Sean Fitzpatrick

This article is about the rugby player. For the Irish banker, see Seán FitzPatrick.

Sean Fitzpatrick

Full name	Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick
Date of birth	4 June 1963 (1963-06-04)
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	105 kg (16 st 7 lb)
School	Sacred Heart College
Notable relative(s)	Brian Fitzpatrick
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Hooker
New Zealand No.	871
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1986-1997	Auckland	127	(60)
Super Rugby
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1996–1997	Blues	25	(10)
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1986–1997	New Zealand	92	(55)

Sean Fitzpatrick MNZM (born 4 June 1963 in Auckland) is a former rugby union footballer who represented New Zealand, and is widely regarded as one of the finest players ever to come from that country. He is also the son of former player Brian Fitzpatrick.

Early life

Sean Fitzpatrick's high school education was at Sacred Heart College, Auckland. As a primary school student he attended at Mt Carmel Primary (Auckland).

Early rugby career

A product of the powerful Auckland provincial side, Fitzpatrick made his international debut as one of the "Baby Blacks" in the 1986 Test series in France. Although most of the regular starting fifteen for New Zealand had been suspended following the unauthorised "Cavaliers" tour of South Africa, the All Blacks won, and a number of new faces made their mark on the selectors. Despite this start, Fitzpatrick still went in to the inaugural Rugby World Cup as second choice to captain Andy Dalton. However, Dalton had to withdraw from the early stages of the tournament due to injury, and although he recovered in time for the finals, Fitzpatrick kept his place in the team, leaving scrum-half David Kirk to skipper the side to victory against France in the final at Eden Park in Auckland.

Captain of the All Blacks

In 1992 Fitzpatrick was awarded the captaincy of the All Blacks, a position he held until his retirement from Test Rugby. A first Test match win against the Springboks since their return from isolation, plus series victories over a World XV and Ireland were dampened by the loss of the Bledisloe Cup in Australia.

The biggest event of the rugby calendar in 1993 was the British Lions tour to New Zealand. The first test went narrowly to the All Blacks, with Grant Fox kicking a last minute 50-metre penalty to steal a win. This was avenged in the Second Test by the Lions with their highest-scoring Test win in New Zealand. In the third test, with Fitzpatrick faced the prospect of becoming only the second ever All Blacks captain to lead his team to a series defeat against the Lions. The side were 10–0 down at one point, but recovered to take the match convincingly and with it the series.

Unwanted history could not be avoided on the end of season tour to Britain however, as England picked up a win over New Zealand at Twickenham. 1994 was another up and down season for the All Blacks. South Africa were defeated 2–0 with one game drawn. However, France caused a major upset by winning their series in New Zealand 2–0, the first and only European team so far to achieve this.

By the time of the 1995 World Cup New Zealand had assembled a more formidable side. Ian Jones, Jeff Wilson, Andrew Mehrtens and Zinzan Brooke had proved themselves as world-class players, and Jonah Lomu would spectacularly announce himself during the tournament. New Zealand were most pundit's pre-tournament favourites. They duly reached the final against South Africa, who had stuttered through the early stages, while the All Blacks had convincingly defeated all opponents, the most remarkable being a semi-final against England, in which Lomu scored four tries. However Francois Pienaar’s side rose to the occasion, and won a close game in extra time with a Joel Stransky drop goal. It was a crushing disappointment for the All Blacks, although they would not have to wait long to exact revenge.

After storming through the first Tri Nations Series unbeaten, the All Blacks embarked upon a further three-match series in South Africa. No New Zealand side had ever won a series in South African before, but under Fitzpatrick in 1996 they won the first two tests of the three match series. The 1996 All Blacks were one of the great teams in the history of the game, and the series win cemented their captain’s place among the true greats. Continued success with Auckland in the NPC and the Auckland Blues in the new Super 12 continued in the following seasons, but it was clear that Fitzpatrick’s days in the game were numbered. He was carrying an injury in the autumn of 1997, yet such was his status that coach John Hart thought it would be good for the other players to include him in the party. He made his 92nd and final test appearance on 29 November 1997 as a substitute in the 42–7 victory against Wales at Wembley.

Legacy

Fitzpatrick was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit by the then Governor General of New Zealand Sir Michael Hardie Boys in 1997. He remains an icon in New Zealand and is highly respected in South Africa. Fitzpatrick has rejected offers to coach rugby and is currently running a motivational speaking business, as well as acting as an analyst for UK television.

In an attempt to capitalise on their sponsorship of the All Blacks in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Telecom NZ enlisted Sean Fitzpatrick to front their "Backing Black" sexual abstinence campaign. It was greeted with near-universal disdain, bringing embarrassment for both Telecom NZ and Sean Fitzpatrick, damaging Fitzpatrick's reputation in his native New Zealand. The campaign was withdrawn within 24 hours of details of it being leaked to the press.

Honours

Auckland

• National Provincial Championship 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
• Ranfurly Shield 1995, 1996

Blues

• Super Rugby 1996, 1997

New Zealand

• World Cup 1987
• Bledisloe Cup 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997
• Tri Nations 1996, 1997

External links

• Sean Fitzpatrick at AllBlacks.com
• http://www.whatwecanbe.com
• Profile at CitySpeakers International

Sporting positions
Preceded by Gary Whetton	All Blacks Captain 1992–1997	Succeeded by Justin Marshall (interim captain) / Taine Randell (permanent appointment)