Billy Guyton
| Birth name | Billy-John Guyton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 17 March 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Timaru, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 15 May 2023 (aged 33) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Nelson, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (198 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Shirley Boys' High School Nelson College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Billy-John Aaron Guyton (17 March 1990 – 15 May 2023) was a New Zealand rugby union player. His position was halfback, he played 52 games for provincial side Tasman between 2013 and 2017 as well as playing for the Blues, Hurricanes, Crusaders and the Māori All Blacks.[1]
Tasman
[edit]Guyton established himself as the starting halfback for Tasman during the 2013 ITM Cup in what was a successful season for the side where they won the championship division, with a one point win over Hawke's Bay in the final, 26–25. This promoting the Mako to the premiership division.
Super Rugby
[edit]After a strong season for the Mako, Guyton was part of the Hurricanes squad for the 2014 Super Rugby season. After only 1 game for the Hurricanes he was signed as an injury replacement for the Crusaders during the 2015 Super Rugby season after a season ending injury to Willi Heinz.[2]
After only playing another 1 game for the Crusaders, Guyton signed with the Blues for the 2016 and 2017 seasons where he played 24 games.[3]
Māori All Blacks
[edit]In October 2016 Guyton, who affiliated with the Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pikiao, and Ngāti Raukawa iwi, was named in the Māori All Blacks squad for their end of year tour to the Northern Hemisphere.[4]
Retirement and death
[edit]Guyton announced his retirement from playing rugby in October 2018, aged 28, after repeated concussions suffered in official matches had left him with symptoms of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).[5][6]
He died in Nelson on 15 May 2023, at the age of 33.[7] Reports in New Zealand media suggested Guyton died from suspected suicide.[6][8]
Guyton's family decided to donate his brain to the Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank at the University of Auckland;[6][8] following post mortem analyses conducted in New Zealand and Australia, he was diagnosed with stage 2 CTE in March 2024, becoming the first New Zealand based player to be officially diagnosed with the disease.[6][8] The pathologist's report also found that Guyton's brain presented trauma induced cavum septum pellucidum, as well as age related tau deposits.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "Billy Guyton Tasman Profile". Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
- ^ "Will Heinz's season-ending injury opens door for Billy Guyton at the Crusaders".
- ^ "Injured All Blacks key to new-look Blues squad for Super Rugby 2016".
- ^ "Six new caps named in Maori All Blacks". RNZ News. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ Dine, Jonty (4 October 2018). "Head knocks force Tasman Mako Billy Guyton to retire". Nelson Weekly. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d RNZ (14 March 2024). "Brain injury from head knocks discovered in late Blues halfback". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "Former Blues and Tasman Mako halfback Billy Guyton dies, aged 33". Stuff. Stuff. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d Aylwin, Michael (14 March 2024). "First professional rugby union player confirmed to have died with CTE". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- 1990 births
- 2023 deaths
- New Zealand rugby union players
- Tasman rugby union players
- 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen
- North Otago rugby union players
- Hurricanes (rugby union) players
- Crusaders (rugby union) players
- Blues (Super Rugby) players
- Rugby union scrum-halves
- People educated at Nelson College
- People educated at Shirley Boys' High School
- Rugby union players from Timaru
- Māori All Blacks players
- Ngāpuhi people
- Ngāti Pikiao people
- Ngāti Raukawa people
- Sportspeople with chronic traumatic encephalopathy