Patrick "Peter" Harvey (3 April 1880 – 29 October 1949) 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 ...

player who represented the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

in 1904. His position of choice was halfback.

Career

Born in South

Rakaia Rakaia is a town sited on the southern banks of the Rakaia River on the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand's South Island, approximately 57 km south of Christchurch on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line. Immediately north of the townsh ...

, Harvey played Rugby union for the Chertsey football club as well as the Rakaia football club. In 1900, he transferred to the Christchurch rugby club coming in as a 20-year-old. He worked his way up through ranks and within his first season Harvey found himself representing

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 ...

playing in the final four matches as a

five-eighth Five-eighth or stand-off is one of the positions in a rugby league football team. Wearing jersey number 6, this player is one of the two half backs in a team, partnering the . Sometimes known as the pivot or second receiver, in a traditional a ...

. He was described as "a small nuggety man, whose best quality was defense. He used the line repeatedly, saving his forwards all the time and possessed cover defense of rare quality". In 1903 Harvey was selected for the national side on their tour of Australia. Unfortunately Harvey could not gain work leave and had to decline. At the team's farewell the New Zealand prime minister at the time (

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-ser ...

), stated: "it is with extreme regret that the Government has been unable to grant leave to Mr. Harvey". A year later Harvey was able to make his long-awaited All Black debut, against the touring

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

side. This was the first All Black test played at home. The match was won 9–3. He was further chosen for the famous

Original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their ...

tour, but again, he could not obtain work leave and had to stay in the country. He was a regular in the Canterbury side until 1904. Harvey then became a Canterbury selector.

Teaching

Harvey taught at the Sumner School for the Deaf (now known as Van Asch College). At the time he was the only tutor in the country capable of the roll. If this wasn't the case Harvey would've most likely gained some leave to go on the All Black tours he was selected for.

Awards

As the Christchurch rugby club celebrated their 150th jubilee in 2013, the club released an all-time XV. Harvey made the fantasy side as the Halfback.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Patrick New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players 1880 births 1949 deaths People from Rakaia Rugby union players from the Canterbury Region Rugby union halfbacks Canterbury rugby union players