'We've lost a legend': Sharks honour Ian McIntosh with fitting celebration of life at Kings Park

Fans, friends and family turned out at Kings Park on Wednesday afternoon to honour former Springbok and Sharks coach Ian McIntosh, who died last week.

WATCH | Ian McIntosh - Celebration of life, Kings Park

McIntosh coached the Boks in 1993 and 1994 and would go on to serve on the national selection committee. He was considered a legend of the game in Durban and KwaZulu-Natal, where he coached the Sharks in the 1980s and 1990s.

The celebration of life saw former players and family pay tribute to McIntosh, who coached the Springboks in 12 Test matches.

John Allan, a former Springbok and Scotland hooker, who anchored proceedings as the master of ceremonies, called McIntosh a "rugby giant".

"We've lost a legend and a rugby giant, and today we are here to pay tribute to that rugby giant, Ian McIntosh," Allan said as the crowd settled in for the memorial.

Allan related a story about his special entrance to training one day in New Zealand that had McIntosh in stitches.

Allan, who McIntosh regularly berated for arriving late at training, decided to paraglide off a mountain into a Sharks training session.

With McIntosh asking Allan's teammates where he was, Allan landed on the field.

"As I landed, I said, 'Mac, am I late for training?' He looked at me, he looked at the mountain, and he just burst out laughing," recounted Allan.

McIntosh's oldest son, Ross, and youngest son, Evan, recounted his life from his time as a rugby player in Zimbabwe to how he went into coaching before moving back to South Africa in 1984. They also spoke of his success with the Sharks and his time with the national team as well as winning World Rugby's Vernon Pugh award in 2013 for services to the game.

His middle son, Craig, recounted McIntosh's "fiercely