Background
Couch was born in 1925 in Christchurch and he grew up on Banks Peninsula.
Couch was born in 1925 in Christchurch and he grew up on Banks Peninsula.
He attended Christchurch Technical School.
Couch was in the Royal New Zealand Air Force at the end of World World War II but was never sent into battle. He moved to the Wairarapa in the mid-1940s. He played seven matches for the All Blacks including three internationals.
Of Ngāi Tahu and Ngāti Mutunga descent, he also played 20 matches for New Zealand Māori between 1948 and 1950.
He served as Minister of Māori Affairs and Minister of Police in the third National Government, but lost his seat in 1984 to Labour"s Regional Boorman. While Minister of Police, he called for the birch to be introduced for violent offenders and allowed the police to use longer batons.
He created some controversy by wearing a Springbok rugby team blazer at the time of their 1981 tour of New Zealand as well as attending a public meeting organised by the League of Rights. This was despite his having been denied entry to South Africa as part of the All Blacks rugby team in the 1940s because of his race.
In the 1990s he was involved in various Māori organisations.
He died in 1996 in Masterton.
He was a member of the All Blacks and the New Zealand Māori rugby union team in the 1940s. A first five-eighth, Couch represented Wairarapa at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1947 to 1949.