Dave Solomon (31 May 1913 – 15 August 1997) was a Fijian-born

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 ...

player who represented New Zealand in both

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 ...

(as a five-eighth and fullback) and

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 11 ...

. His brother Frank Solomon was also an

All Black 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, ...

Early years

Solomon attended Mt Albert Grammar, and was in the 1st XV in 1931.Dave Solomon
''allblacks.com''

Rugby union career

Playing with the Ponsonby

club, Solomon moved south; playing for the Matamata sub-union 1932–43 and represented the

Waikato Rugby Union The Waikato Rugby Union (WRU) is the official governing body of rugby union in the Waikato area in the North Island of New Zealand. Headquartered in Hamilton, WRU was founded in 1921. Its senior representative team, nicknamed the ''Mooloos' ...

in 1934 before moving back home and playing for

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

1935–38, in every back position except wing. He made the 1935

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, ...

tour and travelled with the squad to Great Britain, playing in eight tour matches in 1934–35 and scored 3 points (a try) for New Zealand.

Rugby league career

In 1939 Solomon switched codes to play

. He was named in the 1939–40

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team ( Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

squad, however the tour was cut short by World War II.SOLOMON, DAVID 1939 – KIWI #283
''nzleague.co.nz''

Return to rugby union

After the war he returned to

, and coached the East Coast Bays and Northcote clubs on the North Shore.

Later years

Solomon became a Samoan Matai. He died in Auckland on 15 August 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Dave 1997 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players 1913 births New Zealand people of Fijian descent New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Auckland rugby league team players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand rugby union coaches Auckland rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union fly-halves Samoan chiefs People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School Dual-code rugby internationals People from Levuka Fijian people of Samoan descent Samoan people of Fijian descent Fijian emigrants to New Zealand