Larry George "Peter" Yaxley (12 July 1928 – 3 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 and referee. He played at stand off.

Playing career

Yaxley played for Sydenham in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition. He was part of the side that won four consecutive titles between 1953 and 1956 and two

Thacker Shield The Thacker Shield is a rugby league football trophy awarded on an annual basis to the winner of a match between the champion clubs of the Canterbury Rugby League and West Coast Rugby League. History The shield was donated by Dr Henry Thacker in 1 ...

s in 1955 and 1956. Yaxley also represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, including in an 18-all draw with

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 ...

in 1955.

Referee career

After retirement, Yaxley refereed in the

competition, including in the first nine grand finals between 1967 and 1975. Yaxley refereed the second test match between 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 ...

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 ...

in 1974. He also controlled tour matches involving

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Later years

Yaxley served as Sydenham's club president and was made a life member. He served on the

's board of control and served on the New Zealand Rugby League's Schoolboy Council for 12 years as the Otago delegate. He became a life member of the Canterbury Rugby Football League in 1981. Yaxley died at Christchurch on 3 March 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaxley, Peter New Zealand rugby league players Canterbury rugby league team players Sydenham Swans players New Zealand rugby league referees Rugby league five-eighths 2015 deaths 1928 births New Zealand rugby league administrators