Wayne Shelford was born in Rotorua and was educated at Western Heights Primary School, Kaiton Intermediate School and Western Heights High School. After leaving school at the end of 1974, he joined the navy and trained on HMNZS Tamaki and HMNZS Otago. In 1986 he left the navy and went to South Africa with the Cavaliers. He has worked with Murray Deaker for the Foundation for Alcohol and Drug Education (FADE), and in 1988 was employed with the Apple and Pear Board. He is currently employed with International Management Group. He played in services rugby while in the navy, participated in the two Māori overseas tours in 1982 and 1988. He became an All Black and later was captain of the team. In the late 1980s he wrote a column in the Sunday News. He has worked as a physical education instructor.
Biographical sources
- Correspondence from Shelford, 7 May 1998.
- Buck: The Wayne Shelford Story: As Told to Wynne Gray. Auckland, N.Z.: Moa, 1990.
Biography
- Buck: The Wayne Shelford Story: As Told to Wynne Gray. Auckland, N.Z.: Moa, 1990. Rpt. Sept. 1990.
- In this autobiographical account of his rugby career up to 1989, Shelford discusses his childhood and career in the navy from 1975-1985. He then presents separate chapters on services rugby, the overseas Māori Rugby tours of 1982 and 1988, representative rugby, the Sevens, the Cavaliers, the 1987 World Cup, the Bledisloe Cup in 1989 and commentary on various issues related to rugby. Shelford’s wife, Joanne, writes Chapter 12 entitled "E Te Whanau".