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Keith Quinn relives a lifetime of All Blacks vs Springboks theatre
Sport Nation • August 6th, 2026 8:58 am
Keith Quinn | Photo: Photosport
Keith Quinn has had the best seat in the house for some of New Zealand sport’s defining days.
From Dick Tayler’s golden run in Christchurch, to John Walker in Montreal, Jonah Lomu in Cape Town and decades of All Blacks history, Quinn’s voice is stitched into the country’s sporting memory.
But long before the commentary boxes, World Cups and Olympic Games, the All Blacks and Springboks rivalry had him hooked.
Quinn first saw the Springboks as a nine-year-old in 1956 when South Africa returned to New Zealand for the first time since 1937.
“I can remember so much about that tour like it was yesterday,” Quinn told Sport Nation Mornings.
“The whole country was consumed with the Springboks coming to New Zealand.”
In a wide-ranging chat, Quinn revisited the paper-clipping era before live TV, Winston McCarthy’s booming radio calls, his first broadcasts, the brutal 1976 tour of South Africa and the bitter division of 1981.
That tour remains one of his hardest memories.
“It was awful. Awful experience from start to finish.”
Quinn also reflects on 1995-96 and why rugby's greatest rivalry still carries a weight few others can match.
Listen to the full interview below:
