| Birth name | Gary Albert Knight | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 26 August 1951 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wellington, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 107 kg (236 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Mana College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Farmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Gary Albert Knight (born 26 August 1951) is a former New Zealand rugby union player and amateur wrestler.
A prop, Knight represented Horowhenua and Manawatu at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1977 to 1986. He played 66 matches for the All Blacks, including 36 internationals. [1]
While playing for the All Blacks during the 1981 springbok tour Knight was famously felled by a flour bomb dropped by Marx Jones. [2]
Knight competed for New Zealand in the super heavyweight (+100 kg) division of freestyle wrestling at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch, winning the bronze medal. [1] [3]
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history.
The 1981 South African rugby tour polarised opinions and inspired widespread protests across New Zealand. The controversy also extended to the United States, where the South African rugby team continued their tour after departing New Zealand.
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblem is the Springbok, a native antelope and the national animal of South Africa. The team has represented South African Rugby Union in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. Currently, the Springboks are the reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup a record four times. South Africa have won half of the Rugby World Cups they have participated in and are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.
The Australia men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the touring British Isles team.
Bryan Gary Habana OIS is a South African former professional rugby union player. Playing mainly as a wing, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He played for the Golden Lions, the Blue Bulls and Western Province in South Africa, for the Bulls and the Stormers in Super Rugby, and for Toulon in the French Top 14, and won 124 caps for the South Africa national team.
The Zimbabwe national rugby union team, nicknamed the Sables, represents the Zimbabwe Rugby Union in international competition. While sides representing the colony of Rhodesia have played as early as 1910, the modern day Zimbabwe rugby team did not play its first test until 1981, against Kenya. Zimbabwe has competed in two World Cups, in 1987 and 1991, in place of South Africa, who were sanctioned by the IRB at the time due to apartheid. Zimbabwe is categorized as Tier 3 Development One, which prioritizes Zimbabwe over other nations due to historical success as well as popularity of rugby in the nation.
The following lists events that happened during 1981 in New Zealand.
Rugby union in South Africa is a highly popular team sport, along with cricket and soccer, and is widely played all over the country. The national team is among the strongest in the world and has been ranked in at least the top seven of the World Rugby Rankings since its inception in 2003. The country hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and won again in 2007, 2019 and 2023.
New Zealand and South Africa have been playing Test Match Rugby against each other since 1921 when the All Blacks beat the Springboks in Dunedin 13–5. It is argued to be the biggest rivalry in World Rugby history. There is considerable history behind these matches, much of it off the field. In 1981, there were numerous protests in New Zealand over the Springboks coming to tour New Zealand due to the then South African government's policy of Apartheid. Consequently, subsequent tours were cancelled and the All Blacks and Springboks did not meet again until August 1992, in Johannesburg, when the Springboks were re-admitted to World Rugby. Until 1996 New Zealand had never won a series in South Africa but South Africa had won a series in New Zealand in 1937. The rivalry was close for eighty years between 1921-2000, when New Zealand led the head-to-head by 27-26. In the first 17 years of the 21st century, New Zealand compiled a 31-10 record over South Africa, but the appointment of Rassie Erasmus as coach of the Springboks in 2018 resulted in the rivalry reigniting, as South Africa lead the series 7-5 since his appointment.
The Manawatu Rugby Football Union (MRU) serves as the governing body of the sport of rugby union in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand.
The Cavaliers was an unofficial New Zealand rugby union team which toured South Africa in 1986. Because of the Apartheid policies of the South African government, the official New Zealand Rugby Union tour scheduled for 1985 was cancelled, and the Cavaliers tour was very controversial in New Zealand.
Bruce John Robertson was a New Zealand rugby union player. A centre, he represented Counties at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, from 1972 to 1981. He played 102 matches for the All Blacks, including 34 internationals, and scored 30 tries, four of which were in test matches.
The 1960 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa, was a series of rugby union matches played by the New Zealand national rugby union team in South Africa and Rhodesia.
Handré Pollard is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Leicester Tigers in England's Premiership Rugby. His regular playing positions are fly-half, where he started for South Africa in their 2019 Rugby World Cup Final win, and inside-centre. He has previously played for the Bulls and Blue Bulls in his native South Africa, Osaka Red Hurricanes in Japan and Montpellier in France. He is one of 43 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions, 24 of whom are South Africans.
Rugby union and apartheid had a complex and supportive relationship. From 1948 to 1994, international rugby relations with the country, and also the non-integrated nature of rugby within South Africa drew frequent controversy. South Africa remained a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB) throughout the apartheid era.
Rugby union has a long history in New Zealand. Today, New Zealand holds tier one status with World Rugby.
Pieter Willem Gabriel Rossouw is a South African former professional rugby player and current coach. Rossouw played wing for Western Province in the Currie Cup and the Stormers in the Super Rugby competition. He played a total of 43 times for the Springboks, making him one of the most capped Springbok wingers after South Africa's readmission to international rugby. He was also one of South Africa's most prolific try-scoring wingers, post-isolation, with only Breyton Paulse(26) and Bryan Habana(53) scoring more tries. He is 7th on the all-time try-scoring list for the Springboks. Rossouw is currently the backline coach of the Bulls in Super rugby and the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. He was known as "Slaptjips", apparently because the sight of his running legs was like potato chips slapping together. Pieter is the older brother of Chris Rossouw, who played flyhalf for Western Province and the Free State Cheetahs.
Scott Crichton is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A prop, educated at Wanganui Boys' College, Whanganui. After transferring to the Capital he played club rugby for the Karori, Oriental-Rongotai, Athletic and Western Suburbs rugby football clubs in Wellington.
The History of the South Africa national rugby union team dates back to 1891, when the British Lions first toured South Africa where they played against South African representative sides. The South Africa national rugby union team played few international matches during a period of international sanctions due to apartheid. Since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa has once again fully participated in international rugby.
Peter Standish Burke was a New Zealand rugby union player, coach and administrator. A lock and number 8, Burke represented Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Taranaki at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in 1951, 1955 and 1957. He played 12 matches for the All Blacks including three internationals.
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