Peter Ward (rugby union) explained

Peter Ward
Birth Name:Peter M. Ward[1]
Birth Date:5 November 1876
Birth Place:Invercargill, New Zealand
Position:Fly-half
Repyears1:1899
Repteam1:Australia
Amatteam1:Britannia
Amatteam2:Marrackville (Sydney)
Amatteam3:Grafton
Amatteam4:Napier City
Amatteam5:Waimate
Amatteam6:Awarua
Province6:Wanganui
Provinceyears1:1897 - 98, 1903
Provinceyears2:1899
Provinceyears3:1904
Provinceyears4:1905
Provinceyears5:1906
Provinceyears6:1908
Amatyears1:1897 - 98, 1903
Amatyears2:1899
Amatyears3:1904
Amatyears4:1905
Amatyears5:1906
Amatyears6:1908
Provinceapps2:2
Provinceapps3:1
Provinceapps4:1
Provinceapps6:1
Repcaps1:4
Reppoints1:0

Peter M. Ward (5 November 1876  - 9 February 1943) was a New Zealand-born rugby union player who represented Australia.

A fly-half, he was born in Invercargill.

Ward was described as "astute and a skillful inside back".

A member of the Britannia club Ward initially played for the Southland province between 1897 and 1898. He then moved to Sydney, Australia in 1899 and joined the Marrackville club. He was selected for New South Wales to play in their two matches against the touring Great Britain side.[2] After this he claimed a total of four international rugby caps for the Australia. His Test debut was against Great Britain, at Sydney, on 24 June 1899, the inaugural rugby Test match played by an Australian national representative side.

Due to funding constraints he was one of only six New South Wales players (Charlie Ellis, Hyram Marks, Lonnie Spragg, Bob McCowan, and Robert Challoner were the others) selected to make the trip to Brisbane four weeks later for the second Test.[3] His performance in that match was noted as "excellent" by the press.[4]

Ward had moved back to New Zealand by 1903, linking back with Britannia and Southland for one final year. He moved up to Auckland and joined the Grafton club for the 1904 season. He further played for the provinces of Hawke's Bay in 1905, Taranaki in 1906 and Wanganui in 1908 playing for the Napier City, Waimate and Awarua clubs respectively.

Further reading

. Max Howell (educator). Born to Lead - Wallaby Test Captains. Celebrity Books (2005). 2005. 1877252182.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Scrum.com player profile of Peter Ward. Scrum.com. 12 July 2010.
  2. Book: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Rugby. Chester. Rod. McMillan. Neville. Ron. Palenski. Moa Publications. 1987. 0-908570-16-3. Auckland, New Zealand. 200.
  3. Howell, p. 19
  4. News: INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL.. 8 August 2010. Queanbeyan Age. 26 July 1899. 2.