Gus Hart
NZ rugby union player (1898–1965)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Augustine Henry Hart (27 March 1898 – 1 February 1965)[1][2] was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the All Blacks, New Zealand's national rugby union team, between 1924 and 1925. His position of choice was wing three-quarter.
27 March 1898
Hart in 1924 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Augustine Henry Hart 27 March 1898 Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Died | 1 February 1965 (aged 66) Auckland, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 65 kg (143 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Marist Brothers' School (Vermont Street, Auckland) Sacred Heart College New Plymouth Technical College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
Born in Auckland in 1898, Hart was first educated at the Marist Brothers' School on Vermont Street, Auckland (which was renovated and renamed: St. Columba Centre),[3][4] he then moved to Sacred Heart College.[5] He finished his education further down the country at New Plymouth Technical College where he was a member of the 1st XV between 1916 and 1917.[6]
Career and later life
After finishing school, Hart joined the Tukapa club.
In 1921, at the age of 24, Hart made his debut for the Taranaki province. He played just 2 matches in his rookie season and did not play at all in 1922, however in 1923 he won 6 caps for the union.[7]
In his early playing days in Auckland Hart played as a five-eighth, but upon transferring to Taranaki, considering his height and weight along with his remarkable speed it was decided he would play as a wing three-quarter.[6][7]
After playing exceptionally well in the trials Hart was to be selected for the 1924–25 "invincibles" tour of the Northern Hemisphere.[6][7] In the 3 matches played before leaving in Australia and New Zealand Hart scored three tries from 3 matches.[7]
From 14 matches on the tour Hart scored 20 tries. This included scoring 4 tries in matches against Cheshire, Yorkshire and Cumberland respectively.[6] He also scored 3 tries against Durham.[7]
Although he played 16 games for the All Blacks his only test cap was against Ireland, as others in the squad were preferred over Hart.[6] The test was won 6-0.[7] Unfortunately a leg injury ended Hart's career early.[6][7] In a career of just 29 first-class matches, 17 of those were played for the All Blacks.
He died in Auckland in 1965.
