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William Hardcastle (rugby)

Bill Hardcastle
Birth name William Robert Hardcastle
Date of birth (1874-08-30)30 August 1874
Place of birth Wellington, New Zealand
Date of death 11 July 1944(1944-07-11) (aged 69)
Place of death Randwick
School Petone High
Rugby league career
Position(s) Second rower
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1908
1909–10
Ipswich
Glebe Dirty Reds

13

(18)
State of Origin
Years Team Apps (Points)
1908 Queensland 2 (0)
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1910–14 Australia 7 (3)
Rugby union career
Position(s) flanker
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1895–97
1897–98
1899–1908
Petone
Melrose
Glebe RUFC
()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1895–97
1897
1899
Wellington
North Island
New South Wales
()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1897
1899–1903
New Zealand
Australia
0
2
(0)
(0)
Position(s) Second rower
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1908
1909–10
Ipswich
Glebe Dirty Reds

13

(18)
State of Origin
Years Team Apps (Points)
1908 Queensland 2 (0)
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1910–14 Australia 7 (3)
Position(s) flanker
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1895–97
1897–98
1899–1908
Petone
Melrose
Glebe RUFC
()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1895–97
1897
1899
Wellington
North Island
New South Wales
()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1897
1899–1903
New Zealand
Australia
0
2
(0)
(0)

William Robert "Bill" Hardcastle (30 August 1874 – 11 July 1944) born in Wellington, New Zealand was a pioneer New Zealand and Australian rugby union player and an Australian rugby league player. He represented both countries in union and Australia in league. He was one of the first dual-code rugby internationals.

Hardcastle commenced his club rugby in New Zealand with Petone and represented for Wellington from 1895 to 1897. He joined the Melrose club in 1897 and was selected in a North Island representative side from where he was selected for the All Blacks 1897 tour of Australia he played in seven tour matches but no Tests. He journeyed to Sydney in 1899 on hearing that the visiting British and Irish Lions would be not be travelling any further than Sydney. Australian rugby in those days had no residential rules and once they took the field with a Sydney club, players qualified as Australians for possible national selection.

He played for the Glebe rugby union club in Sydney from where he was chosen to play as flanker for the Australian representative team in the fourth test of 1899 against the first British side to tour Australia, at Sydney, on 12 August. He also played for Australia in 1903 in Sydney against New Zealand in the first official rugby union international between the countries.

He became an early convert to the fledgling league code and played for the Ipswich club in Queensland. He was selected in the 2nd Test of 1908 against New Zealand. Five former Wallabies had debuted for the Kangaroos in the inaugural Test three weeks earlier, Hardcastle's league Test debut that day with George Watson made them the 6th and 7th Australian dual code internationals. He also played in the 3rd Test a week later.


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