Peter David Sullivan (born 1948) 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 its m ...

player. He represented for

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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 ...

, captaining the national side on eleven occasions from 1972 to 1973.

Early life & rugby

Sullivan was schooled at Chatswood Boys High School and played his early rugby at the

Forest Rugby Club The Forest Rugby Club was established in 1958, to serve the community, not only as a rugby club but also to assist in the development of the youth in The Forest area. The club has grown dramatically since its inception and now fields junior team ...

in Forestville. His senior rugby started in Wollongong and in his first season of first grade and scarcely eighteen he was selected for the Illawarra region and from there he was selected for

after just six senior games. Howell writes that following state selection at such a young age, he found himself a marked man at club level and "injuries followed, his form deteriorated and his confidence with it" Howell p190 He did not represent again until 1970. In the mid 1970s he coached and was Physical Education teacher at Glenwood Boys High School in Durban South Africa.

Representative career

In 1969 Sullivan relocated to Sydney and joined the Gordon Rugby Club. He spent some time in reserve grade in that first season in Sydney first grade but in 1970 he regained his

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position in a match against Scotland and he represented for Sydney against those same visitors. In 1971 Sullivan appeared for New South Wales against the visiting British Lions and later that year when

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

also toured, Sullivan was selected to meet them for Sydney, New South Wales and in three Test matches for

. He made the

1971 Australia rugby union tour of France The 1971 Australia rugby union tour of France was a series of eight matches played by the Australia national rugby union team (the "Wallabies") in France in November 1971. The Wallabies drew the series, winning the first test of the two again ...

and played in both Test matches, experiencing his first Wallaby victory in the first Test. In 1972 he played in both home Test matches against the visiting French and he toured under captain Greg Davis on the 1972 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand and Fiji. He was injured and had to be replaced in the games against North Otago and in the first Test match. Howell writes that the seven loss & five win result of the tour was "a disaster and occasioned Davis' retirement".Howell p192 An injury picked up in New Zealand prevented Davis from leading the side in the Test match in Fiji on the way home and Sullivan debuted as an Australian Test captain in the Wallabies' narrow 21–19 victory against Fiji. He had already captained the side in two mid-week games during the New Zealand leg. In 1973 Peter Sullivan retained the Test captaincy in the two Test series against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and was at the helm in the 2nd Test boil-over when Tonga got up 16–11. Howell writes of this period as "the lowest ever point of Australian rugby". He led the Wallabies on the 1973 Australia rugby union tour of Europe, and played in six of the nine matches including the Test loss against Wales. He was injured and did not take the field in the test against England, where the Wallabies were captained by John Hipwell. All told Sullivan captained the Wallabies in four Tests through 1972–1973 and in nine tour matches. He played twenty-eight matches for Australia, thirteen of them Tests. Howell writes that he was "a vigorous, aggressive player who played to the maximum when wearing the green and gold".

Rugby league career

Keen to secure his family's financial future Sullivan signed a five-year contract with the

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

at the end of the 1973 season. He managed only one first grade game before a serious knee injury ended his playing days.Whiticker & Hudson

Career summary

Test matches

Playing for Australia :Legend : Y : Year, M : Test Matches Played, S : Starts, P : Points, T : Tries, W : Won, L : Lost, D : Drawn

References

External links

Profile at Scrum.com

Published sources

* Howell, Max (2005) ''Born to Lead – Wallaby Test Captains'', Celebrity Books, Auckland NZ * Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Peter 1948 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Australian rugby union captains Australia international rugby union players Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Newcastle, New South Wales