Jack Macdonald (sportsman)

John Hoani MacDonald (26 October 1907 – 1 January 1982) was a New Zealand sportsman.

Macdonald was born in Blenheim in 1907.

Of Māori descent, he affiliated to the Rangitāne iwi.

His father, also called Jack, played rugby for the New Zealand Māori team, as did his brothers Manny and Enoka.

In accordance with his mother's wishes, Macdonald always spelled his name with a lower case 'd'.

Macdonald was a member of the Wairau Rowing Club.

He played rugby union for New Zealand Māori from 1926 to 1935 and professional rugby league in England from 1935 to 1939.

During World War II he served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and played rugby union for New Zealand Services and England Services sides.

He also played tennis for the Royal New Zealand Air Force team in armed forces matches at Wimbledon.

Macdonald was selected for the New Zealand Māori tour of New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, France, England, Wales and Canada in 1926–27.

However, poor form and injury meant that he only played in nine matches.

He was, however, described as having "a wonderful pair of hands as well as great pace."

At the start of the 1927 season, Macdonald was transferred from Marlborough to Manawhenua.

He scored the final try when Manawhenua wrested the Ranfurly Shield from Wairarapa 18–16 at Carterton on 6 August 1927.

Macdonald played a "slashing game", scoring three tries in his team's second defence of the Ranfurly Shield, against Wanganui, with the holders running out the winners by 25 points to 6.

Manawhenua lost the Ranfurly Shield to Canterbury 17–6 the following week.

In 1929, Macdonald represented the South Island in the inter-island match at Athletic Park, won by the North Island 29–20.

He competed in rowing at the 1930 Empire Games, winning gold in the coxed fours, and at the 1932 Summer Olympics, becoming one of the first two Māori Olympians.

At the 1930 interprovincial championships on the Whau River in Auckland, he was the number five in the second-placed Marlborough eight.

He competed for New Zealand at the 1930 British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario, winning a gold medal in the men's coxed fours and a silver medal in the men's eights.

He represented New Zealand Māori again in 1931 and 1934.

At the opening ceremony of the 1932 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Macdonald was the flag bearer for New Zealand.

He was a member of the New Zealand boat which was eliminated in the repêchage of the men's eight.

Macdonald and Laurie Jackson, also a member of the men's eight, were the first Māori Olympians.

At the 1934 national rowing championship regatta in Picton, Macdonald was a member of the winning Wairau four and finished second in the pairs final.

He again rowed in the Wairau four at the national championships in Auckland the following year, but the crew was unable to defend its title, finishing outside the first three.

He was vice-captain of New Zealand Māori on their 1935 tour to Australia, the team winning nine of its 11 matches.

George Nēpia believed that Macdonald should have been an automatic selection for the All Blacks team to tour the British Isles and Canada in 1935–36.

However, he was not included in the touring party and subsequently defected to rugby league.

During World War II, Macdonald was reinstated to rugby union and he played for various forces teams in England.

On 17 October 1942 he appeared for the RNZAF team in a match against Guy's Hospital, and reportedly gave a "brilliant display", scoring two tries and a conversion, as the New Zealanders won 11–0.

Two weeks later, he again turned out for the RNZAF team, this time against the Welsh Guards at Richmond, kicking a conversion in his side's 8–6 victory.

The following week he played on the wing for England in a services international against Wales at Swansea.

Following the end of World War II in Europe, Macdonald put together a four to represent the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) at the Shepperton regatta in July 1945.

Macdonald was coach and number six of a New Zealand Services eight assembled in mid-July that competed at a number of regattas during August.

At the Hammersmith regatta, the New Zealand eight defeated a fancied Gladstone crew by one quarter of a boat length, but finished third in the final, 10 boat lengths behind the RAAF and Barnes club crews.

A week later at Weybridge, the New Zealand Services eight was beaten by Barnes in the first heat, with the RAAF crew winning the final over Gladstone.

Four of the oarsmen from the New Zealand Services eight, including Macdonald, competed as a four at the Greenwich regatta, winning their heat but being defeated in the final.

A three-quarter and full-back, Macdonald represented Manawhenua and Marlborough at a provincial level.

He was inducted into the Māori Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.