James Sanders (1900–1981) was a New Zealand

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

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 ...

Playing career

Sanders started his career in third grade with Addington in 1915. He spent his entire career with Addington apart from a few games for Hornby when Addington had no senior team. He captained Addington to their first title in 1923. Sanders made his

debut in 1919 against

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 ...

. In 1921 Sanders toured Australia for New Zealand under coach

Jim Rukutai Puhipi James Rukutai (1877 – 11 January 1940) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) and coached New Zealand. The Auckland Rugby League's minor premiership, the Ruku ...

. He played for New Zealand in 1922 against

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and was part of the 1926-1927 New Zealand tour of Great Britain that was marred by a players strike. He first played for the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

in 1925 and in 1929 he captained them to their 23-13 victory over the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, the South Island's first.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. Sanders rejected an offer from Halifax for the 1926-1927 season.

Later years

Sanders coached Addington in 1931 and later coached Canterbury and the South Island. He also served as a South Island and New Zealand selector in the 1930s.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Jim New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Canterbury rugby league team players South Island rugby league team players Rugby league wingers Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Canterbury rugby league team coaches South Island rugby league team coaches 1900 births 1981 deaths New Zealand rugby league coaches Addington Magpies players Hornby Panthers players