| Full name | Richard Lewis Taylor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 29 May 1942 Ryde, Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 29 August 2019 (aged 77) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Richard Lewis Taylor (29 May 1942 — 29 August 2019) was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player.
Taylor was born in the Sydney suburb of Ryde and educated at Drummoyne Boys High School. [1]
A Eastwood Juniors product, Taylor made his first-grade debut for the club in 1961. [1] He was used as a flanker and prop during his early days at Eastwood before establishing himself as a hooker. [2] His brothers Barry and Ken were Eastwood teammates, with the three playing a combined 600 club games. [1] They briefly made up Eastwood's entire front row. [1]
One month after captaining Eastwood in a first ever Shute Shield grand final, Taylor was called up by the Wallabies as a replacement player on the 1966–67 tour of Britain, Ireland and France, due to hooker Ross Cullen being sent home for disciplinary reasons. [2] He played in 13 uncapped matches during the tour. [1]
Taylor joined rugby league club Newtown Jets in 1969 on a two-year contract. [3] He played seven first-grade games. [4]