Danny Lee

Few careers have better illustrated how much the landscape of New Zealand rugby was so drastically changed by the move to professionalism in 1995 than that of Danny Lee.

Built more on the pocket battleship lines of old fashioned halfbacks, Lee proved to be a durable and competitive player who for most of his career rated among the country’s top half dozen in his position.

But to stay at the top level, in the provincial environment, Lee was forced to become one of the countries most itinerant footballers. He played for four different provincial sides (Hawke’s Bay, with whom he had two stints, Central Vikings, when the Bay and Manawatu unions had their brief, ill fated partnership, Counties-Manukau and Otago.

He also played for four of New Zealand’s five Super 12/14 franchises: the Hurricanes (just once as a youngster in 1997), the Chiefs, the Highlanders and finally as a draft player for the Blues in 2008. It was a mark of his loyalty and devotion to New Zealand rugby that, unlike some of his contemporaries, all of his rugby was spent in this country.

Even if he never quite became one of the game’s greats, Lee always appeared destined for rugby stardom, being first chosen to play for the Bay while at 18-year old still at Hastings Boys High School. However, his future was to be defined in his early years by the fortunes, and struggles of those unions, with whom he was involved.

When the Vikings experiment collapsed after the 1997 season Lee moved to Counties-Manukau to gain a place at national provincial championship first division level. But when the Steelers were demoted to second division at the end of the 2001 season Lee took himself to Otago, where, despite the presence of All Black Byron Kelleher, he gained regular chances with both the provincial side and the Highlanders.

Having been absent for almost a decade, Lee was able to return to his home union when the Bay were one of the sides to benefit from the decision in 2006 to expand the NPC, or Air New Zealand Cup as it was now known, to 14 teams.

Lee’s experience and captaincy were to prove assets for the Magpies as they became one of the revamped competition’s success stories in the 2006-08 seasons, culminating in gaining semifinal places in each of the 2007-08 seasons.

Lee quickly won national recognition, making the secondary schools side in 1994, was in the colts squads in 1995-97 and was an Academy player in 1998-99. But his early seasons in the NPC second division may have been a factor in his battle to establish a Super 12/14 position. Despite more than a decade in the competition he managed only 61 games for his four different sides, a contrast to the 156 provincial matches he amassed.

Lee’s run in the All Blacks was brief, mainly because he was competing against the likes of Justin Marshall and Kelleher. When those two were rested for the end of year tour of 2002 Lee accompanied Auckland’s Steve Devine as the two halfbacks. Lee went on as a replacement for Devine in the match lost against England, though he did have the satisfaction of scoring a try. He then started in the drawn match against France.

Lee ended his playing days in the 2008 ANZC semifinal against Canterbury, showing his characteristic courage in attempting a try-saving tackle but receiving a serious injury. Having started in the 1994 season, Lee thus was one of the last playing survivors of rugby’s amateur era.