“We are so delighted to celebrate this achievement with Beegee and Lady Leslie, ” said Rugby Foundation Chairman Gerard van Tilborg.

World Rugby Vice-Chair Agustin Pichot attended the ceremony, said: “Being inducted into the Rugby Hall of Fame is a very special moment. Rugby is a sport with special values, both on and off the pitch.”

Williams, who was knighted for his services to rugby earlier this year, commented: “It is a great honour to be inducted to the World Rugby Hall of Fame. I remember my first game in 1961 was a curtain raiser before an All Black game , they were my heroes and they inspired me. Nine years later I was playing my first test for them. I loved my time in rugby and I’m lucky to say that rugby loved me back.”

The NZ Rugby Foundation is but one of the organisations Sir Bryan has given so much to. He joined the Board in 2014 and works tirelessly with rugby players who have been unlucky in the game. Always present, always willing to be there, be it for a newly injured player or a VIP (Very Injured Player) who may have been in is wheelchair for 20 years. 

“His contributions to our organisation are powerful and heartfelt.  And the impact he has on our VIPs, and their families, is immeasurable,” said CEO Lisa Kingi-Bon.

The New Zealand Rugby Foundation’s role is to provide life-long support to seriously injured players. 

These words courtesy of long-time friend, Phil Gifford:

The baby boy in a family of four children (Ces, Ken, Bryan, and Lorraine), he was born on October 3, 1950.  

At 11 he was in the Auckland Roller Mills primary school team, at 14 in the Mt Albert Grammar First XV.  His first senior game for his beloved Ponsonby came during the August school holidays. He was 16. 

They say boy wonders burn out. Not this one. At 17 he was playing for Auckland, and then, at 19, he went on the 1970 All Blacks tour of South Africa.  Thirteen games, and 14 tries, later, he was such a sensation that when he got home there were 1000 fan letters from South Africa waiting for him.

He’d play 115 games over nine seasons for the All Blacks, scoring 66 tries, and represent Auckland 132 times.

He retired as a player in 1982, but he’s never left the game.

Coaching? He and Maurice Trapp would establish with Auckland the greatest record in New Zealand provincial rugby. From 1987 to 1991 Auckland defended the Ranfurly Shield a staggering 38 times, and won four out of five NPC titles. He helped spark Manu Samoa’s emergence on the world scene, and was Samoa’s head coach at the 1999 World Cup.

In the professional era he helped coach the Hurricanes, and has somehow found the time to be a leader at the Ponsonby club, to establish and run the Rugby Academy at Mt Albert Grammar, be president, and now patron, of the Barbarians and the NZRU, and a board member of the New Zealand Rugby Foundation. 

He always acknowledges the support of his wife, Lady Leslie, their children, Gavin, Paul, Marie, and Gina, and the 13 grandchildren he delights in. 

Article added: Thursday 13 September 2018