Stalwart of rural rugby

Press, 9 April 1980, Page 24

Stalwart of rural rugby

By

JOHN BROOKS

The roll call for one New Zealand Army unit during the Middle East campaign of the Second World War went something like this: “Marshall, Maclntyre, Millar, Muldoon ...”

Students of politics will readily recognise three of the names. Jack (later Sir John) Marshall and Rob Muldoon became prime ministers, and Duncan Maclntyre still serves on the cabinet. But Millar; — who was he?

Rugby buffs in the rural areas don’t need any prompting on that one. They know the man concerned is Malcolm Millar, who, this winter, will celebrate 50 years of participation in the game.

Malcolm Millar has been at the core of country rugby in Canterbury since he returned from the war in 1946. Twice he was coach, player and president of a club simultaneously before becoming a leading figure in the administration of the game. He still serves country rugby avidly, and his total of five life memberships is ample evidence of his worth.

He has filled almost every role in rugby, He was coaching before he finished playing, and later was a referee and a selector as he moved through the chairs of club administration. He was president of the North Canterbury sub-unton from 1965-to 1968, and later became president of Canterbury’s

combined sub-unions — a body he now serves as secretary-treasurer,

Recognising the need for more vociferous backing of the provincial team, he was one of the early movers in the formation of the Canterbury Rugby Supporters’ Club. He was its chairman for nine years and became its first life member. Malcolm Millar’s association with the 15-a-side game began in 1931 when, at the tender age of 13, he began to kick a ball around for the Irwell club.’ In 1933 he was in the United (Springston) club’s open junior team and a year later, at the age of 16, he had one game at senior level.

He was promoted from the Ellesmere sub-union senior reserve team in 1935 to the senior representatives the next season, and then had two seasons for Lincoln and one for Dunsandel before joining the Army. Before being dispatched to the battlefront, he played for services teams and in 1942 was included in the Canterbury A

squad. On the dusty fields of Egypt he turned out for Artillery and the Rest of Egypt. Later, between battles, he also played rugby in Italy. The war over, Malcolm Millar threw his considerable energies into first the Dunsandel and then, from 1951, the Ohoka clubs. In both he was club president while still playing and coaching. He started his move up the administration ladder in 1954, when he was elected to the North Canterbury sub-union’s committee and the North Canterbury executive.

Both bodies, as well as the Dunsandel and Ohoka clubs, conferred life membership upon him. “My association with rugby has been pleasant but considerably time consuming, especially considering that I have been heavily involved with other organisations,” he said.

This was no exaggeration; The Kaiapoi RSA, the Ohoka combined sports clubs, .the Ohoka Tennis Club, the Eyre Group Boys’ and Girls’ Agricultural Club, the North Canterbury Jersey Cattle Club and the Canterbury Dairy Breeds Association have all had Malcolm Millar as president or or both,over many years.

Seven years ago he retired from farming, but he has had few spare moments since because of his involvement with rugby and other activities, which include a job with the Canterbury Education Board and duties as a Justice of the Peace.

But Malcolm Millar will always be known as a rugby man. Fifty years of involvement with the game have not blunted his desire to keep football on an upward path;