Paul Francis "Pope" Pyers (13 March 1935 – 12 June 2016) was an Australian
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 ...
player in both the
New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition and in Queensland. A versatile performer, he played in every position from fullback to lock forward.
Pyers was born in
South Grafton, New South Wales, and played for the South Grafton rugby league team 1950–53.
In 1954, he played with Sydney's
Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to:
Places
*Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India
*Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia
**Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia
Sports clubs
;Association football
*Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand
* Eastern ...
side. He is recognized as that club's 421st player. The following year Pyers moved to
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
where he represented the
Queensland state team 11 times 1957–59 in matches against
NSW
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
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 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, and
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
.
In 1959, while playing in
Mackay, Queensland, he represented Queensland in all four of its games against New South Wales; Queensland, winning the series 3–1. He played on the wing in three of that year's interstate games and at centre in the fourth. Pyers top scored for Queensland in the series with 20 points from two tries and seven goals. He also played on the wing for Australia Possibles vs. Australia Probables in 1959. Former Australian rugby league vice captain and long time rugby league writer
Jack Reardon
Jack Reardon (1914-1991) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s and who later became a sports journalist. An Australian international and both a New South Wales and Queensland representative , he played club ...
rated Pyers a glaring omission from the Australian team that toured Britain and France in 1959–60.
[http://www.fugs-uni.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1959-Qld-Team-Flyer.pdf]
In 1960, Pyers returned to the NSWRL, where he played 2 seasons for the
Parramatta club.
References
External links
*
Paul Pyers' obituaryPaul Pyers on the Nasho Nominal Roll
1935 births
2016 deaths
Australian rugby league players
Parramatta Eels players
Rugby league players from Sydney
Sydney Roosters players
{{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1930s-stub