Desmond Henry White (born 1927) is a New Zealand former professional

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. A record-breaking goal-kicking , he was named amongst the country's finest players of the 20th century. His total for points scored in all matches (61) for the Kiwis is a record 467 (7 tries and 233 goals). He won championships with

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 ...

's Ponsonby club and his total of 794 points (391 goals and four tries) is the all-time club record.

Playing career

White played his first senior game with the Auckland Rugby League's Ponsonby club in 1947. White toured Britain with the New Zealand national team in 1951, playing in the first ever televised match of rugby league at Station Road, Swinton against Great Britain and kicking two goals. During the 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand, White was selected to play for both

and

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 ...

at . He later kicked a world record 11 goals (from 14 attempts) against Australia in 1952 when New Zealand won the Test series in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. On that tour he set another record by scoring 107 points to become the first Kiwi to top the century in Australia. White kicked 18 goals in the series, equalling the world record. In 1954, while playing for

against Great Britain, he ruptured his spleen when tackled illegally by

Doug Greenall Douglas Greenall (7 June 1927 – 23 December 2007) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1960s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, England, English Le ...

. White underwent surgery and was out of the game for two years, missing the first ever World Cup in 1954.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. , p.161. He scored 132 points in 21 tests, a Kiwi record until overtaken by

Matthew Ridge Matthew John Ridge (born 27 August 1968) is a New Zealand television presenter, and a former rugby union and rugby league footballer. A fullback in both codes, Ridge played rugby union for Auckland and became an All Black, but never won an in ...

. His total of 467 points in 61 matches in the black and white jersey may never be overtaken now that long tours are a thing of the past. White's record 202 points on the tour of Britain and France in 1951/52 will probably last forever.

Later years

Following his retirement, White became a coach and led

. He was appointed coach of the New Zealand national team in 1961, only spending one season in the position. Des White was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the Hall o ...

in 1990. In 1995 he was one of the inaugural inductees of the

NZRL The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

's Legends of League. He is also an Auckland Rugby League Immortal.Stacey Jones, Auckland Rugby League Immortal
''est1995.co.nz'', 21 September 2003 In 2007, White was named at fullback in the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

's team of the century of 1907 to 2007. White also became a successful grocer, owning the New World Papatoetoe supermarket for a number of years.

References

External links

Des White at nzhalloffame.co.nz

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Des 1927 births Living people Auckland rugby league team coaches Auckland rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team coaches New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Ponsonby Ponies players Rugby league fullbacks