Sir Colin Earl Meads KNZM MBE (3 June 1936 – 20 August 2017) was a New Zealand rugby union player.

He played 55 test matches (133 games), most frequently in the lock forward position, for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, from 1957 until 1971.

Nicknamed 'Pinetree' due to his physical presence, he was an icon within New Zealand rugby, and was named the country's Player of the Century at the NZRFU Awards in 1999.

[11] From 1957 until 1971 Meads was effectively an automatic pick for the All Blacks, missing selection for just two series; the British & Irish Lions in 1959 and Australia in 1962.

[12] His strength and high threshold for pain became legendary — best illustrated when in a game against Eastern Transvaal in South Africa, in which he emerged from a particularly vicious ruck with his arm dangling horribly, with an obvious fracture, yet completed the match.

[18][19] South African center John Gainsford once tried to challenge Meads, who proceeded to hold his wrists in a grip that was "like being held in a band of steel" and simply said "Don't bother, son.

In 1967, he was sent off by Irish referee Kevin D. Kelleher for dangerous play against Scotland at Murrayfield, becoming only the second All Black suspended in a test match at the time.

[23][24] The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph said of the incident that 'For one with Meads' worldwide reputation for robust play, this was rather like sending a burglar to prison for a parking offence.

[20] After retiring as a player in 1973, Meads became chairman of the King Country union, and spent time selecting and coaching the now-defunct North Island rugby team.

He was a frequent public speaker at events,[12] donating money raised to buy a farm for people with intellectual disabilities.

[28] Despite this Meads was named the third most trusted New Zealander after Victoria Cross holder Willie Apiata and triple Olympic gold medallist Peter Snell in 2008.

[3] In the 1971 New Year Honours, Meads was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to rugby.

[35] He was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to rugby and the community, in the 2001 New Year Honours.

[37][38] On 19 June 2017, during the then-ongoing British & Irish Lions tour, a statue of Meads was unveiled in the Te Kuiti town centre.

[39] One of the other trophies contested in New Zealand's domestic competition, the Heartland Championship, is named the Meads Cup in his honour.

[40] Rugby writer Lindsay Knight wrote that "As a sporting legend Meads is New Zealand's equivalent of Australia's Sir Donald Bradman or the United States of America's Babe Ruth.