David Lory Blanchard (4 September 1924 – 1 January 2013) was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and professional

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 ...

football player who played representative rugby league (RL) 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 the 1954 World Cup and coached them at the 1970 World Cup. He also played for

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

in England during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early years

Blanchard was born in

Roxburgh Roxburgh () is a civil parish and formerly a royal burgh, in the historic county of Roxburghshire in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was an important trading burgh in High Medieval to early modern Scotland. In the Middle Ages it had at lea ...

on 4 September 1924, the son of David Blanchard and Doris Elizabeth Blanchard (née Lory) of Ettrick, and grew up in

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

. He made his

first class debut for

North Otago North Otago is an area in New Zealand that covers the area of the Otago region between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre f ...

in 1939, aged 15. During

he joined the

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

and served as a stoker on HMNZS ''Achilles''."Blanchard gave lifetime's service to sport"
stuff.co.nz, 5 January 2013; Retrieved 22 September 2014. After the war, Blanchard worked 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 ...

and played as hooker for Sydenham. He was a Canterbury representative in 1947–48.

Playing career

Blanchard then switched codes to

. He had played for the Linwood Keas and 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 ...

and the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

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

national team between 1951 and 1956, including at the 1954 World Cup. Blanchard was selected to go on the

1955–56 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain and France The 1955–1956 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain and France was a tour by the New Zealand national rugby league team. New Zealand lost both test series 1–2. Squad The team was coached by Harold Tetley and managed by Colin Siddle. Cliff Jo ...

. He had played altogether in 63 matches, including sixteen test matches, for the Kiwis.

Coaching career

He retired in 1963, becoming a Canterbury selector. Blanchard became a New Zealand selector between 1967 and 1972, convening the panel between 1969 and 1972. Blanchard coached

on three occasions; between 1966 and 1967, in 1969 and between 1970 and 1972, including at the 1970 World Cup. He coached Linwood in 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. Between 1973 and 1975 Blanchard was President of the Canterbury Schoolboy Board of Control. He also served two years on the

board. In 1990, he returned to coaching and led the New Zealand Universities' side until 1993.

Honours and awards

Blanchard was inducted into 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 ...

's Legends of League in 2000. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday and Golden Jubilee Honours, he was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to rugby league and the community. He was made a life member of the

in 2008.

Death

Blanchard died on New Year's Day, 2013, aged 88, survived by his wife, Lyndsay, and their five children.

References

External links

Search for "Lory Blanchard" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Lory 1924 births 2013 deaths Canterbury rugby league team players Canterbury rugby union players Hull F.C. players Linwood Keas players Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand national rugby league team coaches New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players North Otago rugby union players People from Roxburgh, New Zealand Royal New Zealand Navy personnel of World War II Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Otago Rugby union players from Otago Rugby league props Rugby union hookers