Joseph Francis Karam (born 21 November 1951), also known by the nickname of "Clock", is a New Zealand former representative rugby footballer who played for the All Blacks. After retiring from rugby, he became a businessman. However, he is most notable for waging a successful 15-year campaign to have David Bain's convictions for murder overturned, and a subsequent campaign seeking compensation for him. Background Karam was born in Taumarunui to a Lebanese father and an Irish mother. He grew up on the family farm near Raurimu and attended St Patrick's College, Silverstream. Rugby union career A first XV player at Saint Patrick's, Karam scored 138 of the schools 239 points during the 1967 season. That year he was a North Island secondary schoolboys representative. He spent the 1971 season with Horowhenua. He was selected for Wellington's South Island tour in 1972, becoming the youngest-ever player picked to represent Wellington. An extremely hard trainer at a club level, Karam was named as an All Black for the 1972–73 tour of the British Isles and France. He played 10 test matches for the All Blacks between 1972 and 1975. Rugby league career Karam switched codes in 1975, signing a three-year deal with the Glenora Bears in the Auckland Rugby League competition $20,000 a year. Karam was horrified that players on the UK tour of 1971 got a pound a day as their living allowance while rugby officials "were flying around the world drinking champagne like it was going out of fashion". For players of "modest employment" slogging it out on the field for their country it meant that "their wife and children were starving back home". He scored 160 points for the Bears in 1976, winning the Painter Rosebowl Trophy as top point scorer. He won the trophy again in 1977. Karam was selected for Auckland almost immediately, playing in six games in 1976 and scoring 53 points. This including playing in Auckland's 17–7 victory over New South Wales City. He played in one game for Auckland in 1977, kicking six goals. By the final year of his contract, Karam couldn't break into the Glenora side, being succeeded by Warwick Freeman. He reportedly found the tackling work rate to be far more demanding than in rugby union. Support for David Bain Karam is known for his many years of unqualified support for David Bain, who was convicted in 1995 of murdering all