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'Who’s going to fight that battle now?': Ex-Tasman Rugby CEO on Christie's legacy
Jaxin Daniels • August 28th, 2025 4:09 pm
Shane Christie (l) and Tasman teammate Alex Ainley | Photo: Photosport
After the tragic passing of Shane Christie yesterday, a brilliant rugby player and leader, but an even better person.
Talking to Sport Nation’s Scotty & Izzy, former Tasman CEO Tony Lewis recounted the person that was Shane Christie.
“I got to know a human who was just exceptional in every field,” Lewis said.
“I was very fortunate, from the first meeting I had with Shane, until Monday when I last spoke to him, that he was someone that I held as a close friend.
“Someone who I would trust with my own life, which probably seems bizarre to say, but he was truly a great human being.”
One of the current Tasman players who is deeply impacted by the loss of Christie is David Havili, who Lewis said had a major role in his life.
“He was absolutely gutted and was really struggling,” Lewis mentioned.
“He made the Mako team out of school in 2014 and became a captain under Shane.
“Shane had a major impact on David’s life.”
David Havili leading the Mako to a Mitre 10 Cup premiership in 2020, where Shane Christie was an assistant coach | Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport
Lewis also reflected on how the news hit home for himself.
“I look at it two ways, the world, and rugby New Zealand is a poorer place,” Lewis stated.
“Shane was an advocate for better procedures, better diagnosis and better treatment from ACC, New Zealand rugby and the players’ association.
“That’s the thing that hit me the hardest, Shane has fought that battle, who’s going to fight that battle now and we have to learn from it.
“We have an ability in New Zealand, when things are difficult, we shut the door and don’t let the person in.
“Nine times out of ten, if you take the time to listen, you’ll hear a gem.
“But for the little fulla out there who needs someone to help him, that person’s gone and we’re the poorer for it.”
Christie will be remembered as a caring and free-spirited man who fought what was right.
“He lived in a van while he was building a magnificent home in Nelson,” Lewis mentioned.
“It had his own house on it and a house for his mother.
“He did that throughout the later part of his playing career and his coaching career.
“Shane always fought for the underdogs and always listened to people.
“That’s the great sadness of the last 24 hours. While Shane could be hard to listen to because he’s forthright in his views, and I love that, he needed people to also listen to him.”
Tasman Mako assistant coach Shane Christie (l) with head coach Andrew Goodman in 2020 | Photo: Chris Symes/Photosport
When Christie’s playing days were coming to an end, his coach at the time, Leon MacDonald, spoke to Lewis about getting him on the coaching staff, something they had to really consider.
“We’ve got a gold nugget in our mitts, or we’ve got a rock that’s going to sink us. I think we should look at Shane becoming a coach,” MacDonald said to Lewis.
“So, Leon and I sat down and wrote on a whiteboard the 40 things that would probably stop Shane from being a coach,” Lewis told Scotty and Izzy.
“After about three months, he’d burst into the office every couple of days to cross one out.
“He was so hellbent on wanting to be the best human being he could, and that included working on his coaching skills that were needed.
“At the same time, he never compromised anything that he believed in or that he could make a difference to the world.”
Listen to the full interview below:
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