Arthur Kelly (rugby)
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Arthur Frederick Kelly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 December 1886 Scrum-half | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby league | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing, Stand-off, Halfback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arthur Frederick Kelly1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.
Early years
Kelly was an apprentice, working for the New Zealand Railways Department.[4]
Rugby Football
Kelly, from the
Wellington
's most promising young talents and was renowned for his tackling abilities.
However, when in
New Zealand Rugby Union charged him with professionalism, which would have resulted in a lifetime ban from rugby union
. The charge could not be proven but instead he was found guilty of playing under an assumed name and was banned for three years. This left him eager to accept opportunities to play rugby elsewhere.
Rugby League
As a result, Kelly joined the
tour of Great Britain and Australia, ironically receiving the lifetime ban from the New Zealand Rugby Union that he had narrowly avoided earlier. He was one of six players from the Petone Rugby Club selected.[5] He played in three test matches on the tour and scored the first try in the first ever rugby league test match against Wales, his only try of the tour.[6]
He returned to New Zealand with the touring party but signed with St. Helens in December and returned to Great Britain. He was St. Helens first ever overseas signing. He became a popular figure in St Helens and this led to the club signing another of the touring team, Hubert Turtill.
Kelly later became the captain and player-coach of the "A" Team and led them to win the Lancashire Shield in 1913–14.
On the
outbreak of War Kelly joined the Corps of Colonials in the British Army. Kelly survived the War and lived out his later years in Oldham
. He died in Oldham in 1965.
References
- ^ Rugby League Project
- ^ KELLY, Arthur Frederick 1907 - 08 - Kiwi #10 Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
- ^ Arthur Kelly Saints Heritage Society, Accessed 27 August 2009
- ^ ISBN 0-473-03864-1
- ^ Petone Rugby played big part in 'All Golds' Archived 21 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Petone Rugby Club, Accessed 14 August 2009
- ^ R League: The day Wales made history Wales on Sunday, 23 December 2007
External links
- Arthur Kelly Saints Heritage Society