Rex William Percy (26 January 1934 – 2 May 2015) was a New Zealand

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 ...

and 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 representative rugby league for

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 1957 World Cup.

Playing career

Born in

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, Percy originally played

. He played for the

Thames High School Thames High School is a public high school in Thames, Waikato, New Zealand. Established in 1880, it is the second oldest secondary school in the former Auckland Province. Academics At all grade levels, Māori language courses are offered, with ...

first XV and also represented the

Thames Valley Rugby Football Union The Thames Valley Rugby Football Union (TVRFU) is the governing body of rugby union in the region of Thames Valley in the North Island of New Zealand. Their senior representative team compete in the Heartland Championship. Thames Valley Rugby Foo ...

. His father, Bill Percy, had also been a Thames Valley representative.RIP Kiwi #368 Rex Percy
''nzrl.co.nz'' Percy played for the Ponsonby club in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

competition and was an Auckland representative. In 1955 he was first selected for 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 ...

, touring Great Britain and France.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. . He was again named for the Kiwis in 1957, being part of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

squad that year. In 1958 Percy was part of the first ever Grand Final in the Auckland Rugby League competition, which Ponsonby won 16–7. He also toured the South Island with Auckland and played for the Kiwis against Great Britain that year. 1959 was his last year in a Kiwis jersey and he toured Australia. Percy played in nine test matches during his career and scored 19 test points for

. In total, Percy scored 31 tries in 39 games for the Kiwis between 1955 and 59. No forward has scored more tries in a black jersey and he also kicked goals. In 1961 Percy joined the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in t ...

in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

competition. He played for the Tigers for three seasons and scored 25 points during this time. He then played for

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

and Yass before retiring in 1966. His son, Matthew Percy, represented Australia in the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

and at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. He died at

Golden Beach, Queensland Golden Beach is a coastal suburb of Caloundra in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located within the Caloundra urban centre directly southwest of the Caloundra CBD. In the , Golden Beach had a population of 5,575 people ...

on 2 May 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Percy, Rex 1934 births 2015 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Auckland rugby league team players Ponsonby Ponies players Balmain Tigers players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Thames, New Zealand Rugby union players from Waikato Thames Valley rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Parkes Spacemen players People educated at Thames High School