| Thomas Sonntag | |
| Fullname: | Thomas Ryan Sonntag |
| Birth Date: | 28 August 1858 |
| Birth Place: | Eumemmerring, Colony of Victoria |
| Death Place: | Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand |
| Club1: | Otago |
| Year1: | 1883/84 |
| Date: | 24 May |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Source: | http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/38530.html CricInfo |
Thomas Ryan Sonntag (28 August 1858 – 9 October 1938) was an Australian-born sportsman. He played rugby union and first-class cricket in New Zealand for Otago and competed at highland games in the province during the 1880s.[1]
Sonntag was born at Eumemmerring in what was then the Colony of Victoria in Australia in 1858 and came to New Zealand as a child. He attended school in the Kaikorai area of Dunedin in Otago and later worked in plant nurseries.[2] [3]
A rugby union forward, Sonntag was considered "well-known" throughout New Zealand.[4] He played club rugby in Dunedin for the Zingari, Kaikorai and Dunedin teams and played representative matches for the Otago Rugby Football Union. In 1888 he played for both Otago and a representative South Island team against the touring English team led by AE Stoddart―the first major tour of New Zealand by a European team.[5] [6]
As well as rugby, Sonntag played cricket in the Otago representative side. His only first-class match was against a touring Tasmanian side in February 1884. He scored two runs in the only innings in which he batted.[7] He also competed in the highland games held in Dunedin, winning trophies as a wrestler.[5]
Sonntag died at Dunedin in Otago in 1938 at the age of 80.[1] [5]