| Birth name | Peter David Sullivan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 19 March 1948 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Newcastle, NSW, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Chatswood Boys High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Peter David Sullivan (born 1948) [1] is an Australian former national representative rugby union player. He represented for New South Wales and Australia, captaining the national side on eleven occasions from 1972 to 1973.
Sullivan was schooled at Chatswood Boys High School and played his early rugby at the Forest Rugby Club in Forestville. His senior rugby started in Wollongong and in his first season of first grade and scarcely eighteen he was selected for the Illawarra region and from there he was selected for New South Wales after just six senior games. Howell writes that following state selection at such a young age, he found himself a marked man at club level and "injuries followed, his form deteriorated and his confidence with it" [2] He did not represent again until 1970. In the mid 1970s he coached and was Physical Education teacher at Glenwood Boys High School in Durban South Africa.
In 1969 Sullivan relocated to Sydney and joined the Gordon Rugby Club. [3] He spent some time in reserve grade in that first season in Sydney first grade but in 1970 he regained his state position in a match against Scotland and he represented for Sydney against those same visitors. [2]
In 1971 Sullivan appeared for New South Wales against the visiting British Lions and later that year when South Africa also toured, Sullivan was selected to meet them for Sydney, New South Wales and in three Test matches for Australia. He made the 1971 Australia rugby union tour of France and played in both Test matches, experiencing his first Wallaby victory in the first Test.
In 1972 he played in both home Test matches against the visiting French and he toured under captain Greg Davis on the 1972 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand and Fiji. He was injured and had to be replaced in the games against North Otago and in the first Test match. Howell writes that the seven loss & five win result of the tour was "a disaster and occasioned Davis' retirement". [4] An injury picked up in New Zealand prevented Davis from leading the side in the Test match in Fiji on the way home and Sullivan debuted as an Australian Test captain in the Wallabies' narrow 21–19 victory against Fiji. He had already captained the side in two mid-week games during the New Zealand leg. [4]
In 1973 Peter Sullivan retained the Test captaincy in the two Test series against Tonga and was at the helm in the 2nd Test boil-over when Tonga got up 16–11. Howell writes of this period as "the lowest ever point of Australian rugby". [4] He led the Wallabies on the 1973 Australia rugby union tour of Europe, and played in six of the nine matches including the Test loss against Wales. He was injured and did not take the field in the test against England, where the Wallabies were captained by John Hipwell.
All told Sullivan captained the Wallabies in four Tests through 1972–1973 and in nine tour matches. He played twenty-eight matches for Australia, thirteen of them Tests. Howell writes that he was "a vigorous, aggressive player who played to the maximum when wearing the green and gold". [4]
Keen to secure his family's financial future Sullivan signed a five-year contract with the St George Dragons at the end of the 1973 season. He managed only one first grade game before a serious knee injury ended his playing days. [5]
Playing for Australia
| National Team | Y | M | S | P | T | W | L | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fiji | 1972 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
 France | 1971–1972 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
 New Zealand | 1972 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
 South Africa | 1971 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
 Tonga | 1973 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 Wales | 1973 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
John Edward Thornett, MBE was an Australian rugby union player, who played 37 Tests for Australia between 1955 and 1967 and made an additional 77 representative match appearances. He captained Australia in 16 Test matches and on an additional 47 tour matches on the eight international rugby tours he made with Wallaby squads.
Kenneth William Catchpole was an Australian rugby union footballer. A state and national representative half-back, he played twenty-seven matches for Australia, thirteen as captain. Catchpole rose through the ranks at the Randwick club as a young man, before making his debut for New South Wales at only 19 years of age, then captaining Australia at age 21. He is considered one of Australia's greatest rugby scrumhalves.
Arthur James Summons was an Australian representative rugby union and rugby league player, a dual-code rugby international fly-half or five-eighth. He captained the Australian national rugby league team in five undefeated test matches from 1962 until 1964 and later also coached the side.
Christopher Hobart McKivat was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player – a dual-code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in over 20 Tests and tour matches from 1907 to 1909 and the Kangaroos in 5 Tests from 1910 to 1912. He is unique in Australian rugby history as the only man to captain both the national rugby union and rugby league teams. Following his playing career he became the most successful coach of North Sydney in the club's history.
Ronald James Lisle was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player and a dual code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in 4 tests in 1961 and the Australia national rugby league team in 13 matches on the 1963 Kangaroo tour.
Alexander Burdon was an Australian rugby union and pioneer professional rugby league footballer - a dual-code rugby international.
Charles "Boxer" Joseph Russell was a pioneer Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer and coach. He represented his country in both sports and was one Australia's early dual-code rugby internationals. He was a gold medallist at the 1908 Summer Olympics.
Robert Henderson Graves was a pioneer Australian rugby league and rugby union player and one of his country's first dual-code internationals. He was a versatile forward for the Australia national team. He played in 6 Tests between 1908 and 1909, as captain on 1 occasion. In 1907 he played for New South Wales in the very first rugby match run by the newly created 'New South Wales Rugby Football League' which had just split away from the established New South Wales Rugby Football Union.
John Patrick Ballesty is an Australian former national representative rugby union player who also played first-grade rugby league with the Eastern Suburbs club.
Alan Stewart Cameron was an Australian rugby union footballer of the 1950s and 60s. A State and national representative lock-forward he made twenty Test appearances and over fifty additional tour match appearances for the Wallabies, captaining the national side in four Tests matches.
Albert Bentley "Son" Burge was an Australian rugby union lock who played with the Souths rugby union club in Sydney and at the age of nineteen was selected for the Australian national team in two Tests against New Zealand in 1907.
Peter Harold Boyne Burge was an Australian rugby footballer and coach. He represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union. The eldest of the four Burge brothers, Peter was one of the first Australian dual-code rugby internationals.
Warden Selby Prentice was an Australian sportsman who captained Australia at rugby union and New South Wales at first-class cricket and also played first-grade rugby league for the Western Suburbs Magpies.
Anthony Alexander Shaw is an Australian former rugby union player. A Queensland state and national representative flanker, Shaw captained the national side consistently from 1978 to 1982.
Stan Wickham was a pioneer Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative centre who captained the Australian national side on a number of occasions in the early 1900s. He was tour captain for the inaugural Wallaby overseas tour, that to New Zealand in 1905.
Edward Joseph Fahey was an Australian rugby union player and World War I artilleryman. He was a state and national representative lock forward who made two international rugby tours and who captained the Wallabies on the 1913 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand.
Robert Alfred Lewars Davidson (1926–1992) was an Australian rugby union footballer of the 1940s and 50s. A State and national representative prop-forward he made thirteen Test appearances and forty-nine additional tour match appearances for the Wallabies, captaining the national side in six Tests matches from 1957-58.
Gregory Victor Davis was a New Zealand born, national representative rugby union player for Australia. He played at flanker and made seven international tours with Wallaby squads. He was the Australian national captain in 47 matches from 1969 to 1972 and led the Wallaby side on three overseas tours.
Geoffrey Arnold Shaw is an Australian former national representative rugby union player who played for and captained the Wallabies. He made state representative appearances for both New South Wales and Queensland over an eleven-year period from 1969.
Garrick Fay is an Australian businessman and former international rugby player. Garrick was a member of the Australian national team from 1971-79.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
