Louis Charles Petersen (19 April 1897 – 25 June 1961) was a dual-code

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

er who represented New Zealand in

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 ...

Early years

Petersen served with the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and it was here that he developed his football skills, playing for the "Trench team".

Rugby union career

Petersen began his career with the Marist Old Boys club in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and in 1919 was first selected to represent

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. ...

.Louis Petersen
''allblacks.com'' He made the South Island side in 1919, 1920 and 1921. In 1922 Petersen was called up to 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 ...

and he played in eight games for New Zealand, although he did not appear in any Test matches. In 1924 Marist Old Boys became locked in a dispute with the

Canterbury Rugby Union The Canterbury Rugby Football Union (also referred to as "Canterbury" or "CRFU") is the governing body for rugby union in a portion of the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Its colours are red and black in a hooped design. The CRFU govern the ...

and quit, instead fielding

and soccer teams. Petersen followed the club, taking up rugby league.

Rugby league career

Petersen made an immediate impact and was one of the six Marist Old Boys players who were selected to represent

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 ...

that season. In total, Petersen played in three Test matches for

in rugby league. He captained Cantebury in 1925 and 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 1926.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. Petersen was part of the 1926–1927 tour of Great Britain that was marred by strike and he was one of the seven players suspended for life by the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

on his return. The ban was lifted in 1962, one year after Petersen's death.

Death

Upon his death in 1961, the Press wrote a lengthy obituary detailing his skills as a rugby and rugby league player. It was mentioned that his nickname have been "Big Pete".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Lou 1897 births 1961 deaths Canterbury rugby league team players Canterbury rugby union players Dual-code rugby internationals New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand military personnel of World War I Rugby league players from Canterbury, New Zealand Rugby league second-rows Rugby union players from Canterbury, New Zealand South Island rugby league team players South Island rugby union players Sportspeople from Akaroa Rugby union forwards