Bob Howitt - One of New Zealand’s rugby writing greats

One of New Zealand’s most renowned rugby writers throughout his successful 66-year career, Arrowtown’s Bob Howitt has notched the names of many of New Zealand’s most famous All Blacks into his belt, also writing the biographies of many.

Retired from Auckland to Arrowtown with ex-southerner wife Jenny in 2016, bowls have been Bob’s mainstay lately, but even then, he can’t get away from that wonderful rugby reputation as editor of the country’s most successful rugby publication Rugby News for 25 years.

“It’s still a huge thrill when so many good old codgers at bowls say, ‘Bob, I can tell you, I couldn’t wait for the Rugby News to come out on a Friday night. I can’t thank you enough’.”

Rugby flows strong in the Howitt veins, Bob’s father glued to Winston McCarthy’s radio commentaries. “He’d take me to Petone Rec Ground to watch the games,” Bob says. “It’s in my system.”

Thinking he’d become a horticulturalist, Bob’s uncle Jim Howitt put paid to that, seeing the young Petone Tech First XV captain’s enthusiasm, and offering Bob a crack in Wellington’s Evening Post sports department. “I started as a proofreader then copyholder. It was all typeset then.” Bob’s job – to match errors in the original and run downstairs to sports editor Fred Boshier. Within six months, now 17, he’d been invited to train as a cadet journalist. “Saturday night’s sports edition was out on the streets by 7pm. We went to the movies at 8.”

At his first game at Fraser Park, Bob got absolutely drenched then put his three pennies in the telephone box filing his story ad lib to the waiting copytakers.

“Once Gabriel David, who became sports editor had written that Colin Meads was responsible for ‘many clean takes’ in the lineout. But the copytaker wrote ‘many cream cakes…’ which got printed,” Bob grins.

By 21 Bob was rugby writer at the Auckland Star – his rival, NZ’s most renowned rugby writer Sir Terry ‘T.P.’ McLean, who confessed years later that Bob sure gave him a run for his money.

“I knew I’d never match T.P. so I gave my readers a story every day, not all scoops.”

There almost 10 years, Bob only left because he got cut from a promised South African tour with the All Blacks in 1970. “I thought I was in with a big chance, but the sports editor called me in and said because of the politics they were sending a political writer,” Bob says. “I was stunned and speechless.”

It prompted the move of his career, becoming founding editor of Rugby News, still being published today.
“It took off. The second year (1971) the British Lions toured NZ – a massive event. We ended up auditing a net circulation of 31,000 copies a week,” Bob says. “People like Peter Bush contributed photos and sub-editor Phil Gifford did the cartoon strip.”

Bob’s biggest scoop came when he “took a punt” after chatting with All Black coach Ivan Vodanovich who’d said he might be going to a Motueka rugby game. “That meant he was looking at only one person, Nelson Bays running fullback Trevor Morris.”

However, Bob reckons he went “a bit far” once quoting 1970s All Black coach Fred Allen on information he’d been trusted with. “I saw Fred at Fraser Park in Timaru. He left the selectors and came over, a big hand landing on my shoulder: ‘I give every journalist one chance and you’ve just blown yours’. I learned my most important lesson,” Bob says. They became great friends, Fred years later saying, ‘You know what I want to say, you write it!’

By the 1980s and 90s rugby was live on TV so Bob left, quickly snapped up as editor of NZ Rugby Monthly.

He’s written 21 rugby books, mostly biographies of Kiwi greats, including the highly successful, NZ Rugby Greats, staying in the homes of NZ’s best post-war All Blacks during the interview phase. Legends like Sid Going, Don Clarke, Earle Kirton, Brian Lochore, Fergie McCormick, Colin Meads, Waka Nathan and Wilson Whineray starred in that book – a huge hit selling almost 35,000 copies.

While working for HarperCollins in 2011 Bob took another punt, convincing the doubtful publishers to put out a special publication on an anticipated All Black World Cup win. “Sir Graham Henry was coach and always won. We won 8 – 7,” Bob grins, a stressful game to say the least. “I wrote it progressively, 70% printed before the game. We’d published by Thursday – a big success.”

Retired in Takapuna, Bob managed the interclub team that he ended up filling in and playing for, the team skippered by Danny O’Connor. Takapuna won the NZ title, and again two years later, Bob by now a team member.

Bob now loves bowling all over Central Otago, a local club selector.

He still can’t keep out of a good rugby game though, now happily freelancing as a newspaper rugby writer for Central Otago weekly interclub competition games.