All Blacks lock Gary Seear dead at 65

Published Feb. 7, 2018 11:31 p.m. ET

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) Gary Seear, an All Blacks lock and back rower who kicked a long-distance penalty against France in Paris in 1977, has died. He was 65.

New Zealand Rugby said Thursday that Seear's cause of death had not been released.

Seear, who played 12 tests among 34 matches for New Zealand, made his test debut against France in a losing All Blacks performance in Toulouse in 1977. The following week Seear kicked a penalty goal from 45 meters at Parc de Prince to contribute to a 15-3 All Blacks win.

Seear first played for the All Blacks in South Africa in 1976 but had to wait a year for his test debut.