Ernest Fraser "Ernie" Hills (3 March 1930 – 7 October 2020) was a

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 its m ...

, and latterly

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 ...

, player who represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Career

Hills, a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, was born in

Auckland, NZ 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 It ...

and claimed a total of 2 international rugby caps for Australia in 1950. He was a junior national sprint champion in New Zealand and represented

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

at state level. He was considered a shock selection for the national team, with the team captain and coach Trevor Allan not knowing him before he was selected in the team. In 1951 he returned to New Zealand and enlisted to serve in the Dominion Force in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Later in the 1950s he played rugby league in Australia for Western Suburbs.

References

1930 births 2020 deaths Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players New Zealand military personnel of the Korean War Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Auckland Rugby union wings Western Suburbs Magpies players {{Australia-rugbyunion-bio-stub