Vay Wilson
| Full name | Vayro W. Wilson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 18 January 1912 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Gympie High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Queensland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position(s) | Prop | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Senior career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1934–1939 | University of Queensland Rugby Club | () | |
| Provincial / State sides | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1935–1939 | Queensland | () | |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1937–1938 | Australia | 5 | () |
Vayro Wilson DSC (18 January 1912 – 1962) was an Australian World War II naval combatant and a state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in three Test matches immediately prior to World War II. He was selected to captain the ill-fated 1939–40 Australia rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland which was cancelled because of the outbreak of World War Two.
Wilson was a Queenslander whose club rugby was played at the University of Queensland Rugby Club. He came to the attention of selectors when he made the Australian Universities team in 1934 and he was in the 1938 University side which won the 1938 Brisbane grade premiership. From 1935 to 1939 he was an automatic choice in the front-row for the Queensland state team. In his debut year for Queensland he played against the New Zealand Māori but it wouldn't be until 1937 that he would play for his country.
He debuted internationally against the Springboks in the 1st test of 1937 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia lost 5–9 in a hard-fought tussle. He was the only Queenslander to retain his spot for the 2nd Test with the Wallabies again losing, this time 17–26. Wilson was knocked out in a brutal start to the match but he regained his consciousness and composure and returned to the match. Howell quotes Ian Diehm in Red ! Red ! Red ! asserting that Wilson 's "dignified bearing in this match led the selectors to name him captain of the Australian team the following season against the All Blacks".
Only six Queenslanders had preceded Wilson to the Australian team captaincy when he assumed it against the All Blacks in July 1938 in the 1st Test of their tour of Australia. He led Queensland against them the following week and retained his national captaincy for the 2nd and 3rd tests. Australia lost all three games, although the margins were tight in games two and three at 6 and 8 points respectively.
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