Smith Kaikohe All Black 1946 1949

edmondsallan - hello --- Following the Kiwis tour Johnny Smith returned to Northland, and on 30 November 1946, at Okaihau, he married Dorothy Constance Alice Robinson; they were to have two daughters and a son. That year he led his North Auckland side to a runaway win over the touring Australians, and soon afterwards he appeared in his first test for the All Blacks, scoring a try in a 31–8 win against Australia in Dunedin. In 1947 he and his younger brother Peter toured Australia with the All Blacks, and the following year he captained the New Zealand Maori team to Fiji.Along with other gifted Maori players, such as Vince Bevan and Ben Couch, Smith was ineligible for the 1949 All Black tour to South Africa because of its racial policies. That season he was, for the first time in New Zealand, at his brilliant best in the North–South match at Wellington. He captained a New Zealand side in two tests against the touring Australians while the All Blacks were in South Africa. Both matches were lost, and he always joked that he created a record as the ‘only captain in New Zealand history to lose every game he captained’.
Although troubled by injury and lack of fitness, in the early 1950s he continued to play in All Black trials, for the North Island and for the New Zealand Maori side. His disallowed try for North Auckland against the 1950 British Lions, which would have given his side victory, earned a place in local rugby folklore. Later that year he led North Auckland to their first Ranfurly Shield win, defeating South Canterbury at Timaru; they defended the shield twice before losing it to Waikato. In 1951 Johnny and Peter Smith played together for the Maori team against Fiji. Johnny Smith’s meagre record of nine matches (four tests) for the All Blacks between 1946 and 1949 does not do justice to his talents or to the impact he had on the sport. He was the first recipient of the Tom French Cup (the New Zealand Rugby Football Union’s trophy for the outstanding Maori player of the year) in 1949. After retiring from first-class rugby in 1954 he became a successful coach, taking charge of the North Auckland side in 1956; he was also a selector.
Smith excelled in numerous other sports, notably swimming, tennis, cricket and golf. He had won the 1938–39 national junior tennis doubles title with Allan Burns, and after the Second World War appeared regularly in national senior championship tournaments. He was also a top amateur golfer and cricketer. His brother Peter (who died in 1954, aged 29) and sister Winnie were both outstanding tennis players, and his son Glen was national freestyle swimming champion.
Johnny Smith took over the family bakery around 1949, and later worked as a carpenter, barman and fisherman. He had a number of health problems in later years, many of them developing from a kick to the head during a wartime match in Italy. He also suffered from pituitary gland problems, and for years travelled from Kaikohe to Auckland every three months for treatment. He died at Auckland Hospital on 3 December 1974, survived by Dorothy and his children. You can all see and read about this " cussie " of ours who came from Kaikohe . Yes we are related by marriage . The writings about this Rugby player are well documentated right around the world .
I know I'm getting on a bit .--- I just have to say it " He was one hell of a player " and for all the damage he did to me in our first meeting , and as silly as it sounds - I was glad I " locked horns " with him on the field , where he was king of all before him . Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan