Born: June 20, 1951
Test record: 8 Tests (1975) – 1 try (3 points)
Tours: 1975 World Championship Series

Mt Albert forward Tom Conroy spent only one season in the New Zealand team, but he racked up eight Test appearances by playing in every match of the 1975 World Championship Series at hooker.

Conroy represented Auckland against NSW Country and in a win over Great Britain in 1974.

Equally suited to the second-row, he ousted Murray Wright for the Kiwis’ hooker role during the first half of the World Championship Series midway through 1975, featuring in all four fixtures against Australia in Brisbane, and France (scoring a try in a 27-0 win), England and Wales on home soil. He also played in four tour matches in Australia, scoring tries against Central Queensland and NSW Country.

When the competition resumed later that year, he faced off against Australia at Carlaw Park, and the other three nations again in the Northern Hemisphere.

The Kiwis did not have any matches scheduled in 1976 but Conroy lined up at hooker in New Zealand XIII’s clash with the visiting Combined Sydney team. Injuries limited his opportunities to impress national selectors in subsequent seasons, but he later played for Auckland against Australia in 1980 and France in 1981.