His last test try was arguably his most famous. When facing the British and Irish Lions in Wellington, he intercepted a pass thrown by Trefor Evans and despite a crippling knee injury, ran over 50m to score in a 16-12 win.
The try is one of three favourite tries he scored out of 45 dotted down for New Zealand. His second try, against the Barbarians in 1973, and his second try against NSW, 1970 in Sydney, make up the others.
Former All Black Ian Kirkpatrick told the Herald it was a huge shock when Batty’s wife called to share the devastating news. The pair were very close from their playing days together and had been in recent communication.
Ian Kirkpatrick (left) and fellow All Blacks stars of the 1970s, Sir Bryan Williams and Grant Batty are pictured with Kirkpatrick’s niece, East Coast MP Dana Kirkpatrick, at a fundraising luncheon held in Auckland. Photo Dana Kirkpatrick
In 2014, Herald rugby reporter Wynne Gray named Batty in his 100 Greatest All Blacks list who he described as a “feisty dynamo.”
“The small man who loved big challenges and was pronounced a sporting freak by All Black coach JJ Stewart, headed off into some unfulfilling business ventures,” Gray wrote.
“Batty had been a whizz-kid at school in the Wairarapa and that prompted the Rugby Almanack to pick him as one of their promising players after playing for Wellington in his first year out of school.
“Batty was posted further out in the Wellington backline where he was a target for regular roughhouse attention. He never shirked the contest and his career flourished when he was shifted to the wing for the NZ Juniors trip to Australia in 1972.
“He wanted to play halfback which may explain his choice of Sid Going, another small muscular man, as the most talented All Black he ever played with.
“That launched his test career and the memories of his extraordinary acceleration and braking power, the jaunty walk, the Zapata moustache and the tinder dry temper. Batty was entertainment plus, a bristling powder keg who loved to mix it and drew crowds into his world.”
After hanging up the boots, Batty won the NZ Superstars series three years in a row before moving to Queensland where he turned his skills to coaching.
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.