Charles Kesteven Saxton (23 May 1913 – 4 July 2001) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

first-class

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 it ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

player, and a rugby union coach and administrator.

Early life

Born in

Kurow Kurow is a small town in the Waitaki District, New Zealand. It is located on the south bank of the Waitaki River, northwest of Oamaru. Description The name is an Anglicised form of the Māori name of the nearby mountain, Te Kohurau. In the ...

, Saxton was educated at

Otago Boys' High School , motto_translation = "The ‘right’ learning builds a heart of oak" , type = State secondary, day and boarding , established = ; years ago , streetaddress= 2 Arthur Street , region = Dunedin , state = Otago , zipcod ...

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 ...

, where he was a member of the school's 1st XV rugby team between 1931 and 1932 coached by Jimmy Duncan.

Rugby union career

A halfback, Saxton represented Otago,

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Southe ...

, and

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

at a provincial level, and 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, ...

, in 1938. He played seven matches for the All Blacks including three internationals. At the conclusion of

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 opposing ...

he captained the

2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

"Kiwis" team on their 1945–46 tour of Britain and Europe. Returning to New Zealand, Saxton coached the Pirates club in Dunedin, and was an assistant coach of the Otago team from 1948 to 1957. In 1967 he managed the All Blacks on their tour of Britain, France and Canada. Saxton served on the council of the

New Zealand Rugby Football 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 ...

(NZRFU) from 1957 to 1971 and was president of the NZRFU in 1974. He was elected a life member of the NZRFU two years later. In 1967, Saxton wrote the coaching booklet ''The ABC of Rugby'', which had a print run of 70,000 copies, in conjunction with the NZRFU. In the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 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, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginn ...

, Saxton was appointed a

Member 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 rugby.

Cricket career

opening batsman In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...

and occasional

wicketkeeper The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding (cricket), fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being watchful of the batsman and ready to take a Caught, catch, Stumped, stump the batsman out and run out ...

, Saxton played seven first-class games for Otago between the 1934-35 and 1938-39 seasons. He scored 226 runs at an average of 17.38, with a high score of 37.

World War II service

During World War II, Saxton served with the 19th Armoured Regiment, rising to the rank of major and seeing active service in North Africa and Italy.

Later life and death

Saxton owned and ran a menswear shop in Dunedin for many years. He died in Dunedin in 2001 from complications caused by emphysema, and his funeral was held at

Carisbrook Carisbrook (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Carisbrook Stadium) was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, r ...

. In his eulogy,

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

described Saxton as "a New Zealand icon".

References

External links

Photograph of Charlie Sexton, 1930s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxton, Charlie 1913 births 2001 deaths People educated at Otago Boys' High School New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Otago rugby union players South Canterbury rugby union players Southland rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials New Zealand military personnel of World War II People from Kurow