Barry Wright (rugby union)

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Barry Wright
Full nameBarry Arthur Wright
Date of birth (1936-04-12) 12 April 1936 (age 88)
Place of birth Goomeri, QLD, Australia
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight12 st 9 lb (177 lb; 80 kg)
School Ipswich Grammar School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre / Fly-half
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1954–61 Queensland 16 ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1955 Australia

Barry Arthur Wright (born 12 April 1936) is an Australian former international rugby union player.

Wright grew up in the rural Queensland town of Goomeri. He was boarder at Ipswich Grammar School and had three years with the 1st XV, earning GPS All Schools representative honours. [1]

At the age of 18, Wright captained the 1954 Australian XV that toured Fiji and Tonga, becoming the youngest person to lead an Australian international rugby team. The side played unofficial Test matches against the Pacific nations. [2]

Wright, a GPS club player, gained his solitary Wallabies call up in 1955 for a tour of New Zealand, where he featured in five uncapped matches, all as part of a winning team. [3]

In 1956, Wright moved back to Goomeri to take up a pharmacy apprenticeship. [3]

Returning to Brisbane rugby in 1959, Wright played three seasons with Wests, before making a switch to rugby league and joining the dominant Northern Suburbs side coached by Bob Bax. [3]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Barry Was Surprised". Queensland Times . 12 August 1954. p. 3 (Daily) – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Teenager to Captain Aust. XV". Warwick Daily News . 12 August 1954. p. 6 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 3 "Barry Arthur Wright". classicwallabies.com.au.
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