William Roberts (rugby union)

Last updated

William Roberts
Birth nameWilliam Roberts
Date of birth(1871-10-28)28 October 1871
Place of birth Taitā, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Date of death25 August 1937(1937-08-25) (aged 65)
Place of death Wellington, New Zealand
SchoolMount Cook School (Wellington)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre Three-quarter, Second five-eighth
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1889–90 Melrose ()
1892–94, 96–97, 99–1903 Poneke ()
1895 Petone ()
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1889–90, 1892–97, 99–1903 Wellington 47 ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1896–97 New Zealand 0 (0)

William Roberts (28 October 1871 – 25 August 1937) [1] [2] was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks between 1896 and 1897. His positions of choice were centre three-quarter and second five-eighth. Roberts did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Contents

Early years

Roberts was born in the Lower Hutt suburb of Taitā. He was known by the nickname Cocky. [3] [4]

He was educated at Mount Cook School, Wellington. [3] [4]

Playing career

Roberts played for three clubs in total, during a career which spanned more than a decade.

He made his provincial debut for Wellington as a 17-year-old. [3] [4]

In 1896, Roberts played in the game for Wellington against the touring Queensland team. This game was won 49–7 and Roberts scored three tries. [3] [4]

Roberts was then selected for the national side, in what was named an "unofficial" test against the Queensland visitors. This game was won 9–0.

The next year, he played in the 1897 North against South Island match. [4] He played an outstanding game and it was shock that he was not chosen immediately to tour Australia. However, he was later called into the squad as an injury replacement. [3] [4]

He played the last six tour matches and this included scoring three tries in the second fixture against New South Wales. [3]

After the tour the team played the Auckland provincial side when they returned to New Zealand. The All Blacks lost 11–10. During the post-match gathering, Roberts and teammate Joe Calnan were suspended from playing any level of rugby for two seasons due to inappropriate behaviour. [3] [4]

He never appeared for the national side again but continued playing club and provincial rugby until 1903.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Gallaher</span> New Zealand rugby union footballer

David Gallaher was an Irish-born New Zealand rugby union footballer best remembered as the captain of the "Original All Blacks"—the 1905–06 New Zealand national team, the first representative New Zealand side to tour the British Isles. Under Gallaher's leadership the Originals won 34 out of 35 matches over the course of tour, including legs in France and North America; the New Zealanders scored 976 points and conceded only 59. Before returning home he co-wrote the classic rugby text The Complete Rugby Footballer with his vice-captain Billy Stead. Gallaher retired as a player after the 1905–06 tour and took up coaching and selecting; he was a selector for both Auckland and New Zealand for most of the following decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Warbrick</span> Māori New Zealand rugby union player (1862–1903)

Joseph Astbury Warbrick was a Māori rugby union player who represented New Zealand on their 1884 tour to Australia and later captained the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team that embarked on a 107-match tour of New Zealand, Australia, and the British Isles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1907–08 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain</span>

The 1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Australia and Great Britain was made by a group of New Zealand rugby footballers who played matches in Australia, Ceylon, England and Wales between 1907 and 1908. Most of the matches were played under the rules of the Northern Union, a sport that is today known as rugby league. As such, the team were the immediate predecessors of the New Zealand national rugby league team. The tour had a large role in establishing rugby league in both Australia and New Zealand, and also gave birth to international rugby league. The tour party has come to be known as the professional All Blacks or All Golds, although at the time they were commonly referred to as the All Blacks—a named popularised by the New Zealand rugby union team that toured the Northern Hemisphere in 1905.

John Clarence Spencer (1880–1936) was a New Zealand rugby football player who represented New Zealand in both rugby union and rugby league. His brother, George, also was a dual-international.

Donald Cameron Hamilton was a New Zealand rugby football player who represented the New Zealand national rugby union team, the All Blacks in 1908. He played rugby league for his province and he was also an accomplished cricketer.

William Balch was a New Zealand teacher who lived and taught in Christchurch and the surrounding Canterbury province. Balch played rugby union, including for the national team in 1894, his position of choice was wing three-quarter.

Hugh Maurice Good was a New Zealand rugby union player who was a member of the New Zealand national team in 1894. His position of choice was wing three-quarter. Good did not play any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

John Tila Swindley was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1894. His position of choice was forward.

Robert Alexander Handcock was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1897. His position of choice was forward. Handcock did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Alfred Ernest Cooke was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1894. His position of choice was halfback. Cooke did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Reuben "Ru" James Cooke was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1903. His position of choice was loose forward.

George Maber was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1894. His position of choice was forward. Maber did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Hugh Parsons Mills was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1897. His position of choice was forward. Mills did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Ernest Glennie was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks in 1897. His positions of choice were halfback, five-eighth and wing-forward.

John Alexander Blair was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1897. His position of choice was hooker. Blair did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Percival "Percy" Hubert Hickey was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1922. His position of choice was wing three-quarter.

William "Scobie" Edward Hay-MacKenzie was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1901. His position of choice was fullback. Hay-MacKenzie did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Peter McDonnell was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks in 1896. His position of choice was wing three-quarter. McDonnell did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Kiernan</span> Rugby player

Henry Kiernan, also known as Mickey was a rugby union player who played for New Zealand internationally, including in the side's first ever Test match in 1903. Playing at half-back he represented Wanganui from 1894 till 1899, when he moved to Auckland in 1900. There he continued playing provincial rugby for his new province until 1908.

Joseph John Calnan was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the New Zealand national side in 1897. His position of choice was loose forward. Calnan did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

References

  1. ↑ "the 1,109 New Zealand ALL BLACKS from 1884 – NATHAN to YOUNG :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy". www.familytreecircles.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "PECK of Taita – Family Tree". ngairedith.tribalpages.com. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Knight, Lindsay. "Cocky Roberts". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chester, Rod; McMillan, Neville; Palenski, Ron (1987). The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Rugby. Auckland, New Zealand: Moa Publications. p. 139. ISBN   0-908570-16-3.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.