Billy Stead
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| Full name | John William Stead | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 18 September 1877 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Invercargill, Southland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 21 July 1958 (aged 80) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Bluff, Southland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Southland Boys' High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Norman Stead | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Bootmaker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position(s) | First five-eighths | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand No. | 105 | ||
| Amateur team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1896–1908 | Star Rugby Club | () | |
| Provincial / State sides | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1896–1908 | Southland | 52 | () |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1903–08 1910 |
New Zealand Māori All Blacks |
42 13 |
(36) |
| Teams coached | |||
| Years | Team | ||
| 1921 1921 |
New Zealand Māori All Blacks |
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Billy Stead, born John William Stead, (18 September 1877 – 21 July 1958) was a rugby union player born in Invercargill who played for New Zealand, the All Blacks, on their 1905–06 tour. Stead also played provincially for Southland, and later coached various teams, including Southland and the New Zealand Māori. A bootmaker by trade, he also co-authored The Complete Rugby Footballer with Dave Gallaher, and was a columnist for the Southland Times, and New Zealand Truth.
Billy Stead was born in Invercargill on 18 September 1877, and one of his earliest exposures to rugby was watching Joe Warbrick with his New Zealand Native football team play against Southland. Neither Stead's primary nor secondary school (Southland Boys' High School) did much to encourage students to play rugby, but he did manage to get a place in the school team after debuting as a late injury replacement. He left school aged 16 to enter his trade as a bootmaker, and along with some friends tried to join the local Pirates' Rugby Club, but the club could not accommodate the interest of all those that wanted to join, and so Stead was told to instead join Star Rugby Club. After joining the club he played for their second and third teams for a couple of years before earning promotion to their senior side in 1896. He played at First five-eighths for the side, and in his first season earned selected for his province.
Stead first played representative rugby for Southland in 1896. He was only 18 at the time, and continued to play for the province until 1908; eventually raking up 52 matches for the side. After representing the South Island in 1903, he was selected for the All Blacks that year. Although he did tour with the team to Australia, he did not play in a Test match until the following year. In his first Test against Great Britain in 1904, Stead captained the side. He was again selected for the All Blacks the following year for their northern hemisphere tour. Although he did not participate in the preliminary tour of Australia due to work commitments, Stead did play against Canterbury and then Wellington for the All Blacks.
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