The rugby community is mourning the passing of former Queensland hooker and Easts stalwart Ross Cullen at 88.
Cullen played 21 times for Queensland in the 1960s and played twice in tour games as an uncapped Wallaby on the 1966-67 tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Cullen was born and raised in King Country in New Zealand. He played in Wagga Wagga before finding his way north where he made his debut as Queensland player #780 against NSW in 1965.
He entrenched himself by playing all five games on Queensland's 1965 tour of Fiji. Cullen played for Queensland against South Africa (1965), the British and Irish Lions (1966) and the All Blacks (1968).
He earned a firm place in the hearts of Easts supporters in the mid-1960s and beyond.
He was a popular and hard-working hooker for the Tigers, he captained the first grade side and was an enthusiastic coach of the forwards in under-age sides later in his life.
His name was tarnished, many say unfairly, by the handling of events on the 1996-67 Wallabies tour.
He was sent home for an alleged biting incident against an Oxford University prop.
Former Wallabies hooker Peter Johnson, on the same tour, gave much-needed perspective to events in his memoir years later, "A Rugby Memoir."
"It seemed every Rugby official in Britain had gathered to add his two pence worth to the matter," Johnson wrote of Cullen being victimised.
"I clearly recall asking Ross what had happened. He said: ‘The bastard was boring in on me, so I told him I’d bite him if he didn’t stop.’ I asked if he had actually bitten him so Ross replied: 'No, I didn’t, he pulled his ear away as he sensed my teeth and that must have done it'.
"He was adamant his intention was to deter not injure and that, as a hooker who had often experienced this illegal ploy of boring, I would know what it was like. I certainly did.
"He (Cullen) later claimed the inquiry had been conducted in such a way as to make a bald statement of innocence impossible.
"As the dressing rooms were by then knee deep in self-righteousness, I feared the worst."
Wallabies team manager Bill McLaughlin had warned players at the start of the tour that anything resembling dirty play would be punished internally in what many thought was an over-reaction to claims of overly-robust play by the 1957-58 Wallabies on tour.
Johnson's reaction to Cullen being sent home reflected the situation.
"To say we were stunned would be a major understatement. Sitting in the team bus I felt sickened at the hypocrisy of the whole affair," Johnson wrote.
Cullen returned home. His reputation at Easts was unsullied because he was elected captain for the 1967 season.
Former Wallabies hooker Chris Carberry was among those former Wallabies who paid their respects on hearing news of Cullen's passing.
"As an aspiring Number 2 myself, I grew up on this saga and always wanted to meet Ross. I did so at Roy Prosser's wake in Brisbane. Lovely, gentle man. Privileged to meet him," Carberry posted on the Classic Wallabies Facebook page.
A celebration of Ross Cullen's life will be held on February 21 at 1:30pm in the Raffles room at the Townsville Convention Centre. Bright casual attire would be appreciated.
The Cullen family are providing a livestream at evt.live/ross-cullen-celebration-of-life
