Robert Orchard is a New Zealand former 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 in the 1960s and 1970s. He played at representative level 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 ...

( Heritage No. 443),

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 Runawa ...

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 ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, as a , or , during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

Playing career

Orchard originally played for Ngongotaha and represented

. In 1967 Orchard moved to the Ellerslie 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 became an Auckland representative. In 1968, Auckland defeated

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. ...

29-15 during Queen's Birthday weekend.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. . He played for the New Zealand Māori side in 1972. In 1973 Orchard moved to

and represented the state, playing two games against

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 ...

. While in Queensland, Orchard spent time with Redcliffe, Mt Isa, Mackay and

Wynnum-Manly The Wynnum-Manly Seagulls are an Australian rugby league football club based at Kougari Oval, in Brisbane's bayside suburb of Manly West, which neighbours the suburb of Wynnum. They competed in the Brisbane Rugby League from 1951 to 1997. Since ...

.Queensland Representatives - O
''qrl.com.au''

International honours

Orchard first represented

while at Bay of Plenty in 1965 against

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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 ...

(3-matches). He again played for the Kiwis in 1966 against

and, while at Auckland, in 1967 against

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 ...

(2-matches), in 1970 against

(3-matches), in 1971 against

(3-matches), and

(3-matches), and in 1972 against

Genealogical information

Orchard is the brother of the fellow New Zealand international

Phillip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, two other brothers, Eddie and John, both also played for Ngongotaha.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchard, Robert Auckland rugby league team players Bay of Plenty rugby league team players Ellerslie Eagles players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players Ngongotaha Chiefs players Place of birth missing (living people) Queensland rugby league team players Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players Redcliffe Dolphins players Mackay Cutters players Wynnum Manly Seagulls players Living people People from Ngongotaha