Jonathan Parker Laidley White (born 27 February 1935) is an Australian former
national representative 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 it ...
player who made twenty-four
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film), ...
appearances for his country between 1958 and 1965. He is regarded as one of Australia's finest rugby football players of the 20th century.
Biography
White was born in Wollongong, but the family moved west to Cumnock and White commenced playing rugby union while boarding at
The King's School, Parramatta
, motto_translation = "Bravely and Faithfully"
, streetaddress = 87–129 Pennant Hills Road
, city = North Parramatta, Sydney
, state = New South Wales
, country = Australia
, coordinat ...
. After leaving school he played with
Yeoval club. White captained Central West against New Zealand and South African sides, and was selected for NSW Country.
[Jack Pollard; ''Australian Rugby Union – The Game and the Players''; Angus and Robertson; 1984]
He debuted as a Wallaby in 1958 against New Zealand, playing in the second row. For the rest of his Wallaby career he played loosehead prop, and played a significant role in the revival of Australian rugby which occurred in the 1960s.
Rugby historian
Jack Pollard
Jack Ernest Pollard OAM (31 July 1926 – 25 May 2002) was an Australian sports journalist, writer and cricket historian.
Early life
Born in Sydney on 31 July 1926, Pollard began his journalism career in 1943 as a copy boy at Sydney's ''Daily ...
judged him "one of the finest forwards Australia has produced, a 187.5 cm (6ft 3in), 100 kg (16st) grazier who between 1958 and 1965 did not turn in a bad game for Australia."
In the 1990s, White took up painting, and his works were among those in the "Five Wallabies Fine Art Exhibition" held in Sydney during the
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...
.
Accolades
In 2009 he was honoured in the fifth set of inductees into the
Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame.
He is a Life Member of the
NSW Country Rugby Union
The New South Wales Country Rugby Union, or NSWCRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within most of New South Wales in Australia.
The NSWCRU is affiliated with the New South Wales Rugby Union and administers game in the majori ...
.
''Jonathan White – Wallabies Profile''
/ref>
References
Further reading
* Howell, Max (2005) ''Born to Lead – Wallaby Test Captains'', Celebrity Books, Auckland NZ
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Jon
Australian rugby union players
Australia international rugby union players
1935 births
Living people
Rugby union props
Rugby union players from Wollongong
People educated at The King's School, Parramatta