Don Walton who gained his test spot above former Captain Abe Malan with superb hooking and excellent overall play. Walton made his presence felt from the very first match on tour when he hooked 14 heels against the head. He played in 14 matches including the 3rd and 4th test matches and scored 4 tries on tour.
He won a vast number of heels against the head against practically every hooker he competed with – 14 at Gisborne, 12 at Blenheim to mention the extraordinary ones. Had he not suffered a hamstring injury at training two days before the first test – by which time against considerable odds he had established himself as a decisively more efficient hooker than Malan - Walton might have came out of the tour with a very much greater reputation than he did.
He won the contest with Malan (who had advantages in a previous captaincy of South Africa and membership of the team’s Tour Committee) and by the end of the tour had taken rank as one of the most efficient hookers to visit New Zealand in 20 years.
Walton played in 8 tests (1964 – 1969) and his provincial team was Natal.