The large contracts, sponsors and travel experienced during the career of All Blacks is well documented by media and players alike, but life after retiring, especially for players before the pro era, has often remained a mystery - until now.
Seasoned sport joournalist Wynne Gray interviewed over 20 All Blacks spanning four decades of Test rugby to see what they had done since hanging up the boots.
Their tales were then put together into a book which Gray has since published called Rugby, the Afterlife.
Gray said the book came from a desire to reconnect with many of the players featured in the book.
"I'd lost contact with quite a few of these guys down the years and thought, 'what a nice way to catch up with them and see what they've got up to,' and that's really what it is about," he said.
"There were a number who life has not been favourable for but these are the stories more about people from the amatuer era, some who crossed over into professionalism and these kids who are now entirely professional and what they do once the big bucks stop."
Gray said there are "some" extreme examples of hardship for players but he mostly worked in the "middle ground" for stories feautred in the book.
"There were a number who I contacted and had extremely interesting conversations with but they didn't want to share their stories.
"It might make another great book!"
All Blacks featured in Rugby, the Afterlife:
Mark Allen, Frank Bunce, Adrian Cashmore, Matthew Cooper, Christian Cullen, Craig Dowd, Sean Fitzpatrick, Norm Hewitt, Andrew Hore, Ian Jones, Michael Jones, Josh Kronfeld, Blair Larsen, Walter Little, Richerd Loe, Justin Marshall, Keven Mealamu ,Glen Osborne, Arran Pene, Taine Randell, Eric Rush, John Timu, Jeff Wilson
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