Thousands of mourners, including a who’s who of past All Blacks, gathered yesterday to remember the legendary Colin Meads, hailed as one of New Zealand’s greatest ever rugby players.

It is a fair indication of how sport in general, and rugby in particular, has changed so very dramatically that New Zealand legend Colin Meads, who died aged 81 yesterday and stopped playing the game in 1971, was the same size as Irish centre Robbie Henshaw.