Gus Hart

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]

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.