Ian Neville Grey (6 April 1931 – 7 July 2009) was a New Zealand

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 who represented

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 the 1954 World Cup.

Early life

Born in

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 ...

in 1931, Grey was the son of New Zealand rugby league representative Eric Grey and was a noted tennis player in his youth.

Playing career

Grey played in the

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 as a loose forward, first playing three games for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

in 1948 before moving to

Point Chevalier Point Chevalier (; commonly known as Point Chev and originally named Point Bunbury after Thomas Bunbury) is a residential suburb and peninsula in the city of Auckland in the north of New Zealand. It is located five kilometres to the west of t ...

between 1948 and 1956. He then captained Northern Districts in 1957 and was captain-coach in 1958. Northern Districts was a combination of North Shore and Northcote. Grey represented

from 1951 to 1958 and the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

in 1954. He first played for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

at the 1954 World Cup, playing in one test at fullback. He also played two test matches on the 1955-1956 tour of Great Britain and France.

Coaching career

Grey coached Ponsonby to runners-up in the 1967 Auckland Rugby League championship before winning the competition in 1968. He also coached Auckland between 1967 and 1968.

Later years

Grey later moved to Australia and served as the

Victorian Rugby League NRL Victoria (abbreviated as NRLVic, and formerly the Victorian Rugby League) is responsible for administering the game of rugby league in Victoria, Australia. Victoria is an Affiliated State of the overall Australian governing body the National ...

Chairman between 1988 and 1993. He died in Blairgowrie, Victoria, on 7 July 2009 after a short battle with cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Ian 1931 births 2009 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Auckland rugby league team coaches Auckland rugby league team players Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state) New Zealand emigrants to Australia New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players North Island rugby league team players Point Chevalier Pirates players Ponsonby Ponies coaches Richmond Bulldogs players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Auckland