Robert Charles Stuart (28 October 1920 – 11 May 2005) was a 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 and administrator. He was given a lifetime service award by the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

immediately after the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

Biography

Born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, Stuart was educated at

St Kevin's College, Oamaru ('To Do and To Teach') , established = 6 February 1927; years ago , type = Integrated co-educational secondary , affiliations = Roman Catholic, Christian Brothers, Dominican Sisters , founder ...

and at Massey Agricultural College in Palmerston North, where he honed his rugby skills and became an agricultural economist. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Stuart served as a lieutenant in the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

on patrol on corvettes in the Atlantic. A loose forward, Stuart briefly represented at a provincial level in 1941, and, after the war, from 1947 until 1953. He was a member of the New Zealand national side, 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 ...

, from 1949 to 1954, playing in 27 matches, including seven internationals. He captained the All Blacks on their 1953–54 tour of Britain, Ireland, France and North America. In 1956, Stuart was a coaching advisor for the All Blacks during the South African tour of New Zealand, and between 1958 and 1959 he was one of the two selector–coaches of the Canterbury provincial side. From 1974 to 1989, he was a member 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 ...

board, and he served as a New Zealand delegate to the International Rugby Board from 1978. In the

1974 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1974 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1974 to celebra ...

, Stuart was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to agriculture and sport. Stuart died in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 11 May 2005, and was buried at

Mākara Mākara is a locality located at the western edge of Wellington, New Zealand, close to the shore of the Tasman Sea. The suburb is named after the Mākara Stream (''mā'' is Māori for white, ''kara'' is a kind of greywacke stone). The Wellington ...

Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Bob 1920 births 2005 deaths Rugby union players from Dunedin People educated at St Kevin's College, Oamaru New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Manawatu rugby union players Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers Massey University alumni Canterbury rugby union players Rugby union flankers New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Burials at Makara Cemetery Royal Navy officers of World War II