Brian John McKechnie (born 6 November 1953) is a former "double All Black" - representing New Zealand in both rugby union and cricket. He was born at Gore in Southland Region and educated at Southland Boys' High School.[McCarron A (2010) New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 86. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. ( Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.)]
Rugby career
He played 26 matches for the
All Blacks as a first five-eighth and fullback, most memorably being the player to kick the winning penalty goal against Wales in 1978 when
Andy Haden dived out off a lineout near full-time and was apparently awarded a penalty (the referee later said the penalty was for a completely separate incident and was clearly visible in video footage) which would secure the "Grand Slam" for the All Blacks against the home country unions.
Cricketing career
As a cricketer, McKechnie was an economical right-arm pace bowler and useful lower-order batsman who played 14
One-day cricket games for the New Zealand national cricket team, including in the 1975 and 1979 World Cup tournaments in England.
[ Brian McKechnie, CricketArchive. Retrieved 13 November 2023. ] His last match for New Zealand was the infamous "underarm match" against Australia in 1981, when McKechnie was the batsman who faced
Trevor Chappell's underarm delivery in the final ball of the match, throwing his bat away in disgust after blocking the delivery. McKechnie represented Otago in top-level domestic competitions from 1971–72 to 1985–86 and played
Hawke Cup cricket for Southland until 1986–87.
[ He later served on the national selection panel.]
Beyond sports
With Lynn McConnell, he wrote McKechnie: Double All Black: An Autobiography (Craigs, Invercargill) in 1983.
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