Brendan Gallagher

Brendan Gallagher: Small in stature but big on talent

Back in the day it became almost a cliché that All Blacks forwards were all rugged frontiersmen and farmers – world champion sheep shearers and woodchoppers – who worked up a thirst on their day off by knocking the bejesus out of lily livered British and Irish Lions.

by
Brendan Gallagher
25 January 2026

Mr Angry: All Black Grant Batty PICTURE: Getty Images

Back in the day, it became almost a cliché that All Blacks forwards were all rugged frontiersmen and farmers – world champion sheep shearers and woodchoppers – who worked up a thirst on their day off by knocking the bejesus out of lily livered British and Irish Lions.
Think Colin Meads, Brian Lochore, Keith Murdoch, Ian Kirkpatrick, Tane Norton and many others.
Now there was more than a grain of truth in some cases – Meads in particular ticked those boxes and had trophies to prove it – but the most tangible evidence I ever saw of such skills actually came from the second smallest man ever t...

Continue reading...

Access all our premium content from as little as 14p per day!

Already a subscriber to our website? Login

Click to comment

Read our latest news on any of these social networks!

Tackle the News

- Sign Up for our weekly Rugby Newsletter

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.