Andrew Grant Dalton (born 16 November 1951) is a former New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player. He captained the national team, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

, 17 times in

tests Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

. He is a second-generation All Black; his father

Ray Dalton Raymond A. Dalton (born May 10, 1991) is an American singer and songwriter based in Seattle, Washington. He began his career as a gospel and R&B singer. Dalton gained prominence as the featured artist on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' 2011 song "Can ...

played in two All Blacks tests in the late 1940s.

Early years

Although born in Dunedin, he was schooled at Selwyn College in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

(not to be confused with Selwyn College at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate ...

), playing for the school's first team in 1968 and 1969 as a prop. He then returned to the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, enrolling at Lincoln College (then a part of the University of Canterbury) to study for a Bachelor of Agricultural Science. While there, he converted to hooker, and represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

at under-20 and senior reserve level. After graduating, he returned to Auckland, playing for the senior B side at the Eastern club. In 1975, he moved to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

to start a career as a farm adviser, and won representative selection for the first time at

Counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. The following year, which was the first of the

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

(the predecessor to today's

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

), he was named captain at Counties.

All Blacks

Dalton earned his first All Blacks cap during their 1977 tour of France. He also played all four tests on their successful

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

tour of Great Britain and Ireland in 1978, scoring the only try in their encounter with . By 1981, he had become the regular All Blacks hooker, and captained the side for the first time when

Graham Mourie Graham Neil Kenneth Mourie (born 8 September 1952) is a former New Zealand All Black flanker and coach of the Hurricanes. He was one of the great All Black captains in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was first selected for the All Blacks in ...

was unavailable for the series against . Dalton became the full-time captain upon Mourie's 1982 retirement, most notably leading the All Blacks against the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

during their 1983 tour. He was chosen as captain for their aborted 1985 tour of South Africa, and went on to captain the unofficial

Cavaliers The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

tour of South Africa in 1986. He suffered a broken jaw In the second match of the tour and played no more rugby that season. Dalton was one of the most successful All Blacks captains in history, victorious in 15 of his 17 tests as captain. He was named captain of the side that would go on to win the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, but suffered an injury in a practice session that ruled him out of the tournament, leaving the honour of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup to

David Kirk David Edward Kirk (born 5 October 1960) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He is best known for having been the captain of the All Blacks when they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. Early years Kirk was born in Wellington an ...

After rugby

After his retirement from rugby immediately after the 1987 World Cup, he continued his career in agriculture for a time, but later became a corporate manager. He coached Counties from 1989 to 1991, and was president of the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

from 1999 to 2000. He is now the CEO of the

Auckland Rugby Football Union The Auckland Rugby Union is a New Zealand provincial rugby union. The union was established in 1883 and was originally responsible for the administration of the sport in most of the former Auckland Province, although its boundaries have since ...

, having also been CEO of the Auckland Blues until those roles were separated in 2014, and operates a farm in the

Bombay Hills The Bombay Hills are a range of hills to the south of Auckland, New Zealand. Though only a small and seemingly insignificant range of hills, they lie at the southern boundary of the Auckland region, and serve as a divide between Auckland and th ...

south of Auckland.

References

External links

*
ESPN Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dalton, Andy 1951 births Living people New Zealand international rugby union players Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Dunedin Rugby union hookers Counties Manukau rugby union players