Neville Leon Denton (22 July 1934 – 27 March 2015) 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 ...

in the

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

and

1960 World Cup The 1960 Rugby League World Cup was the third staging of the tournament and the first Rugby League World Cup to be held in Great Britain. The same format as used in 1957 was used, with a group stage leading to a final table. The 1960 World Cup ...

Playing career

Denton, an Auckland representative, played in 13 test matches 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 ...

between 1954 and 1963. During this time Denton attended the

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

and

s. However he did not play a match in the 1957 World Cup. Denton was also part of the Auckland teams that defeated

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

15–8 in 1960,

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 ...

13–8 in 1961 and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

46–13 in 1962.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009'', 2009; . Denton, along with

Ron Ackland Ronald Charles Ackland (27 December 1934 − 25 October 2013) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and Coach (sport), coached in the 1960s and 1970s, who represented New Zealand nation ...

and Gary Phillips, withdrew from the 1961 tour of Great Britain due to a dispute over allowances. He played for the "Northern Districts" team during the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

's "district era". The team was a combination of Northcote Tigers and North Shore Albions. He also played for Marist.

Coaching career

Denton coached Marist in 1965 and 1966 and also coached Mangere East. Denton later served as the selector-coach of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

between 1971 and 1973.

Later years

Denton died on 27 March 2015, aged 80, at his Paparimu, Auckland residence.RIP Neville Denton
, nzrl.co.nz, 30 March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denton, Neville 1934 births 2015 deaths Place of birth missing New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Auckland rugby league team players Rugby league wingers New Zealand rugby league coaches Marist Saints coaches Auckland rugby league team coaches Mangere East Hawks coaches