Grant Batty

Grant Batty

Birth name	Grant Bernard Batty
Date of birth	(1951-08-31) 31 August 1951
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	65 kg (143 lb)
School	Kuranui College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1970 - 1975 1976 - 1977 Wellington Bay of Plenty () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1972–1977 New Zealand 15 (16)

Grant Bernard Batty (born 31 August 1951 in Greytown, New Zealand) is a former rugby union footballer. A diminutive but effective wing for the All Blacks, Batty played domestically for Wellington and Bay of Plenty. A crowd favourite, "Batts" was almost invariably the smallest man on the field. He was also nicknamed "Twinkle Toes", or "Pocket Rocket" for his small size, explosive acceleration, and fearless combative approach. His rugby career was cut short by a knee injury, leading to his retirement in 1977 at age 25.

Rugby career

"Grant Batty" a biography by Bob Howitt was published in 1977 by Rugby Press Limited (ISBM 0 9597553 0 6). This states Grant played 102 first class matches and scored 109 tries. He stated his 3 favourite tries out of the 45 he scored for New Zealand to be:

• his second try against the Barbarians at Cardiff on 27 January 1973. The All Blacks lost that game 11-23 but Batty said he had previously tried and failed twice to beat J.P.R. Williams so he tried a kick and won the chase.
• his second try against New South Wales on 18 May 1974 when the All Blacks won 20–0 at Sydney. His teammate Duncan Robertson pumped a high kick to the opposition's goal line which dropped into Batty's arms.
• his try against the British Lions at Athletic Park on 18 June 1977 won 16-12 by the All Blacks. Batty intercepted a pass thrown by Trefor Evans and despite a crippling knee injury ran over 50 metres to score the try chased by Graham Price and the fast gaining Andy Irvine. This was Batty's last test match.

Later life

After retiring, Batty won the New Zealand edition of the televised multi-sport competition Superstars for three years running from 1977–1979.

After a failed hotel venture in the 1980s, Batty and his family moved to Australia. He coached various teams in Queensland, including a spell as assistant coach for the Queensland Reds, and in 2004-2005 he coached Japanese Top League team Yamaha Jubilo. He now lives in the small rural community of Wallabadah, New South Wales.

Views of other rugby players

Chris Laidlaw likened Batty to Robert Muldoon, 'small, stunted and radiating a single message to all around him: "Don't mess with me or I'll punch your lights out."' (Rights of passage : beyond the New Zealand identity crisis : Laidlaw, Chris, Auckland, N.Z. : Hodder Moa Beckett, 1999. p. 101.)

External links

• Grant Batty at AllBlacks.com