Paul Francis "Pope" Pyers (13 March 1935 – 12 June 2016) was an Australian rugby league player in both the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition and in Queensland.[2] A versatile performer, he played in every position from fullback to lock forward.[3]
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Paul Francis Pyers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 13 March 1935 South Grafton, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 12 June 2016 (aged 81) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Fullback, Centre, Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pyers was born in South Grafton, New South Wales, and played for the South Grafton rugby league team 1950–53.[4] In 1954, he played with Sydney's Eastern Suburbs side. He is recognized as that club's 421st player. The following year Pyers moved to Queensland where he represented the Queensland state team 11 times 1957–59 in matches against NSW, New Zealand, and Great Britain.
In 1959, while playing in Mackay, Queensland, he represented Queensland in all four of its games against New South Wales; Queensland, winning the series 3–1. He played on the wing in three of that year's interstate games and at centre in the fourth.[5] Pyers top scored for Queensland in the series with 20 points from two tries and seven goals.[6] He also played on the wing for Australia Possibles vs. Australia Probables in 1959.[7] Former Australian rugby league vice captain and long time rugby league writer Jack Reardon rated Pyers a glaring omission from the Australian team that toured Britain and France in 1959–60.[8][9]
In 1960, Pyers returned to the NSWRL, where he played 2 seasons for the Parramatta club.
References edit
- ^ "Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project.
- ^ https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/paul-pyers/summary.html
- ^ See video interview with Pyers at https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2013/05/27/1959-qld-paul-pyers/
- ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/grafton/sport/the-pope-a-man-of-mischief/news-story/3c7e3681e89fd883088cff538e32ceed
- ^ https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/interstate-series-1959/results.html
- ^ https://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/competitions/interstate-series-1959/summary.html
- ^ https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-615874025/view?sectionId=nla.obj-630445085&searchTerm=Australia%2C+rugby+league%2C+possibles%2C+probables&partId=nla.obj-615882061#page/n10/mode/1up/search/Australia%2C+rugby+league%2C+possibles%2C+probables
- ^ https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/grafton/sport/the-pope-a-man-of-mischief/news-story/3c7e3681e89fd883088cff538e32ceed
- ^ http://www.fugs-uni.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1959-Qld-Team-Flyer.pdf
External links edit
- Whiticker, Alan; Hudson, Glen (2007). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Wetherill Park, New South Wales: Gary Allen Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-1-877082-93-1.
- Paul Pyers' obituary
- Paul Pyers on the Nasho Nominal Roll
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