Rex William Percy (26 January 1934 – 2 May 2015) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league for New Zealand in the 1957 World Cup.[2]
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rex William Percy[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 26 January 1934 Thames, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 May 2015 (aged 81) Golden Beach, Queensland, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83.5 kg (13 st 2 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Loose forward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career
editBorn in Thames, Percy originally played rugby union. He played for the Thames High School first XV and also represented the Thames Valley Rugby Football Union. His father, Bill Percy, had also been a Thames Valley representative.[3]
Percy played for the Ponsonby club in the Auckland Rugby League competition and was an Auckland representative. In 1955 he was first selected for the New Zealand national rugby league team, touring Great Britain and France.[4] He was again named for the Kiwis in 1957, being part of the World Cup squad that year.
In 1958 Percy was part of the first ever Grand Final in the Auckland Rugby League competition, which Ponsonby won 16–7. He also toured the South Island with Auckland and played for the Kiwis against Great Britain that year. 1959 was his last year in a Kiwis jersey and he toured Australia.
Percy played in nine test matches during his career and scored 19 test points for New Zealand. In total, Percy scored 31 tries in 39 games for the Kiwis between 1955 and 59. No forward has scored more tries in a black jersey and he also kicked goals.[3]
In 1961 Percy joined the Balmain Tigers in the New South Wales Rugby League competition. He played for the Tigers for three seasons and scored 25 points during this time. He then played for Parkes and Yass before retiring in 1966. His son, Matthew Percy, represented Australia in the America's Cup and at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[3]
He died at Golden Beach, Queensland on 2 May 2015.[5]
References
edit- ^ PERCY, Rex William - 1955 - 59 Archived 5 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ a b c RIP Kiwi #368 Rex Percy nzrl.co.nz
- ^ Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4.
- ^ "Rex Percy obituary". New Zealand Herald. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.