Peter M. Ward (5 November 1876 – 9 February 1943) was a New Zealand-born

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 who represented

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 ...

. A

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

, he was born in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

. Ward was described as "astute and a skillful inside back". A member of the Britannia club Ward initially played for the

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

province between 1897 and 1898. He then moved to

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 ...

, Australia in 1899 and joined the Marrackville club. He was selected for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to play in their two matches against the touring Great Britain side. After this he claimed a total of four international rugby caps for the Australia. His Test debut was against Great Britain, at Sydney, on 24 June 1899, the inaugural rugby Test match played by an Australian national representative side. Due to funding constraints he was one of only six

players (

Charlie Ellis Charles L. Seymour Ellis (18 January 1875 – 31 December 1943) was a rugby union player who represented Australia. Ellis, a lock and flanker, was born in Newcastle, New South Wales and claimed a total of four international rugby caps for ...

Hyram Marks Hyram A. Marks (8 June 1872 – 17 August 1957) was a rugby union player who represented Australia. Marks, a lock, was born in Sydney, NSW and attended Sydney Grammar School and Sydney University. He claimed two international rugby caps for Aust ...

Lonnie Spragg Alonzo Stephen "Lonnie" Spragg (2 October 1879 – 12 February 1904) was a rugby union player who represented Australia. Spragg, a centre, was born in Redfern, New South Wales and claimed four international rugby caps for Australia. He did not st ...

Bob McCowan Robert Herman "Bob" McCowan (28 February 1875 – 29 April 1941) was a pioneer Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative fullback who played in his country's first Test series of 1899, captaining the national side on on ...

, and

Robert Challoner Robert Louis Challoner (3 October 1872 – 6 May 1955) was a rugby union player who represented for Australia. Challoner, a number 8, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and claimed a total of 1 international rugby caps for Australia. His debu ...

were the others) selected to make the trip to Brisbane four weeks later for the second Test.Howell, p. 19 His performance in that match was noted as "excellent" by the press. Ward had moved back to New Zealand by 1903, linking back with Britannia and Southland for one final year. He moved up to Auckland and joined the Grafton club for the 1904 season. He further played for the provinces of

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

in 1905,

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

in 1906 and

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

in 1908 playing for the Napier City, Waimate and Awarua clubs respectively. 1899 Australian Team

References

Further reading