Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford was one of the greatest No.8’s and hardest men to ever play rugby. A truly great All Black and formidible presence during one of the stellar periods of All Black rugby.
If ever there was one moment when New Zealands Shelford embedded his name forever into rugby’s rich history, it was during the infamous Battle of Nantes in 1986.
Playing only his second Test for the All Blacks against a physically intimidating French side, Shelford found himself at the bottom of a rather aggressive ruck on 20 minutes.
An errant Les Bleus stud found its way to his groin, where it somehow managed to tear his scrotum, leaving one testicle hanging out.
This alone would leave most men screaming in agony and heading for the nearest hospital. But not Shelford. He calmly instructed the physio to stitch him up.
The French public were gobsmacked as an over-eager pitchside cameraman filmed the stomach-turning surgery, and even more so when Shelford returned to the field and carried on playing…
“I was knocked out cold, lost a few teeth and had a few stitches down below,” Shelford later recalled. “It’s a game I still can’t remember… I don’t really want to, either.”
ALL BLACKS 
One tough bastard!
Educated at Western Heights High School in Rotorua where he played in the first XV 1973, 74. Wayne (‘Buck’) Shelford played for Bay of Plenty Secondary Schools and Auckland age grade sides before he made his Auckland debut in 1982.
He stayed with his North Shore club and automatically moved to North Harbour when the separate union on the North Shore was formed in 1985. It was that year in which he was first chosen for New Zealand, for the abandoned tour of South Africa. He went on the replacement tour of Argentina and played in four of the matches.
Shelford joined the unauthorised Cavaliers tour of South Africa in 1986 and, when he was eligible again for the All Blacks, was chosen for the second test against Australia but had to withdraw because of injury. He went on the tour of France at the end of the year, where he played in both tests.
The most dominant No 8 in the country, he was an automatic choice for the World Cup, and played in five of the six matches, and also played in the Sydney test in which the All Blacks regained the Bledisloe Cup. He took over from David Kirk as captain for the tour of Japan in October and November and played in each of the five matches.
Shelford then led the All Blacks on one of their great periods of domination, going through unbeaten from 1987 to 1990, with only a drawn test against Australia in 1988 to mar the perfect record. The Welsh aura was shattered with two hidings in New Zealand in 1988, followed by a tour of Australia, then in 1989 Argentina and France were dispatched, as were Wales and Ireland at the end of 1989.
By the beginning of 1990, however, Shelford’s form was not as dominant as it had been and after two tests against Scotland he was dropped, prompting a public outcry. The criticism of the selectors intensified during the following series against Australia, when the All Blacks were beaten in the third test. “Bring Back Buck” signs appeared at grounds and talkback radio callers and writers of letters to editors created a groundswell of opinion, which was ignored by the New Zealand selectors.
‘Buck’ was not brought back for the tour of France at the end of 1990 and in 1991 he was given consolation roles as captain of a New Zealand XV that played Romania and the Soviet Union, and of a New Zealand B team that played Australia.
Shelford retired at the end of 1991. He later coached successfully in Britain and he maintained a high public profile with television commercials for the Accident Compensation Corporation and public speaking engagements. He was assistant coach at North Harbour in 1997 and late in the year, was appointed coach for 1998.
A competitive and skilful No 8, he led by example, whether driving over the advantage line from scrums or rucks, defending or standing up against real and imagined slights. His quickness to take the law into his own hands would have been harshly judged in rugby’s more recent years, but there was no question that he was one of the great forwards to play for New Zealand.
Brothers Dean and Darral played for Combined Services and Bay of Plenty respectively. An uncle, Gordon McLennan, played for Otago and was an All Black trialist, and another, Jack McLennan, also played for Otago. All Black flanker Frank Shelford was a second cousin.
BRING BACK BUCK! Can still be heard echoing around the world today.
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“”Bring back Bucks Ballbag !!!”” was the other cry !
What a champion player and hard as eh ?
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Hows that right hook from Buck on the Welshman! Hard man indeed.
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He actually downed TWO Welshmen but only one got up ,it was that quick it looked like one punch almost
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Legend man, need more like him.
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