Hercules Richard "Bumper" Wright (16 January 1881 – 4 April 1963) was a New Zealand

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

er who was part of the professional (rugby league)

1907–1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain 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), ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * Nineteen (film), ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 sci ...

Background

Born in Arahura, which is north of

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of . ...

in the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

region of New Zealand, Wright was a printer by trade.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996.

Rugby union career

Wright began his

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 ...

career playing for North Wairarapa in 1899. He then moved to Petone where he joined the

Petone Rugby Club The Petone Rugby Football Club was founded in 1885 and has been the Wellington Premier Champion 39 times between 1895 and 2005. In addition, the club has won the Club Championship on 42 occasions between 1922 and 2005. Petone is a constituent cl ...

. During the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

, Wright played for the New Zealand Army Corps team, which was the first New Zealand rugby side to play in South Africa. On his return Wright played for

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and played

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

rugby. He eventually became the captain of both Wellington and Petone. He was also selected for the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

but withdrew due to injury and never represented New Zealand in rugby union. Wright was a noted disciplinarian and was known to check on his Petone teammates the night before games.

Rugby league career

When news of the advent of

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 ...

football made its way from England to the Southern Hemisphere, Wright joined the professional All Blacks for the 1907–1908 tour of Great Britain and Australia. He was one of six players from the

selected. Wright had been one of the tour's selectors and was elected captain for the tour, a sign of the democratic nature of the touring party. As a result, he also served on the tour's Management committee. He played in the first ever trans-Tasman test which was the debut match of the

Australia national rugby league team The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of Rugby league in Australia, the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Admin ...

. Altogether Wright played in four test matches while on the tour. After returning to New Zealand Wright played rugby league in Wellington, representing 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 ...

in matches against

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 1908 and

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

in 1909.

Political career

Wright was on the Petone Borough Council, and on the Brooklyn school committee. His brother was Minister of Education and Mayor of Wellington, Robert Wright. Wight died in Wellington on . Along with five other members of the touring party, he was buried at Karori Cemetery.Relatives and Teams to remember Original All Golds
''NZRL Press Release'', 10 October 2007

Legacy

Wright was named at in the

Petone Panthers Petone (Māori: ''Pito-one''), a large suburb of Lower Hutt, Wellington, stands at the southern end of the Hutt Valley, on the northern shore of Wellington Harbour. The Māori name means "end of the sand beach". Europeans first settled in Pe ...

' Team of the Century in 2012.

Notes

References

*Obituary in ''Evening Post'' of 4 April 1963, page 19.
''Military Personnel File online''
digitised record at Archives New Zealand. {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Hercules 1881 births New Zealand rugby union players Wellington rugby union players New Zealand military personnel of the Second Boer War New Zealand rugby league players Wellington rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand national rugby league team captains Petone Panthers players New Zealand sportsperson-politicians Local politicians in New Zealand Burials at Karori Cemetery 1963 deaths Rugby league hookers Rugby league props