John Edward Berne (born 14 March 1954) is 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

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 in rugby union. Berne, a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

, claimed one international rugby cap for Australia. In

, Berne represented

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 ...

from 1976 to 1979,

Eastern Suburbs Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen New S ...

in 1980 and 1985, and

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

from 1981 to 1983 also primarily as a .

Biography

Berne was born on 14 March 1954 in Anderstown,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, County Antrim,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

to Gerald and Mary Berne. He has four brothers. In 1961, his family relocated to Australia. Berne attended school at

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...

Pagewood Pagewood is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 8 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. It is part of the Bayside Council. Pagewood has a mixture of residential and industrial areas. H ...

, where he was introduced to the Rugby League. Throughout middle school, he represented both the Marist midweek and South Sydney in the Under 15 Years S G Ball Competition. He then went on to play for MBP as a senior in school. In 1972, when he was 18-years old, he presented himself to the Randwick Club, but was advised to spend a year with the Colts due to his lack of experience. Instead, he went back to join the South Sydney Jersey Flegg Team. He also played some Third Grade matches for the Souths as an amateur rugby player.

Personal life

In 1978, Berne married Anne Hickman. Anne is the grand-niece of the legendary Rugby League Test centre Dave Brown. The couple have two sons, and one daughter. Both sons have played First Grade with Randwick.

References

1954 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Rugby league players from County Antrim Rugby union players from County Antrim South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sydney Roosters players Rugby union centres {{Australia-rugbyunion-bio-stub