It might be easiest, therefore, to dip into the archives to get a couple of quotes that sum up one of the Highlanders’ greatest props and most unassuming heroes.
Hooker and regular front-row compadre Anton Oliver recalled the first time he met Hoeft.
“I thought he was this quite intimidating Polynesian boy with a semi-afro and bulging muscles. He turned out to be quite an inquisitive person and we had a good chat, and an association started there that grew into a friendship.
“Hoefty’s quite an unusual person, actually. He’s quite idiosyncratic, and he’s got all these Hoeftisms.’’
Former Highlanders coach Tony Gilbert was a massive fan of the laconic loosehead.
“At times, he’s been the best loosehead in the world, in my opinion,’’ Gilbert said.
“He’s terrifically loyal, and he always puts his best foot forward. He’s honest and tough, and in tight spots in a game, you know he’s never going to buckle.”
Never buckling is always a good start for a prop.
They spend a lot of time in the dark places, where only the strong survive.
Hoeft was immensely strong and a magnificent scrummager.
He was an old-school prop — no flashy runs with ball in hand for this bloke — and a widely respected team member who both set and demanded high standards.
Hoeft’s beginnings summed up the man.
He was a Te Aroha College kid, he played in the old NPC third division for Thames Valley, and he had completed a plumbing apprenticeship by the time he moved to Otago to give rugby a real crack.
A tour with the New Zealand under-19 team brought together Hoeft, Oliver and Kees Meeuws, the great trio who were to shine so brightly for the Highlanders, Otago and the All Blacks.
Hoeft later said the shift to Dunedin was the best career move he could have made.
“Playing alongside blokes like Kees and Anton really developed my rugby and I doubt whether I could have developed as a player as much anywhere else.’’
Hoeft finished an agonising two games short of 100 for the Highlanders and earned 30 caps for the All Blacks — playing at two World Cups — before joining Meeuws at French club Castres, where he became a beloved part of the town.
He had a long spell as scrum coach at the Chiefs and is now on the staff at the Ricoh Black Rams in Japan.
