Peter Provan (13 August 1936 – 13 May 2010) was an Australian professional

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 who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played for St. George Dragons, Balmain Tigers and

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 ...

Career

He primarily played at . Provan and his older brother, Norm Provan, are the only pair of brothers to lead grand-final winning teams on victory laps of the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

; Peter Provan with Balmain and Norm Provan with St. George. Provan began his first-grade career at

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

in 1956 and was a member of two grand-final winning sides in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

and

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

. Provan signed with Balmain in 1960 where he appeared in three grand finals during his nine-seasons with the club. He captained the team to one grand-final win, in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, against South Sydney and retired at the end of the season. Selected for one Test, Provan played against

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 Sydney in 1963. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No.380. As part of the Australian Centenary of Rugby League celebrations in April 2008, Peter Provan and

John Sattler John William Sattler (born 28 July 1942) is a former professional and national representative rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a rugged Prop forward who captained his club, South Sydney to four premiership vi ...

, captains of the 1969 grand final teams, carried the ball onto the

before the Wests Tigers and South Sydney match as the last leg of a ball-relay from Birchgrove Oval to the SCG.

Death

After a long illness, Provan died in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

on 13 May 2010.Sydney Morning Herald - Death notice: 15 May 2010 At the time of his death Balmain Tigers Chairman David Trodden released the following statement: "The Tigers have lost one of the most famous and most respected figures in the history of our club. He led us to perhaps our greatest Grand Final win ever. For that reason alone, he will always have a very special place in our memory".

References

Footnotes

External links

Tigers honour Balmain great Provan (14 May 2010: AAP)
1936 births 2010 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Balmain Tigers captains Balmain Tigers players Clive Churchill Medal winners Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Sydney St. George Dragons players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1930s-stub