Hugh Parsons Mills (6 June 1873 – 26 March 1905) was a New Zealand

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 ...

player who represented the

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 ...

in 1897. His position of choice was

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 ...

. Mills did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Career

Although born in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

, Mills played club rugby for the Tukapa club in

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 ...

. He established himself as an all-round forward, although his preferred position was wing-forward (modern day flanker). He played 12 games for the Taranaki union between 1896 and 1899. After playing in the inaugural North against South Island match, Mills was selected for the national side on their 11-match tour of Australia in 1897. Mills played in eight matches on the tour, scoring four tries, which totalled 12 points.

Personal

Mills was a farmer, and his wife's name was Charlotte. He died in 1905 after an illness at the age of 31, and was buried at

Tataraimaka Tataraimaka ( Maori pronunciation, "Ta-ta-rai-ma-ka") is a rural coastal area in Taranaki, New Zealand. It is predominantly a dairy farming area, approximately south-west of New Plymouth. Tataraimaka is located south of Oakura and north of Ōka ...

Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mills, Hugh 1873 births 1905 deaths New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby union wing-forwards Rugby union players from Timaru