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Former All Black coach dies

Welligton - Fred Allen, whose record of 14 wins from 14 Tests makes him the most successful All Black coach of all time, has died of leukemia aged 92 his family said.

A famously hard taskmaster dubbed "The Needle" by his players, Allen coached New Zealand from 1966 to 1968 which is remembered as one of the team's greatest eras.

Allen played six Tests among 21 matches at flyhalf for the All Blacks from 1946 to 1949 and was captain in all of those games. He had previously played for the famous New Zealand army team which toured Britain after World War II, playing in 28 of their 38 matches.

He coached the Auckland province from 1957 to 1963 when they defended the Ranfurly Shield challenge trophy a record 25 times.

Allen received a knighthood for his services to rugby in June, 2010 and had been inducted into the New Zealand and International Rugby Halls of Fame.

His biographer Les Wakins said Allen was unquestionably New Zealand's most successful international coach. He led the team in a total of 37 international matches, including 14 Tests, winning 36 and drawing one.

Graham Henry, who stepped down as All Blacks coach after winning last year's Rugby World Cup final, won 88 of his 103 Tests as coach.

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