Kevin Skinner Should Be Remembered as One of All Blacks’ Very Best

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at Internationaled.org

Published: July 22, 2014

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Legendary All Blacks prop Kevin Skinner passed away aged 86, as was reported by the Otago Daily Times on Monday. Throughout his career, Skinner forged a reputation as one of the hardest men to ever wear the black jersey and should be remembered as one of New Zealand's finest ever.

In Paul Verdon's 2001 book Tribute, a panel judged Skinner to be the 12th-greatest All Black of all time. Of the props, only Ken Gray rated higher than him. His ranking placed him ahead of other legends such as Sean Fitzpatrick, Jonah Lomu, Mark Nicholls and Kel Tremain.


Thirteen years on, that list would undoubtedly be somewhat different. A handful of the most recent generation of All Blacks are certainly worthy of inclusion. But Skinner remains one of the best and should be remembered as such.

He is one of the earliest in a long line of great New Zealand props. Johnny Simpson, Gray, Sir Wilson Whineray and Gary Knight all spring readily to mind, while more recently Olo Brown, Carl Hayman and Tony Woodcock have staked their claims to join that pantheon of legends. 

While Gray is widely acclaimed to be the greatest prop New Zealand has ever produced, Skinner would certainly have to be at least the equal of any other man on that list. 

He is best remembered for his exploits in the 1956 series against the Springboks, where he was called out of retirement for the final two Tests to help deal with a physical South African front row. In these games, Skinner showed his versatility by playing on both sides of the scrum and gave the All Blacks a physical edge up front.

They would go on to win what is still remembered as one of the most significant series in New Zealand rugby history.



But Skinner was much more than this. That he was brought out of retirement mid-tour to toughen up the All Blacks front row shows the esteem he was held in. 

He was known as a s...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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