Charles Savory (23 March 1889 – 8 May 1915) was a New Zealand international

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer and champion boxer who died in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. An Australasian and New Zealand international representative forward, Savory was one of four Kiwis players selected to go on the 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain. Due to playing the same sports, he has been described as "the

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny William Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the cou ...

of his time."

Rugby union career

In an

Auckland Rugby Union The Auckland Rugby Union is a New Zealand provincial rugby union. The union was established in 1883 and was originally responsible for the administration of the sport in most of the former Auckland Province, although its boundaries have since s ...

club match, while Savory was playing for Ponsonby, he was suspended for two years for kicking a player.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009'', 2009. , p.p.44-46

Rugby league career

Savory then joined the new

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. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

competition, playing for Ponsonby United. An

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

representative, Savory was first selected for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1911 when they toured Australia, playing against

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and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. He was then one of four New Zealanders selected to go on the 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain. In 1912 he was sent off during a match for Ponsonby United and was suspended for the rest of the season, missing the 1912 New Zealand tour. In 1913 Savory was found guilty of kicking by the ARL judiciary and was suspended for life. Savory claimed it was a case of mistaken identity. This sparked a feud between the ARL and the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...

as the NZRL heard the case and asked the ARL to reconsider, which they refused to do in June. The NZRL then quashed the conviction and Savory played for New Zealand while he was still suspended by the ARL. The incident resulted in the NZRL suspending the entire ARL board and on 15 January 1914 the NZRL approved an entirely "new" ARL board. Savory again toured Australia in 1913 and in 1914 played in a Test match against the touring

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Boxing career

In 1914 Savory won the National Amateur Heavyweight Boxing championship.

World War I

Savory enlisted with the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He died of wounds at

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on 8 May 1915 after landing at Ari Burnu with the Auckland Battalion. The 2015 Anzac Test man of the match, Manu Vatuvei, was awarded the Charles Savory medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savory, Charles 1889 births 1915 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team players Australasia rugby league team players New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand male boxers New Zealand military personnel killed in World War I New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players Ponsonby Ponies players Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league props Rugby union players from Auckland