Thomas Norman Lister (27 October 1943 − 23 July 2017) 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 who represented 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 ...

between 1968 and 1971. His position of choice was flanker.

Early life and family

Born in Ashburton in 1943, Lister was educated at Temuka Primary School and then

Waitaki Boys' High School Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. , it has a school roll of approximately 400 students. The ...

, where he was a member of the 1st XV in 1960. He was the older brother of professional golfer John Lister.

Career

Lister was selected for

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 Souther ...

in his first year playing senior rugby in 1962. He moved to

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 ...

in 1964 to further his chances of making the All Blacks. He linked up with

Terry McCashin Terence Michael McCashin (18 January 1944 – 31 October 2017) was a New Zealand businessman who, together with his wife, founded the country's first craft brewery, McCashin's Brewery, in 1981 in Nelson. He also represented the country in rugby ...

(who would also become an All Black) to play for Wellington's Athletic club and both worked for a time as rubbish collectors, which helped them become "superbly fit". He made his debut for the All Blacks on 15 June 1968 against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in Sydney. He played in both tests in his first All Black tour, to Australia in 1968. He also played two tests against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in 1969 and two more against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in 1970. His final international match was in the fourth test against the 1971 Lions, ending his All Black career with a try. In his All Black career he played a total of 26 games, with eight of them being test matches. He totalled 33 points (11 tries), scoring two tries in test matches. Lister temporarily retired from first-class rugby in 1972, but returned to represent his province for the next two seasons. He later coached the South Canterbury under-18 side.

Death

Lister died in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

on 23 July 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lister, Tom 1943 births 2017 deaths Rugby union players from Ashburton, New Zealand People educated at Waitaki Boys' High School New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players South Canterbury rugby union players Rugby union flankers New Zealand rugby union coaches Wellington rugby union players