John Bond is a New Zealand former

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, and coach 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 ...

in the 1954 World Cup.

Playing career

A goalkicking prop, Bond played in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition. His career spanned 22 years starting in his debut in 1947 as a 15-year-old with Papanui. He also represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and 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 ...

during this period. Bond made his debut for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

in 1953, kicking a goal in his debut 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 ...

. Bond went on to play in twenty two matches for New Zealand, including seven test matches. Bond was part of the New Zealand squad at the inaugural World Cup in 1954. He later toured Britain and France in 1955-56 and Australia in 1956.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. Bond retired in 1958 but, after a three-year retirement, he returned with Marist in 1962. In 1965 he took over as the

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of Kaiapoi. He retired again in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bond, John Living people 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 props Papanui Tigers players Marist-Western Suburbs players New Zealand rugby league coaches Northern Bulldogs players Year of birth missing (living people)