Story: Premiers and prime ministers

Jenny Shipley and rugby captains

Jenny Shipley and rugby captains

Jenny Shipley famously criticised her predecessor, Jim Bolger, for running the country through backroom deals done over a whisky bottle. Parliament’s boozy, clubby old-boys’ culture had been declining for years, but the first woman prime minister could not turn down a photo opportunity with that blokey institution, the All Blacks. Here Shipley poses with a rugby ball, flanked by All Black captain Taine Randall (left) and Raphael Ibanez, captain of the French team, in the run-up to the last test match played at Athletic Park, Wellington in 1999. The All Blacks won the match 54-7, but later that year Shipley lost the election.

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Photograph by Ross Setford

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How to cite this page:

Gavin McLean, 'Premiers and prime ministers - The role of prime minister', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/33182/jenny-shipley-and-rugby-captains (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Gavin McLean, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 Dec 2016