Richard LOE

Richard Loe was a granite like prop forward who earned his living from the land and came into the international arena armed with a formidable physical presence. Indeed, standing six foot one and weighing in at 18 stone, the Waikato man possessed an awesome physique and was famed for his bull like strength in the maul. This power was also a useful offensive weapon and Richard scored an impressive total of six tries in his test career. His international call up came in 1986 when he was added to the New Zealand squad which was touring France at the time. He did not play in either of the tests, but had earned himself a foothold in the All Black camp. His full debut came during the 1987 World Cup opener against Italy, and he followed that test up with an appearance in the Argentina match, also a pool game.

Richard did not feature in any more international rugby that year, but being part of a successful squad was invaluable experience for him. His apprenticeship complete, Richard established himself in 1988 and he played in five tests against Wales and the Australians, winning four and drawing one. By 1989 he had fully cemented his place in the All Black front row with Steve McDowell and Sean Fitzpatrick, a formidable lineup if ever there was! With those three to win ball for them, the All Blacks had no trouble demolishing all challengers in a long unbeaten run, and it was only in 1990 that Richard found out what it was like to actually lose a match when New Zealand went down in the third test against Australia. He was then selected for the 1991 World Cup squad and played in six of his team's seven matches, missing only the group game against the USA. Richard and his front row colleagues battled hard in the semi-final against Australia, but the Blacks had no answer to the ingenuity of David Campese and the match was lost 16-6. (Jon Collins)

The 1992 Bledisloe Cup series was a chance for New Zealand to put the Australians in their place and prove who the real world champions were. The Wallabies didn't see it that way though and showed that their triumph had been no fluke, winning a tight series 2-1. In the second test at Ballymore, Richard incurred the wrath of the Aussie supporters and commentators when he came down late on Paul Carozza with a square forearm after the diminutive winger had scored in the corner. It appeared to be a totally unnecessary challenge and Carozza rose from the ground with a broken nose.

Aussie coach Bob Dwyer was outraged and later said of Loe's act: "It was late and it was cowardly. It was a disgraceful incident, one that has no place in the game." Harsh words, and there is no doubt that it was a very bad foul, but Loe's misfortune was to be caught in full view of the TV cameras and have his indiscretion replayed endlessly when many other similar incidents have gone unnoticed. Richard received no disciplinary action for that one but got into more hot water later in the season when he was suspended for eye gouging in Waikato's championship victory.

His reputation now somewhat tarnished, Loe was suspended for six months and missed out on the 1993 Lions series. However, he won his place back in 1994 and played in six tests that season, including a rematch against Australia and all three Tests in the South Africa series which New Zealand won 2-0, the final Test resulting in a 18-18 draw. He showed good enough form to be picked for a third World Cup and appeared as a replacement for an ailing Craig Dowd in the doomed final against South Africa. The last of Richard's 41 caps came in New Zealand's 37-12 victory over France in Paris the same year. (Jon Collins)