Phillip Charles Orchard (28 July 1948 – 29 July 2018) 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 11 ...

footballer who represented

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 the

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

and 1975 World Cups. He was later named in the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

's Team of the Century. His brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

was also a New Zealand representative.

Playing career

Orchard played with the

Ngongotaha Chiefs The Ngongotaha Chiefs are a New Zealand rugby league club. They are from Ngongotahā in the Bay of Plenty. In 2000 and 2001 they competed in the Bartercard Cup but now they compete in the Bay of Plenty Rugby League competition. Notable players ...

in the

Bay of Plenty Rugby League Bay of Plenty Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Following the restructuring of the New Zealand Rugby League they are part of the Upper Central Zone ...

alongside his three brothers,

, Eddie and John. He was a

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

representative. Orchard first made 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 ...

in 1969 and remained a New Zealand representative until 1975, he played in 21 test matches for

including at two World Cup. His try in the 1971 tour of Great Britain secured New Zealand's first series win on British soil since the

1907-08 All Golds Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

. In 1972 Orchard moved to Wellington, joining the St. George club. He scored 29 tries and 30 goals for a total of 141 points in his first season for the club. In 1975 Orchard scored a Wellington club record of 43 tries. Orchard also represented the district in inter-provincial league, playing in 17 matches. He played for the New Zealand Māori side in 1972.

Legacy

As of 2010, Orchard's 15 tries for the Kiwis puts him at sixth equal on the try-scoring charts. He was named one of

's "Legends of League" in 2001 and in 2007 was named in the New Zealand Rugby League's Team of the Century.Legends of League
''New Zealand Rugby League'' In 2012 he was named in the

Wellington Rugby League Wellington Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Greater Wellington region. It is responsible for the local competition of the same name, as well as its representative team, the Wellingto ...

's Team of the Century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchard, Phillip 1948 births 2018 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Bay of Plenty rugby league team players Wellington rugby league team players Ngongotaha Chiefs players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players St. George Saints players Rugby league wingers