Conrad "Con" Augustus Byrne was a New Zealand

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

er who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.

Early years

Originally from

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, Byrne was a farmer by trade.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996. He moved to Wellington in 1906 and joined the Petone club where he impressed in the club competition almost immediately. Byrne was subsequently selected for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and made his debut against Canterbury on August 18 where he scored a try and was part of the side that won the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

. He played on 4 matches that season against Canterbury, Southland, Wanganui, and Auckland. Wellington rugby team in 1906

Rugby league career

Byrne was selected for the professional All Blacks in their 1907–1908 tour of Great Britain and Australia. Like all players on the tour he immediately received a life ban from the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to t ...

. On the tour's return leg Byrne played in the first ever trans-Tasman test which was the début match of the

Australia national rugby league team The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of Rugby league in Australia, the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Admin ...

. In the second test against Australia Byrne captained the side to a 24–12 victory that clinched the series. Byrne played in three test matches while on the tour. New Zealand Rugby League Team of 1907-08 to Tour England

New Zealand Rugby League Team of 1907-08 to Tour England

In 1908 and 1909 Byrne played for

, including in matches against

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

. In 1909 Byrne again toured Australia with the New Zealand side, captaining the side in all three test matches. In 1910 Byrne joined the North Sydney club in the

NSWRL Premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

and later moved to

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

for two seasons, as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

(prior to the specialist positions of; ), during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

s.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' During the

1910–11 Northern Rugby Football Union season The 1910–11 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the 16th season of rugby league football. Season summary Oldham won their third Championship, and second in a row, after defeating Wigan 20-7 in the Play Off Final. Wigan had ended the reg ...

Byrne played as a

, i.e. number 11, in

's 8–2 loss against

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

in the

1910 Yorkshire Cup Year 191 ( CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 ''Ab urbe condit ...

Final at

Headingley Stadium Headingley Stadium is a stadium complex in Headingley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, comprising two separate grounds; Headingley Cricket Ground and Headingley Rugby Stadium, linked by a two-sided stand housing common facilities. The grounds a ...

on Saturday 3 December 1910.Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books. By 1913 Byrne had returned to New Zealand and was selected to be part of the tour of Australia, playing in his seventh and final test match. He contracted a bad cold on the tour which limited his playing time to just the 1 match. He had played 1 match for the Takaka club on May 10 against Nelson before his selection for the tour and then 1 match for Petone on May 24 against Athletic prior to the departure of the New Zealand team. Following the tour it appears that he stopped playing, aged 29.

Legacy

Byrne was named in the in the

Petone Panthers Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in Pe ...

' Team of the Century in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, Conrad Huddersfield Giants players New Zealand farmers New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players North Sydney Bears players Petone Panthers players Wellington rugby league team players Wellington rugby union players Rugby league forwards 1884 births Place of birth missing 1931 deaths