Joseph Aloysius Lavery ( - ) was a

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 ...

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

er who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.

Early years

Lavery worked on for the

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining Rail transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's railway infrastruc ...

.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996.

Rugby football

Lavery started his career playing for Temuka in 1901 before moving to Christchurch Albion where he was a club mate of

Hubert Turtill "Jum" Hubert Sydney Turtill (1 February 1880 – 9 April 1918) was a New Zealand dual-code footballer, playing rugby union and then rugby league for New Zealand. After emigrating to Britain, he served in the British Army during the First World ...

and

Charlie Pearce Charlie James Pearce was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain. Early life Charlie Pearce was born on 28 January 1881. His parents were Charles Julius Pearce (1858-1 ...

. Lavery represented

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

between 1902 and 1904 and played for the South Island in 1903.

Rugby league

Lavery joined the professional All Blacks tour of Great Britain and Australia in 1907-1908, thus switching codes to

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 ...

as all members of the touring party received a life ban from the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...

. However, he was not in the touring parties first selection and played mostly in mid-week games, scoring two tries. Despite this Lavery played in one test match for

. After the tour Lavery opted to stay in Britain and signed with first St Helens, then moved to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, becoming the club's first ever overseas player. Lavery also played for

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

, and then

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

in 1910, and was also the first ever overseas player to play for either club. ''leighcenturions.com'' By 1913 he had returned to New Zealand and played for Linwood in the first season of the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby le ...

competition.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987 He represented

in 1915.

Later years

Lavery fought in

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 ...

, and in May 1918 the Linwood club minutes recorded a "vote of sympathy" for Lavery, "who had returned wounded".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lavery, Joseph 1880 births 1948 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Canterbury rugby league team players Canterbury rugby union players Footballers who switched code Leeds Rhinos players Leigh Leopards players Linwood Keas players New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand people in rail transport New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Christchurch Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Christchurch Salford Red Devils players St Helens R.F.C. players