Sir Wilson Whineray, one of the greatest All Blacks captains, has been described at his funeral as a man with a wealth of life experiences and a born leader.
Whineray died in Auckland Hospital on Monday, aged 77.
Remembered as one of New Zealand rugby's greatest leaders and a gentleman, he played 77 times for the All Blacks between 1957 and 1965, captaining them in 30 of his 32 Tests.
He was also a captain of industry, chairing the boards of Carter Holt Harvey and the National Bank.
Friends and family gave eulogies at his funeral on Friday at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell, including his son James Whineray and All Blacks teammate Sir Brian Lochore.
"Dad used to say that a rich life was not measured by the amount of money one has in the bank but by the wealth of life experiences," James Whineray said.
"By his own definition, dad was a very rich man."
Lochore said there was no greater leader than Whineray, Fairfax reported.
"I believe he was a born leader. Leadership is about trust and Wilson had a bucket load of trust."
Media are reporting that hundreds of mourners attended the funeral.
Whineray captained the All Blacks on their 36-match tour of the Northern Hemisphere in 1963-64.
During the final match, against the Barbarians at Cardiff, the prop most famously sold a deft centre-like dummy to score a popular try.
After the match he was carried shoulder-high from the field at Cardiff while some 50,000 broke into For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.
All Black coach Steve Hansen, who attended his own father's funeral on Tuesday, said earlier this week that Whineray was a legend in the New Zealand game and "a hell of a good person too".
Prime Minister John Key told parliament that Sir Wilson "may well have been the greatest All Black captain of all time" as well as being a highly respected businessman.
Knighted in 1998 for services to sport and business management, Whineray is survived by his wife Lady Elisabeth, three children and five grandchildren.
NZN
