Noted rugby man dies

Press, 4 July 1983, Page 36

Noted rugby man dies

A well-known Canterbury rugby administrator, Mr W. A. (Bill) Russell, died on Saturday.

Mr Russell was a viceE resident of the Canterbury :ugby Union. He was elected to the union’s executive in 1973 and soon made his mark as a top administrator in the four years he served as chairman of the competitions committee. More recently, he has been prominent in the sponsorship, finance and junior and teenage areas. He

became a vice-president four years ago and would have been president in 1988.

Mr Russell’s club was Burnside, which he joined soon after its formation in 1957. He was a past president and life member of the club.

Mr Russell, who was the South Island manager of the skin and hides firm, Colyer Watson, Ltd, had been unwell for some time, but had felt better in recent weeks and was to have left

tomorrow for a holiday in Australia. The president of the C.R.F.U, Mr M. R. Barnett, said last evening that Mr Russell’s death was a major blow to the union. “He was a popular and efficient administrator whose business background made him ideally suited to give a lead in the more important policy-making decisions. I am sure that had he lived he would have made an outstanding president,” said Mr Barnett.