All Black legend Colin 'Pinetree' Meads dies at 81

A fine tribute to a true rugby legend. Although am too young to have seen Meads play, I was brought up to believe that Colin Meads (alongside Gareth Edwards) were probably the 2 greatest rugby players from the amateur era.

He was a man of the soil at a time when many All Blacks came from rural and farming backgrounds, before urbanization greatly changed New Zealand's demographic makeup.

I think it's valid for most players from this era (at least in countries where rugby wasn't a private schoolboy thing): farmers played in the forwards, sales guys, tradies etc in the backline.