"I was wounded twice in the war but I came home, so I've always considered myself a lucky man," he said at his home on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, north of Auckland.
The only unbeaten All Blacks rugby coach, with 14 test wins in the 1960s, had just one regret as he brimmed with pride at his knighthood: that his wife of 52 years, Norma, hadn't lived to share it. She died last year.
"Without Norma I could never have achieved my rugby goals. Norma deserves this recognition as do some of the great people I worked with in rugby.
"It's a pretty emotional time for me at the moment but I look forward to sitting back and enjoying this fortunate position in the weeks to come."
Allen regaled reporters with stories, like during World War 2 when he bent down to pick up a shaving kit a mate had thrown his way, just as a shell hit overhead. He reckons that saved his life as he emerged with only shrapnel wounds.
Born on February 9, 1920 in Oamaru, Allen played 21 matches for the All Blacks at first five-eighth, all as captain, including six tests. He was part of the successful 'Kiwis' Army team who stormed through Britain in 1945-46, but it was as a coach that 'The Needle' made his biggest impact.
He was selector-coach of Auckland between 1957-63 when they set a then-Ranfurly Shield record of 25 consecutive matches. He graduated to All Blacks coach between 1966-68 when they embarked on their 14-test run and earned a reputation for open, free-flowing rugby.
"I used to work them (players) pretty hard but that was my way of doing things, and it worked out all right, didn't it? I'm the only coach in the history of All Blacks rugby that was never defeated."
On the state of the current game, Allen said: "The ball is the same shape but they're keen to keep changing the rules. There's too much computer work and talking. In my day we did the work on the field."
Allen received an OBE in the 1991 New Year Honours, and in 2005 was made a life member of the New Zealand Rugby Union and inducted into the International Rugby Board Hall of Fame.
He also helped with obtaining consent for, and the construction of, the Manly Sailing Club which now provides a centre for family and youth sailing on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula.
But rugby is still No 1, and his impact in the sport continues. On Saturday he was at Western Springs to watch Ponsonby play University in the Auckland club competition for the Fred Allen Cup. University won 18-15 as the rugby knight looked on approvingly.
