Eric William Lewis (20 September 1909 – 17 April 1959) was an Australian

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1930s. A New South Wales interstate and Australian international representative forward, he played club football in the NSWRFL for South Sydney, winning the 1932 Premiership with them, and later coaching them.

Playing career

Lewis started playing for

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

's Christian Brothers club before spending a season playing in

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Rid ...

in 1931. He then returned to Sydney, and joined

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian 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 pla ...

, where he would remain for six seasons. At the end of the

1932 NSWRFL season The 1932 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twenty-fifth season of Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, Australia’s first. During the season, which lasted from April until September, eight teams from across the c ...

, Lewis' first in the top grade, he played in the premiership Final for Souths, scoring a try in their 19–12 victory over Western Suburbs. Lewis played for Souths in the

1935 NSWRFL season The 1935 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twenty-eighth season of Sydney’s top-grade rugby league club competition, Australia’s first. The season culminated in Eastern Suburbs’ victory over South Sydney in the final. ...

's premiership final loss to

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

. After that he toured New Zealand with the Australian national team, becoming Kangaroo No. 200.

International

Lewis was a member of the 1937–38 Kangaroo touring side to England and France. The French leg of this tour helped establish

rugby league in France Rugby league has been played in France since 1934. As with rugby union, rugby league was introduced by the English and the heartland of the game is in the south of France. During the Second World War, in association with the French Rugby Federatio ...

Post-playing

After returning from war duties in early 1945, Eric Lewis stepped in to coach Souths for the

1945 NSWRFL season The 1945 NSWRFL season was the thirty-eighth New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership season, Sydney’s top-level rugby league club competition, and Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season which ...

at a time when many players and coaches were absent because of the war. The

line up was so disrupted, that no constant club captain was named during the season. Often, the captain was named on game day depending on who was available to play. The club only won one game during 1945. In

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Lewis spotted

Jack Rayner Rupert John Raynor (11 April 1921 – 17 May 2008) was an Australian state and national representative rugby league player and NSWRFL coach. His club playing career was with the South Sydney Rabbitohs from 1946 to 1957 and he also represented ...

playing inter-regiment rugby league on a muddy field at

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

and invited him to trial with South Sydney when he got home. Rayner went on to captain and coach Souths, becoming an important figure in the club's history. Lewis was long time resident of the Baine family's Dolphin Hotel in

Surry Hills, New South Wales Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surround ...

and lived there until his death which was widely mourned by South Sydney fans. He was buried at Botany Cemetery on 20 April 1959.Sydney Morning Herald: Death & Funeral Notice 20 April 1959

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Eric 1909 births 1959 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Australian rugby league coaches Burials at Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park City New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs coaches South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sportsmen from New South Wales South Sydney Rabbitohs captains