Edgar Wrigley 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 represented

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in both

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

and

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 ...

Early years

Wrigley was born in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

, New Zealand to Edmund & Betsy Hannah Wrigley and was a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

by trade.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996. He had five siblings, sisters Bertha, Charlotte & Alice and brothers Harry and Tom.

Rugby union career

Wrigley played

for the Red Star club in Masterton and between 1903 and 1907 he played 18 games for

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

. His brothers, Harry and Tom, also represented the Union. When Wrigley made his

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 198 ...

début in 1905 he was only 19 years 79 days of age and was the youngest person to play a test for the All Blacks. This record stood until 1994, when it was broken by

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...

Rugby league playing career

Wrigley was selected to be part of the professional All Blacks 1907-1908 tour of Australia and Great Britain. He played in eight tests for the Kiwis and was noted for his goal kicking abilities. Following the tour Wrigley returned to Britain for a full-time professional career, signed with Runcorn for £400 and a guarantee of employment as a plumber. He later moved to

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into t ...

, making 169 appearances for the club, before joining

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentary ...

for a fee of £550.Derek Birley ''Land of sport and glory: sport and British society, 1887-1910'', 1995. He went to war and after returning played 7 games for Hunslet in the 1920-21 season before retiring.

County Cup Final appearances

Wrigley played , and scored a try, and a conversion in

's 21–0 victory over

Batley Batley is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. Batley lies south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield. Batley is part of t ...

in the

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * J ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

County Cup Final during the 1909–10 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingl ...

Rugby Stadium,

Leeds Leeds () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the thi ...

on Saturday 27 November 1909, played right-, i.e. number 3, and scored a conversion in the 2–8 defeat by

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

in the

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York Ci ...

Yorkshire Cup final during the 1910–11 season at

Rugby Stadium,

on Saturday 3 December 1910, and played , and scored a try in the 22–10 victory over

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challenge ...

in the

1911 A notable ongoing event was the race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * Ja ...

Yorkshire Cup final during the 1911–12 season at Belle Vue,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population ...

on Saturday 25 November 1911.

Rugby league coaching career

He later coached

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...

, and

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pr ...

County Cup Final appearances

Wrigley was the

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

in Hull's 2–8 defeat by

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Hudder ...

in the

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 * ...

County Cup Final during the 1927–28 season at

Rugby Stadium,

on Saturday 26 November 1927.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wrigley, Edgar 1886 births 1958 deaths Bradford Bulls coaches Dual-code rugby internationals Huddersfield Giants players Hull F.C. coaches Hunslet R.L.F.C. players New Zealand builders New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand plumbers New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Masterton Rugby league wingers Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Masterton Runcorn RFC players