before switching codes at the age of 24, where she proceeded to master the intricacies of loose forward play, win two Rugby World Cups, the 2005 NZRU women’s player of the year and the MNZM honour in 2011 for services to rugby.

Ruscoe says her nomination to join the Barbarians last year was an unexpected honour.

“I had to read the letter a couple of times. I’d heard of the NZ Barbarians, of course, and knew some women were members, but didn’t think about it myself until the letter came through, which was exciting. You don’t think about those kinds of accolades,” says Ruscoe, a Christchurch teacher at Hillmorton High School.

She took the chance to catch up with some of her old Black Ferns teammates in the October 22 Bledisloe at the clubrooms, and was suitably impressed with our home base.

Ruscoe played 22 tests for the Black Ferns out of Canterbury, mainly as a skilled, accurate blindside. She had already acquired the nickname ‘Fraggle’ from her football days, but it is very much a term of endearment rather than any lack of respect for this leader.

“You always have that connection when you see the (rugby) girls again. You might not see them a lot, but it’s like it is yesterday. Everyone still keeps in touch via Facebook,” she says.

Whilst a long-time Canterbury resident, she hails from Taranaki, and the amber and blacks still command her support these days.

“You always support where you come from, so it’s black and yellow, and the Chiefs, because I went to uni there. I’m not a one-eyed Cantabrian,” Ruscoe quips.

The Blacks Ferns have a royal show of lifting their fifth World Cup this August in Ireland, and first since Ruscoe led them to glory in 2010.

“I think the girls will definitely be back up there. We didn’t see ourselves as world champs when we entered the World Cup. You have to earn that right. I’m sure the girls will do us proud and they’ve got some exciting talent.”

Roger Moore

Roger Moore goes by the nickname ‘Mad Dog’ or even ‘Double 07.’

He admits to being “60-something”, but has given yeoman service to the Barbarian for more than 20 years, the last 18 as a committee member.

He is omnipresent at the fun days, organising, cajoling, cracking jokes. If one of the several Barbarians teams needs help, either with logistics or gear, he is invariably the man. You might find him in the clubrooms, where he will be introducing an assortment of company to our home base. It is a home base he had plenty to do with, as he was project manager, tapping into his property development expertise, for the premises, which were completed in 2010. He was in the thick of an era where Mike Cormack – “I miss him to bits” – and others fought hard to become an established part of the new Eden Park.

“Fancy the club having me around on the committee for 18 years, the poor sods!” jokes Moore, before reflecting in more serious fashion: “The Barbarian ethos and what we do is part of the history of rugby in New Zealand and we have some wonderful members who are very knowledgeable and put their hand up. This is a home of rugby.”

Moore has bounced back from a health scare two years ago and is close to his playing weight of 81-82kg (some of us cannot say the same) as a pacy wing.

An old boy of Mt Albert Grammar School, with whom he won a 1A First XV title in 1964, Moore joined the strong Otahuhu club and appeared on the wing or at centre for the seniors from 1966-73, winning the 1969 Gallaher Shield. His teammates included the likes of Waka Nathan, Kevyn Male, Mackie Herewini, John Hart, Rocky Patterson, Ron Urlich and Peter Murdoch. A knee appeared to have ended his playing career until Nathan urged him to come out of retirement to play for the burgeoning Pakuranga club, which he did to good effect.

Moore was good enough to play for Auckland B and C and sat on the A bench for several games in the late 1960s. He also found time to play several games for the Barbarians over the years, even into the 1980s. Unwilling to fully step away from the game, he helped out with coaching at Pakuranga, Ardmore and Otahuhu. Now he is just as fully involved in the sport he loves.

Tanner Vili

Tanner Vili was made a Barbarian last year and has since involved himself fully in club activities as one of the ‘younger’ brigade.

The 40-year-old former Manu Samoa, Hurricanes and Counties Manukau No 10/fullback is now making his mark in coaching, helping out with the Auckland Storm women and wherever else he is needed in the Auckland region.

His playing career only came to a halt relatively recently with the Grammar-Carlton club. Out of Tamaki College, he had previously starred for Teachers-Eastern when that club won its only Gallaher Shields in 1998-99. In fact, his solo try in the 1998 decider was one of the finest solo tries ever seen in a Gallaher decider. From 1996-2006 he appeared in 35 tests, and two Rugby World Cups, for Manu Samoa as a fine allround first five with a good rugby brain. In 2003, then playing for the Borders club in Scotland, he came off the bench for the NZ Barbarians in their landmark clash with England at Twickenham. Domestically, he also appeared for Wanganui after a stint with Japanese club Kintetsu.

In 2008 two pieces of Vili magic, in the form of a try and a massive drop goal, led Counties Manukau to a stirring win over Auckland in Pukekohe.

“It’s great being a member and promoting the Barbarians club. I enjoy the networking and the ongoing friendships made throughout the years of playing footy. Connecting with old mates made during rugby, catching up with them, seeing where life has taken them, and meeting their partners and kids. The family culture is what I enjoy the most and everyone sharing their stories of the good ole days,” says Vili, who you will often find at the clubrooms on match days.

“For me, the Barbarians means promoting all that is good in rugby, friendship, inspiration, respect, enjoyment and all that comes with being an allround rugby player on and off the field.”

He especially enjoyed seeing live his old Hurricanes franchise break their Super Rugby drought on August 6.

“That was so sweet and what an occasion! It was a last minute trip and well worth it. It was a Hurricanes’ reunion, so caught up with lots of mates that I hadn't seen for years. I coached the Auckland Storm that afternoon and then raced to the airport to catch the 6pm flight to Wellington and made it to the Cake Tin right on time for kickoff. The weather was atrocious but the atmosphere was awesome. There was no way we were going to lose that game!”

A family man, Vili has two children, daughter Tiella and son Keaton. Outside family and coaching, he has a number of projects on the go, including his latest role with Qualified Building Solutions Limited.

Josh Blackie

Josh Blackie represents the new breed of Barbarian: young, just out of his playing days, still heavily involved in the game, and keen to partake in the club’s activities as much as possible. Some found it amusing that, with the recent induction of the likes of Blackie, Brent Ward, Kevin Senio, David Gibson, Ben Willis, and Gavin Williams, the average age of the club would drop a few years.

“I’ve been up to the clubrooms in the last couple of years as a non-member. They open the doors to us younger guys. It’s obviously a very prestigious club, so if I can contribute in any way possible to uphold the legacy…” he says.

He did play one first-class match for the NZ Barbarians, the celebrated 2003 clash at Twickenham against England, where his teammates included Barbarian members Taine Randell, Tanner Vili, and Ben Willis.

“In those invitation games, you get to mix and mingle with guys you wouldn’t normally, so that’s a benefit,” says Blackie, who is happy to be retired after several seasons plying his trade for Kobe Kobelco Steelers in Japan and a fine career in New Zealand, where his pace and work-rate were central to his success as a professional.

“I haven’t even looked at a pair of boots since Japan. I find it enjoyable having my weekends back and not feeling too sore on a Sunday. I don’t want to go back to that place!”

Having said that, he did have a crack at his first marathon earlier this month – in Hawke’s Bay – so he still keeps in good nick. Then he was off to London in his role as member services manager for the International Rugby Players’ Association (IRPA), while he also helps with the Pacific Island Players’ Association (PIPA). Blackie is a busy man, and is switched on. He is keen to help out with the Barbarians as much as he can.

“The clubrooms capture that ethos and spirit and camaraderie of rugby. It’s enjoyable to come back and be involved in something like that.”

Bevan Holmes

Bevan Holmes may be in retirement up in Northland’s Parua Bay, but he is still enjoying life and rugby to the full.

The 1970-73 All Blacks loose forward, now 69, was made a Barbarian in 2015 after a long involvement in rugby. He played 90 games for North Auckland out of the Kamo club from 1966-78 and he appeared 31 times for the All Blacks on four tours, though without gaining a test cap, a record which still stands. Not that Holmes himself harbours any regrets about the record.

“Put it this way, I don’t worry about it very much. I played with some legends. I was reserve a few times in tests on the 1972-73 tour. You just about needed a doctor’s certificate to get on the field then! But I had a wonderful time. Rugby was my life in those early days. I travelled the world and was very lucky,” says Holmes.

He wasn’t so lucky on the 1970 tour of South Africa. After playing two games in one day in Western Australia to mark his All Blacks debut – with two tries, no less – he was struck down with pleurisy, often being forced to sleep standing up in the Republic. That severely curtailed his playing time, though he did gain the nickname ‘Beaver.’

“I can always tell young boys that Colin Meads passed me the ball for my first try for the All Blacks!” Indeed, Holmes scored 11 tries for the All Blacks.

He won two Ranfurly Shields with North Auckland and still gets along to the ground which he knows and loves as Okara Park to support the Taniwha. He admits, though, it was odd scoring a try for the All Blacks against North Auckland in 1973, and legendary provincial coach Ted Griffin was far from amused!

Holmes first wore the Barbarians colours in 1969, but “stuffed” his cruciate in a Sunday match, one of two serious injuries he suffered. He also played for the Vikings and Centurions.

“The Barbarians are rugby gentlemen. I have friends in the club like Frank Colthurst and Don Hewitt, whom I played with years ago. I know (new member) Terry O’Meara well. I’ve been twice to the Barbarians clubrooms. It’s a wonderful spot and it oozes rugby. I look forward to getting down when the rugby season starts again.”

There is no shortage of people with whom to yarn about rugby. His neighbour calls him ‘Mr Holmes’ and is always keen to gauge reaction to the latest news or game.

When Holmes hung up his boots, he threw himself into his teaching and ran a marathon, breaking three hours, if you please. He helped out Sid Going with some technical advice with the North Auckland side. Now he keeps himself fit with cycling, loves his yachting and gardening and is right into his calligraphy, a passion of 40 years or more. Holmes does medieval scripts and works closely with NZ Calligraphers. He can do fancy birth certificates and the like. That and family fills his day quite nicely.

Ray Reardon

Ray Reardon has proven, over many years, his passion and unconditional support for rugby.

Even in his “late 70s”, the Mt Maunganui man acts as a rallying point for Barbarians in the Bay of Plenty region and in Counties Manukau and Waikato, where he played his rep rugby in the 1960s. He has been a prominent presence at the two Bay of Plenty fun days in 2014-15, though he pays tribute to the sterling work of Ron Williams and his team.

Reardon is also a member of the Waikato-based Harlequins and was previously a Centurions member when he was living in Wellington.

“I’m a staunch advocate of the role the Barbarians and those clubs play in the community. I do whatever I can to assist in the development of the game at large. Our game is much bigger than simply bursting with pride at what the All Blacks have achieved,” said Reardon.

“I don’t get up to the clubrooms as regularly as I’d like, but I was there for the Barbarians-Maori game (in July).”

In his successful playing days, he was a hooker or prop and appeared for, at first, the Manurewa club, and Counties. He became great mates with Pat Walsh, and spoke at the late, great Barbarian’s funeral in 2007. He also won selection in the Maori All Blacks.

Transferring to Hamilton in 1964, Reardon played for Waikato, alongside former Barbarians secretary John Cresswell, and then found himself in the capital in 1967.

“By then my boots had worn out and I got into coaching.”

He took the Hutt Old Boys seniors for several seasons before trying his hand at administration with the Wellington union. Back to Auckland, he did his time with the Counties union before retiring to Mt Maunganui with wife June some 15 years ago.

Reardon worked for the Hurricane Wire and Pel Electric companies.

He still gets along to Bay Park Stadium at the Mount to follow the fortunes of the Bay of Plenty Steamers in the ITM Cup.

“I follow rugby closely. I try and support the local union. One of my sons – Russell – managed the Steamers under Kevin Schuler.”

Ray Reardon, man of rugby.

Fergie McCormick

Fergie McCormick might be 76, but he has only recently stepped away from an active role in the game.

The former All Blacks fullback, one of a clutch of Canterbury Barbarians, lives on a lifestyle block on the outskirts of Christchurch with his partner Tyna Charles, and was until last year still coaching women’s club rugby.

A life member of the Linwood club and the Canterbury union, and a Cantabrians member, as is fellow Barbarian Tane Norton, you will still find McCormick sideline most winter Saturdays, watching his daughter Jess play for High School Old Boys. Of course, he was on hand for the ‘Crying Towel’ clash between Linwood and Christchurch, still one of the bigger games on the Canterbury metro club calendar.

Though made a Barbarian member in the 1990s, McCormick’s ties with the club go back to the 1960s.

“We would fly up to Auckland in an old DC3, play for the Baabaas, and then fly back the DC3 that night.”

He endorses all that the club stands for, though he hasn’t yet had a chance to sample the hospitality at the clubrooms. McCormick was mightily impressed with the fine 34-17 win for the club over the Maori All Blacks last month.

“It was a good win. Let’s be honest, they were a bunch of talented footballers. They got it all together quickly, and some of them played bloody well. Tom Taylor (son of Barbarian Warwick) stepped up.”

McCormick played 44 games, including 16 tests for the All Blacks, from 1965-71, while his 222 appearance record for Canterbury will surely stand for all time. No fullback has bettered his 310 first-class games in New Zealand rugby, while just nine men, four of them Barbarians, have scored more than his 2065 points in this country.

“In my day, we played a test and then for our club or province the next day. It is unheard of now,” he says.

His world record of 24 points (at the time) for the All Blacks against Wales in 1969 ranks as a career highlight.

“We had a very good team in 1969. They got close enough for me to kick the goals!”

It is apt to close with some of McCormick’s views on the game from his 1976 biography, Fergie, penned by the late Alex Veysey. Many of you will nod sagely as they resonate nearly 40 years later:

“You forget the All Blacks and you play every game for your club with everything you’ve got. The club is everything and any player who saves himself for something bigger is no player at all...”

“Any fullback, or any rugby player, who can’t kick with both feet isn’t even half a player.”

Hear, hear...

Slade McFarland

You might think that, at 42, Slade McFarland hung up the boots many rugby moons ago.

You would be quite wrong.

One of just a handful of Barbarians still actively playing the game, McFarland’s senior career stretches back to 1990. He is into an extraordinary 26th season, and has now racked up close to 200 premier games for his beloved East Coast Bays. He has the double ton in his sights, but might struggle to top the 220 of fellow Barbarian Mark Anscombe or the nigh on 250 of Ian Coley.

Of course, he has already done plenty in his long career, winning a North Harbour premier club title with East Coast Bays in 1991, chalking up more than 100 games for North Harbour, as well as playing Super Rugby for the Chiefs and Crusaders, along with stints in Europe. The hooker was a Maori All Black and not far off the All Blacks radar in the late 1990s.

A dalliance with boxing has helped with his fitness to keep going in the senior rugby ranks.

“I like boxing. You don’t have to run 100m,” he jokes. “I still have the passion and am keen to teach the front-rowers, now that the laws have changed. A lot of the dark arts have returned from the 1990s. Then it was about how big you were and how far you could smash them backwards!” he says.

He learned plenty from men like Ron Williams, Graham Dowd, Walter Little and Frank Bunce – Barbarians all – when he started off as a raw bundle of power out of Rangitoto College.

These days, when he is not in the heart of the East Coast Bays scrum, you will find McFarland working as the North Harbour union’s ITM Cup scrum coach or as one of the RDOs, giving back to the young ones and passing on his vast experience. We hope they are good listeners. It dovetails nicely with how he views the Barbarians.

McFarland was made a Barbarian in 2012 and has fully embraced his involvement, from turning out in games to coaching and helping at the fun days.

“I was very surprised to be inducted into the Barbarians. It’s a real privilege. The club is about helping out at the next level and grassroots. That’s what I’ve loved – the ethos about getting involved and sharing the knowledge as much as possible,” he says, adding that he loves getting up to the clubrooms and bumping into all sorts of rugby people.

McFarland saw the start of a resurgence in North Harbour rugby in 2014, and would love nothing more than seeing this union, which turns 30 in 2015, again walk tall with the giants of provincial rugby. The same goes for his East Coast Bays club, once the strongest in the union and working hard to emerge from challenging times.

He lives not far from his work with his partner and two children, both of whom are fluent in French from his time playing near Paris.

Bill Symonds

Bill Symonds is a great believer in the inherent goodness of rugby people, so consequently he feels right at home as one of four King Country members of the Barbarians club.

"The rugby fraternity was very good to me. Rugby people stick together pretty well," said the 70-year-old, down the blower from his Te Kuiti farm.

Along with the Meads brothers and Ivan Haines, Symonds hails from the real rugby heartland and hinterland that is King Country. His father William played for the province and Hawke's Bay back in the 1920s and Bill followed in his footsteps as a lock or loose forward in 62 games for the union between 1966 and '72 out of the famous Waitete club. An All Blacks trialist, Symonds has fond memories of his clashes with Auckland, including one memorable 16-6 victory at Eden Park in 1970. He also appeared for King Country against France in 1968 and a combined Wanganui-King Country unit against the 1971 Lions tourists.

Symonds wasn't always destined for a first-class career, though. He didn't make the MAGS First XV in Auckland, size and height coming later in life. He has served his time in various roles for Waitete after retiring following the club's 1975 tour of South Africa, and also helped out at the Pio Pio club.

In 1995-96 he was manager of the King Country Rams as they walked with the giants in the first division of the NPC. Famously that year they beat Auckland in Taumarunui (Coronation Shield) and Canterbury in Te Kuiti (NPC).

"They punched above their weight for a few years there," he says, with fond recall.

Symonds has been a member of the Barbarians for more than 40 years.

"I played a few games for them and then was invited to join around the time 'The House that Jack Built' was going up (1973). Being down here, I haven't visited the clubrooms a lot, but I've always paid my sub and followed and supported their activities. I'm very impressed with the new clubrooms, which I have visited once."

In 1985 he recalls he was in charge, at the behest of the late Peter Murdoch, of a group of supporters who toured Australia following the NZ Barbarians on their three-match, unbeaten tour. The likes of Sean Fitzpatrick and John Kirwan graced that fine team, only four of whom did not ultimately play for the All Blacks.

Symonds has sold farms in the King Country for the last quarter of a century, joking that although he still lives on a farm, he gets others to do all the hard yakka. He still keeps an eye on the local footy scene, but enjoys getting up to Hamilton, where he has a couple of season tickets, to watch the Chiefs play.

Kees Meeuws

Such are the many strings to the Kees Meeuws bow. The 40-year-old former All Blacks prop, who played 42 tests from 1998-2004 and scored no less than 10 tries, was made a Barbarian just last year, but was very proud to receive his letter of nomination, and swift to accept.

"I played a few games for the Barbarians early in my career. What I like is how the club gives back to the community. In Auckland, those Barbarians-schools games gave back to the grassroots," says Meeuws, who is gearing up to head to Bermuda with the Classic All Blacks.

A qualified builder, Meeuws has now entered the real estate world with Metro Realty in Dunedin. He knows what to look for in houses and can advise vendors on what work they should be doing.

Rugby, after 20 years when it has been a large chunk of his life, is going on hold, while he sinks his teeth into his new line of work. Four of his six children live in Dunedin with he and his wife Juanita.

He says he would like to perhaps coach again, at either club or ITM Cup level, one day. He has been scrum coach with Otago and the Highlanders, helping his old mate Tony Brown out with the former.

"I need to take a step back from rugby. I need to just enjoy watching rugby for awhile."

That means keeping tabs on his old French club Castres, who won the Top 14 last year, and following his Southern club, Otago, the Highlanders, Auckland, the Blues and, of course, the All Blacks. If pressed, he says Otago and Auckland are his favourite teams, but when they play each other, he roots for the underdog, invariably Otago.

He thoroughly enjoyed his time as a scrum coach, not to mention talking rugby on the box, but he had to suck it in when hanging the boots up.

"I could have carried on, but we had a lack of front-rowers in Otago and I thought I would be holding up younger guys."

After several seasons in France (and Llanelli) after his All Blacks days, there is little Meeuws does not know or has not seen in the dark place that is the front-row.

"I couldn't implement too many of them in New Zealand or I'd get sent off!" he quips.

One of 10 Otago-based Barbarians, Meeuws still runs into several of them around the traps, including old colleagues Adrian Cashmore and good mate John Leslie, along with coach of the victorious 1998 Otago NPC side, Tony Gilbert.

"Rugby is a small world and even smaller in Dunedin, so we always bump into each other," says Meeuws.

Peter Rowe

Peter Rowe is one of just two Barbarians based in Wanganui and one of just a clutch of club members who have not yet hung up the boots.

The 32-year-old may also be the youngest Barbarian, being a matter of months younger than Richie McCaw and more than two years younger than Keven Mealamu.

Rowe has racked up 89 games for Wanganui and is the heart and soul of the Heartland Championship union's pack. He is the quintessential openside who leads by example. On a wider stage, he has captained the national Heartland XV and twice won the Heartland player of the year gong.

Inducted as a Barbarian in his late 20s, Rowe was always aware of some of the club's history.

"My father and uncle knew Jack Bourke well. I grew up listening to all the stories about 'The House that Jack Built.' So it was a great honour when the invite came and I jumped on it," says Rowe, who adds that he would love to come up and sample the unique ambiance of our clubrooms in Auckland.

The sheep and beef farmer from Raetihi plays his club footy for Ruapehu, for whom he has won several Wanganui premier titles, not to mention three Meads Cups for his union. He gets busy towards the end of the rep season, when docking takes hold. There isn't a lot of time to indulge his pig-hunting passion, when he has the farm work, constant training and being a husband to Emma and father to three kids under the age of seven.

Rowe has his sights set on reaching a century of games for Wanganui, so he is not done just yet.
"I'm still enjoying it and fronting, so if the body holds out I'll see how it goes. You're a long time not playing!"

But he does reflect on what has been a fine career.
"It goes fast. I remember when I first came on the scene as one of the young fellas and then I slowly became one of the old fellas!"

Richard Hurn is the other Wanganui Barbarian. Rowe knows the Marton rugby stalwart. Bill Osborne, one of the greats of Wanganui rugby, is Wellington-domiciled.

Bruce Cameron

Not to be confused with the North Harbour Barbarian member of the same name, Bruce Cameron of the Bay of Plenty is still fully involved in rugby, well over two decades since he hung up his boots.

The 55-year-old is one of 17 Bay of Plenty Baabaas, and will be in the thick of it at next month's second annual fun day at the Paengaroa club, Cameron's old Eastern Districts club.

Great mates with Ray Reardon and the late John Drake, Cameron was made a Barbarian "about six or seven years ago" and says the honour came as something of a shock.

A Te Puke man through and through, Cameron played for East Coast in 1977 in his first year out of King's College before racking up 81 games for Bay of Plenty from 1978-88 as a prop who could play both sides of the scrum, often alongside All Black Hika Reid, and an occasional fill-in for the second-row.

"I was probably the shortest lock in the NPC," he quips. "I was a provincial hack."

Too modest by half, Cameron actually played for the New Zealand Juniors in 1980 and sat on the bench in a 1981 All Blacks trial. He had the distinction, almost impossible to imagine these days, of twice playing against the touring Lions, not to mention facing the Springboks and Wallabies for his union and playing for the Ranfurly Shield.

There is a famous old photo from 1983 which shows Cameron and his Manawatu foe Mark Shaw sorting out control of the ruck in, ahem, emphatic fashion. The zambuk is shown throwing ice and water over the pair!

Did that stop the stoush?

"It stopped real quick after that. You can imagine having ice cubes running down the back of your neck. They should always have a bucket of ice on the sideline now!"

Immersing himself in his myriad business interests, including growing kiwifruit, Cameron served as Steamers manager and on the union council as deputy chairman in 1993. Following a break from the game, he returned to help bail out the Bay of Plenty union, which was facing the wall financially in 2008. That led to his elevation to the NZRU board as its northern zone rep in 2012, work on which he thrives.

"If you were ever inclined to indulge in self-interest, you'd be found out as quick as lightning and would suffer the appropriate outcome! It's challenging and exciting. We're driven by the winning teams' philosophy and we cannot forget the community game, which is totally relevant to the passion which the Barbarians have," he says, paying tribute to the club culture and its ability to connect with rugby people around the provinces.

"To me, going into the Barbarians clubrooms now, it's as warm and welcoming as going into my old Eastern Districts club."
Cameron had the honour of presenting another top Te Puke rugby man - Tanerau Latimer - with his greenstone mere for his 100th Super Rugby game earlier this season.

Brad Meurant

Meet the incoming president of the North Harbour Rugby Union.

You'll recognise the name. Brad Meurant will assume the role next month after a lifetime of rugby within the union and when it was still part of the Auckland province.

The 61-year-old, who has lived on the North Shore for nigh on 50 years, has taken a step back from his coaching and astute radio comments these days but still keeps a close eye on the rugby scene, works as a plumber for 25-30 hours a week, and is a doting grandfather.

When we catch up with Meurant, he is laid up with a calf tear, but one of the characters of the game still has an endless array of rugby stories from his time as a coach and rugby globetrotter.

His CV is extensive, starting as a prop with the Takapuna club, before racking up 144 premier games for rivals East Coast Bays, while gaining rep honours with Auckland B and C. Retired at 28, he dabbled in coaching and within a few years had achieved the probably unique feat of winning two premier North Harbour club titles at each of two different clubs - East Coast Bays (1985-86) and Northcote (1989-90), bookending a stint with North Harbour B. His tenure as head coach of North Harbour (1992-94) saw the union through arguably its greatest period, defeating France, Auckland (for the first time) and Transvaal in the 1994 Super 10. Meurant rates that 1994 side, with no less than 11 All Blacks, as the best in Harbour history, as the 15-4 record attests. Then followed two seasons with the Chiefs (1996-97), one more at North Harbour and stints coaching professionally in South Africa, Ireland and Japan. But helping coach the Georgia Under 19s in the late 1990s might just top the lot.

"Georgia was my watershed. I thought it was a state in the southern USA," he quips. His Georgian story is detailed in that very fine book Rugby Nomads, co-authored by Barbarian Bob Howitt, but it meant he was coaching with the rawest resources. The players had nothing and washed their jerseys in hand basins. But they won the second division of the FIRA Under tournament in France and were promoted.

"Dealing with a whole lot of kids whose only way of getting out of an ex-Soviet state was through rugby was amazing," says Meurant, proud that several went on to play for the Lelos national side, a team that now rates in the top 7-8 in Europe.

A Barbarian for more than 20 years, Meurant is a regular at the annual Fun Day, and last year his grand-daughter was in one of the school teams he was looking after. He helped Bryan Craies a few seasons ago with middleweight rugby coaching.

"It's a great honour to be a member. The best thing about it is that you don't have to be a 'flash-harry' player to be a member, which I never was. It allows all sorts of rugby people to become members, for the right reasons."

Colin McDonald

Colin McDonald may split his time between Auckland and Wanaka these days, but he has no divided loyalties.

"I'll still be a Canterbury rugby man," declares the 82-year-old. "That won't change."

No issues there. He did, after all, play 57 games on the wing (or centre) for Canterbury from 1954-59, taking in part of a fine Ranfurly Shield era for the union. He might just have been unlucky to have missed the All Blacks, especially when you consider three other Canterbury wings from the era - Allan Elsom, Morrie Dixon and Ross Smith - were selected. McDonald himself is too modest to thrust himself forward, but he did appear in two All Blacks trials. It was a very strong Canterbury side - he was on occasion the sole non-All Black - but given the proclivity to 10-man rugby that plagued much of the 1950s, he did rather well to score 23 tries for the union, including a hat-trick against North Auckland in a Shield defence.

"On a couple of occasions I was interviewed and asked whether I enjoyed the game and I replied 'Well, I only saw the ball once!'"

He says one of his real career highlights was scoring two tries for the Barbarians against Auckland in 1955 at Eden Park: "It was a great thrill to be selected out of the blue."

McDonald believes he was made a Barbarian in the 1970s and describes membership as an honour. He was also chairman of the Cantabrians for a time.

After his playing days he coached at junior level for his Marist club, but a large family and business commitments took up most of his time. He took over the running of his father's grain and seed business. But he and his wife Judy were forced to uproot from his home near Hagley Oval after the Christchurch earthquake of 2011.

"Now that we are living mostly in Auckland, I'll take the opportunity to get along to one or two of the Barbarians dos at the Eden Park clubrooms," he says.

McDonald has taken particular pride, though, in Canterbury's unprecedented run of six provincial titles.

"I still have acquaintances on the rugby union and they are a pretty devoted lot."

John Leslie

	John Leslie passing on his vast rugby knowledge to the Southern RFC Under 13s in Otago.

John Leslie is one of nine Barbarians residing in Otago and is the latest to join the club father-son list with his father, former All Blacks captain Andy Leslie.

The 42-year-old has been retired from active play for almost a decade, but these days keeps his hand in as coach of his son Jack's Southern club Under 13 side and club captain of the junior section. That followed several seasons coaching the University premiers and colts in tandem with his good mate Josh Kronfeld.

He heads the Leslie Rugby operation - www.leslierugby.co.nz - which supplies rugby product (balls, jerseys, etc.) to clubs and schools as befitting their grassroots focus. Leslie Rugby is the official ball of 13 unions round the country and has given away over 100,000 balls over the years. He also helps run coaching clinics which are high on fun and skills, involving current and former stars of the game.

Leslie carved out a fine career, playing 173 games in New Zealand first-class rugby for the Highlanders, Otago, New Zealand Universities and the South Island from 1991-2004 with an hiatus from 1999-2002 when he appeared for Scotland, alongside brother Martin, and the Newcastle and Northampton clubs in England. Close to the top of his highlight reel would be the 1998 NPC, where he helped Otago to glory, and the 1999 Five Nations, which Scotland won, and in which Leslie registered one of the fastest tries in international history, a 10- second job from the kickoff against Wales.

Made a Barbarian last year, Leslie is fully cognisant of the club's storied history and ideals. He played one game for the NZ Barbarians, a non first-class fixture against the All Blacks in the mid-1990s. He would have loved to have played for the UK Barbarians during his time in the north, but it was not to be.

"I've been a Barbarian for two years and whilst living in the south it can be a bit removed, I really appreciate the information. I enjoy being part of the club and I would love to strengthen my involvement there," he says.

"The Barbarians and what they stood for always appealed to me... I do love the culture of the club to give the ball some air. These days a lot of game plans are mirrors of each other. That's where the Barbarians are wonderful. They encourage daredevil rugby, but also open up innovation and opportunity, especially through school and club rugby."

Leslie is married to Carmel and, along with Jack, is father to 10-year-old Amaya.

Mick Bremner

Mick Bremner, All Black, Barbarian, Centurion, Cantabrian, wool exporter, et cetera, has packed a lot into his 82 years.

Still living in the capital and as lively as ever on the phone, Selwyn George 'Mick' Bremner is not idle, and still puts in the hours at his old family business. He also finds time to get to Westpac Stadium to keep a close eye on the fortunes of the Hurricanes and Wellington Lions.

Though he was made a Barbarian in 1966, aged just 35, his playing days with the club stretched back to 1951. He had several first-class games for the Barbarians, and recalls them all with fondness.

"They were wonderful with me in my early days. They had the Kiwis Army team influence with their open style of play and they were special people, as far as I'm concerned," says Bremner.

Indeed, he believes he first forced his way into the All Blacks, in 1952, thanks to a hat-trick of tries for the Barbarians against Auckland among a star-studded backline that included Percy Tetzlaff, Johnny Smith, Eric Boggs and Bob Scott. He speaks highly of the influence too of men such as the late Sir Fred Allen and Johnny Simpson and their influence on his rugby thinking as a five-eighth. He recently sent a photo to the club of the 1954 Barbarians who played a Bay of Plenty XV in Tauranga.

Bremner played in a lot of fine championship-winning sides through his career at four different provinces: Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury and Manawatu, not forgetting his distinguished career for New Zealand Universities.

His All Blacks career of 18 matches, including two tests, spawned the nickname 'The Olympic All Black,' as he played only in 1952 (Helsinki), 1956 (Melbourne) and 1960 (Rome). On the 1960 tour of South Africa he was vice-captain to Wilson Whineray.

He has visited the current Eden Park clubrooms once, after Sir Fred Allen's funeral in 2012, and was suitably impressed: "It was beautiful. It was like going into Savile Row!"

Do not just think Bremner is a rugby man only. A life member of the Halberg Trust, he was a Brabin Cup rep cricketer, a tennis player of note and a swimmer and rower. His rugby service has included stints as president of the Victoria University club (and life membership), the Centurions (currently patron), president of the Wellington union in 1995, while he coached Victoria University and Onslow in the 1960s and '70s.

Bremner believes he is possibly a distant relative of fellow Barbarian Robbie Bremner, while he was a cousin of the late Baabaa Doug Bremner.

Nick Sheppard

Nick Sheppard was inducted into the Barbarians club in late 2011, and describes his membership as "a huge honour."

The 45-year-old lives in North Harbour these days but is a born-and-bred Puke boy, having gone through Pukekohe High School and played his early rugby at the Pukekohe club.

Training as a PE teacher, Nick played senior footy at the College Rifles club in Auckland, and taught at St Kentigern College from 1992-99. He coached the First XV from 1995-98, taking that side to two Auckland 1A grand finals, its first ever trips to the deciders. That was possibly the start of St Kent's time as a successful rugby school.

In 1999-2000 Nick coached the Auckland Secondary Schools side to two undefeated seasons before taking the helm at his old Pukekohe club. In 2004 he assisted the seniors to the championship before accepting the post as chief executive of the Counties Manukau union. He oversaw a tricky transition as the Steelers were promoted from the old NPC division two back up with the big boys into what was then known as the Air New Zealand Cup. After a year working for the NZRU in 2008, Nick moved into his current employment as the high performance manager for the Blues in 2009. Maybe now we are seeing the fruits of his work through all three Blues unions, with the likes of Charlie Piutau, Ofa Tu'ungafasi and Steven Luatua winning their spurs.

No one can doubt Nick's rugby pedigree. His younger brother Dean played 71 games as a fullback for Counties Manukau in the 1990s, while his father Eion turned out in 40 games for Counties in the 1960s. His grandfather also played for Franklin in the pre-Counties days, making for three generations of Counties rugby men in the Sheppard family.

Nick and his wife Tanya have two kids: Thomas, 14, and Emma, 11. He loves being a Barbarian and has tried to involve himself as much as time permits, getting along to the annual fun days, for instance.

"I've enjoyed every minute of it and I think it's a great way to continue the friendships and camaraderie that rugby creates. The Barbarians are a great vehicle for those traditions.

"The (clubrooms) are a fantastic facility. It's a real legacy building for the future generations of the Barbarians club. To all those who were able to put that in place, they are to be congratulated. That facility will hold the club in good stead for decades," he says.