William Ngataiawhio Gray (23 December 1932 – 10 January 1993) was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player. A

second five-eighth Second five-eighths, or sometimes second five-eighth, is a name used in New Zealand to refer the rugby union position commonly known elsewhere as the inside centre or number 12. It traditionally described a playmaking type of 12 with good passin ...

, Gray represented at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, from 1955 to 1957. He played 11 matches for the All Blacks including six internationals. Affiliating to

Te Arawa Te Arawa is a confederation of Māori iwi and hapu (tribes and sub-tribes) of New Zealand who trace their ancestry to the Arawa migration canoe (''waka'').Tapuika Tapuika is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. See also *List of Māori iwi This is a list of iwi (New Zealand Māori tribes). List of iwi This list includes groups recognised as iwi (tribes) in certain contexts. Many are also hapū (sub-tribes) o ...

, Gray was a New Zealand Maori representative and captain. In 1956, he was awarded the

Tom French Cup In rugby union, the Tom French Cup is an honour awarded by New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to the Tom French Memorial Māori player of the year. The cup has been awarded annually since 1949, when it was donated to the New Zealand Māori coach To ...

for Māori rugby union player of the year. An accomplished tennis player, Gray won the New Zealand Māori tennis championship in 1950.

References

1932 births 1993 deaths People from Te Puke People educated at Te Puke High School New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Bay of Plenty rugby union players Māori All Blacks players Rugby union centres New Zealand male tennis players Te Arawa people Tapuika people Rugby union players from the Bay of Plenty Region {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-stub