Buck Shelford

The All Blacks captain who revitalised the haka and led an undefeated run.

Sir Wayne Thomas Shelford (born 13 December 1957) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and coach who represented and captained New Zealand (the All Blacks) in the late 1980s. Nicknamed "Buck", he played as a number eight for Auckland, North Harbour, Northampton and Rugby Roma.

Quick Facts

Birth name: Wayne Thomas Shelford
Born: 13 December 1957
Birthplace: Rotorua, New Zealand
School: Western Heights High School
Weight: 107 kg / 236 lb

Lore & Background

Shelford toured South Africa with the unofficial New Zealand Cavaliers in 1986. He made his debut for the All Blacks later that year and went on to win 22 caps. He was part of the team that won the 1987 Rugby World Cup. Shelford captained the All Blacks from 1987, and the team was undefeated until he was controversially dropped in 1990. He is credited with revitalising the performance of the All Blacks' traditional "Ka Mate" haka in the 1980s. After retiring, he coached North Harbour and English club Saracens.

Reader's Guide

Shelford made his Test debut for the All Blacks in 1986 against France in a 19–7 victory in Toulouse. He was a notable victim of the infamous "Battle of Nantes" in the second Test. He played in five of the six All Blacks games at the 1987 Rugby World Cup and was a member of the team that won the final. He took over as All Black captain after the World Cup, first captaining the side during the 1987 tour of Japan. During his captaincy from 1987 to 1990, the All Blacks did not lose a game, only drawing once against Australia in 1988. In 1990, the All Blacks' selectors decided that Shelford was not up to the standard for the team and he was controversially dropped after the test series against Scotland. He played 48 All Blacks games including 22 tests and captained the side 31 times, including 14 tests. He also scored 22 tries in total in his All Blacks career.

Did You Know?

Shelford was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 New Year Honours, for services to rugby.
In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours, Shelford was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to rugby and the community.
Shelford's iwi is Ngāpuhi.
On 23 June 2007, Shelford revealed that he was receiving treatment for lymphoma and recovered fully.
In 2022, Shelford was elected national president of the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association.