Fletcher Roy Christian (born 10 October 1943) 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. A , he captained

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 sport. Christian also captained the

New Zealand Māori rugby league team New Zealand Māori rugby league team is a rugby league representative side made up of New Zealand Māori players. The side represents the New Zealand Māori Rugby league. Like its union counterpart, the rugby league team previously competed in ...

Early life and family

Christian was born in

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 ...

on 10 October 1943 to

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island (, ; Norfuk: ''Norf'k Ailen'') is an external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head and about from Lord Howe Island. Together with ...

parents, Leaonard Beaumont and Anna Matilda Christian. He is a direct descendant of

Fletcher Christian Fletcher Christian (25 September 1764 – 20 September 1793) was master's mate on board HMS ''Bounty'' during Lieutenant William Bligh's voyage to Tahiti during 1787–1789 for breadfruit plants. In the mutiny on the ''Bounty'', Christian sei ...

, a figure in the 1789

Mutiny on the Bounty The mutiny on the Royal Navy vessel occurred in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 April 1789. Disaffected crewmen, led by acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian, seized control of the ship from their captain, Lieutenant William Bligh, and set h ...

. He was educated at

Otahuhu College Otahuhu College is a secondary school in Auckland, New Zealand for students years 9 to 13. Location It is located in the suburb of Otahuhu and is a co-educational school. The main campus entrance is on Mangere Road, the Memorial Field sports ...

and the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

. In 1966, Christian married Robyn Cheryl Plant, and the couple went on to have two children.

Rugby league

During the 1965 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand Christian played on the wing in both Test matches against Australia. While playing for Otahuhu in 1966, Christian was awarded the Lipscombe Cup for Premier One sportsman of the year. However, injury caused him to miss the 1968 World Cup. During the 1969 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand Christian played on the wing in the 2nd Test victory against Australia. He was then was part of the Auckland side that defeated the tourists. He was appointed captain of the New Zealand national side in 1970 and played in that year's

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 ...

.Three Kiwi greats inducted into New Zealand Legends of League
''rleague.com'', 17 April 2007 During the 1971 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand Christian captained New Zealand from centre in the Test match victory against Australia at

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of aro ...

. Also in 1971, his Kiwis side became the first New Zealand touring team to win a test series in Britain. The 1972 World Cup was the last time Christian represented New Zealand. He retired with little fanfare as no test matches were scheduled for 1973. He had played in 74 matches for the Kiwis, including 32 tests. After retirement Christian served as the

Otahuhu Leopards The Otahuhu Leopards are a rugby league club based in Otahuhu, Auckland. Founded in 1911 Auckland Rugby League season, 1911, the club has produced 49 New Zealand national rugby league team players. The club competes in the Fox Memorial competit ...

chairman. In the 1972 Queen's Birthday Honours, Christian was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to rugby league football. In 2007, he was inducted as one of 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 ''T ...

's "Legends of League".

Presbyterian minister

Christian studied at the Presbyterian School of Ministry at Knox College in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, and became a minister of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

in 1984.

References

External links

Past Kiwis Caps - C
at

NZRL 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 ''T ...

.co.nz {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian, Roy 1943 births Living people Auckland rugby league team players New Zealand Māori rugby league players New Zealand Māori rugby league team players New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand people of English descent New Zealand Presbyterian ministers New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league players Otahuhu Leopards players People educated at Otahuhu College Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league wingers University of Auckland alumni