Michael James Bowie Hobbs (15 February 1960 – 13 March 2012), generally known as Jock Hobbs, 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. A flanker, he played for

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. ...

and won 21 caps for the

New Zealand national team New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, the All Blacks, between 1983 and 1986, with four tests as captain. In later years he was prominent in rugby administration. Between 2002 and 2010 he was chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Union before standing down due to illness.

Youth and playing career

Hobbs was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. He played in the first XV at Christ's College in Christchurch, and was a regular first choice for

from the 1981 season onwards, playing in the failed

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

challenge against Waikato. His test debut came in 1983 against the British and Irish Lions, where he was successor to

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 ...

. Others that were possible replacements were Bruce Middleton and

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 ...

captain Alwyn Harvey, but Hobbs played so well against the Lions that he was an automatic selection as All Blacks number seven for the next few seasons. Hobbs was All Black captain on the short tour of Fiji late in 1984 when Andy Dalton was unavailable, and in the tour of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in 1985 when Dalton was again unavailable. He took part in the 1986

New Zealand Cavaliers The Cavaliers was an unofficial New Zealand rugby union team which toured South Africa in 1986. Because of the Apartheid policies of the South African government, the official New Zealand Rugby Union tour scheduled for 1985 was cancelled, and th ...

tour to South Africa, before retiring in 1987 after a succession of concussions.

Administrator

In 1995, Hobbs was instrumental in retaining New Zealand's leading players when they were on the verge of defecting to

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

's rebel World Rugby Corporation. In the

1996 Queen's Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

, he was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

, for services to rugby. In 2005, Hobbs led New Zealand's successful bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup and in the same year was named the Herald's New Zealander of the year. In the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to

Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for those ...

, for services to rugby and sports administration. Hobbs was the longest serving chairman in NZRU history and his service to the game was recognized at the 2011 IRB and Steinlager Rugby awards where he received the Vernon Pugh award for Distinguished service and the Steinlager Salver award respectively. In 2010, Hobbs stepped down from his administrative positions in order to battle

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

. He died of the disease on 13 March 2012 at

Wellington Hospital Wellington Hospital might refer to: * Wellington Hospital, New Zealand, a hospital in Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Hospital, London The Wellington Hospital in St John's Wood, London is the largest private hospital in the United Kingdom, an ...

.All Black great Jock Hobbs dies
''Stuff.co.nz,'' 13 March 2012

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbs, Jock 1960 births 2012 deaths New Zealand international rugby union players Canterbury rugby union players Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand Rugby Football Union officials Rugby union flankers University of Canterbury alumni People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch World Rugby Awards winners Deaths from leukemia Rugby union executives Rugby union players from Christchurch Deans family Harper family