Charles Percy Erceg (28 November 1928 – 26 May 2019) was a New Zealand
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 ...
player. A
wing three-quarter, Erceg represented
North Auckland
The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā ...
and at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, 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 ...
, from 1951 to 1952. He played nine matches for the All Blacks including four internationals.
Affiliating to
Ngāti Kurī
Ngāti Kurī is a Māori iwi from Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of the five Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Ngāti Kurī trace their whakapapa (ancestry) back to Pōhurihanga, the captain of the waka (canoe) Kurahau ...
,
Erceg represented
New Zealand Māori from 1950 to 1952, and in 1951 he was awarded the
Tom French Cup
In rugby union, the Tom French Cup is an honour awarded by New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to the Tom French Memorial Māori player of the year. The cup has been awarded annually since 1949, when it was donated to the New Zealand Māori coach To ...
as the Māori player of the year.
He later served as a national Māori selector from 1972 to 1983, was the manager of the New Zealand Māori side that toured Australia and the Pacific Islands in 1979 and coach of the
1982 team that toured Wales.
Erceg died in
Kaitaia
Kaitaia ( mi, Kaitāia) is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1. Ahipara ...
on 26 May 2019.
References
1928 births
2019 deaths
Ngāti Kurī people
People from the Northland Region
People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland
New Zealand rugby union players
New Zealand international rugby union players
Northland rugby union players
Auckland rugby union players
Māori All Blacks players
Rugby union wings
New Zealand rugby union coaches
New Zealand sports executives and administrators
New Zealand people of Croatian descent
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