Henry Bircher "Bert" LaingLAING, Henry Bircher (Bert) 1919, 1921, 1925 - Kiwi #113
''nzleague.co.nz'' (1893-1963) was a New Zealand

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

player who represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

. His brother,

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

, was also a New Zealand international.

Playing career

Laing, a standoff from

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, represented

between 1919 and 1925 and was the team's captain in 1925. However he never played in a Test match for New Zealand, due to the team usually playing

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

during this period. The 1919 New Zealand rugby league team to tour Australia

In 1921 he was the only New Zealander selected to represent

during the

1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the third ever Kangaroo tour. Again an Australasian side rather than an Australian team alone (although the 28-man squad featured only one New Zealander) travelled to Great Britain to contest the ...

. He scored one try and played in ten matches on tour but was not selected for any of the three Test matches. Laing played for the

City Rovers The City Newton Dragons are a defunct New Zealand rugby league club that was based at Victoria Park, Auckland. The club was created in 1948 by a merger of two original clubs, the City Rovers and Newton Rangers. Both the Rovers and the Rangers par ...

from 1919 to 1922 but transferred to Devonport United during the 1922 season. During the 1920s he played some matches with his younger brother Julius for Devonport. He retired at the end of the 1926 season but came out of retirement to play 2 matches for Devonport in 1927 and then four more matches in 1930. Another of his brothers, Albert Laing debuted for Devonport in late 1931 and also went on to play for New Zealand.

Coaching career

Bert coached the

North Shore Albions The North Shore Albions were a rugby league club based on the North Shore of Auckland in Devonport, New Zealand, Devonport before moving to Bayswater at a later time. They formed in 1909 and folded in the early 2000s due to a lack of playing nu ...

from 1934 to 1936, and the

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

seniors in 1938.

Death

Bert Laing died on April 25, 1963. He was cremated at Purewa Cemetery and his ashes were returned to his family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Bert 1893 births 1963 deaths Auckland rugby league team players Australasia rugby league team players Australia national rugby league team players City Rovers players New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players North Island rugby league team players North Shore Albions coaches North Shore Albions players Rugby league five-eighths