Ray Higgs (born 1950) is an Australian former
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 ...
footballer who played in the 1970s. An
Australian international and
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_ ...
representative
forward, he played club football in the
NSWRFL Premiership with Sydney's
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and thei ...
for three seasons between 1975-1977 and
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rug ...
for one season 1978.
Playing career
Originally from
Roma, Queensland
Roma is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Maranoa Region. The town was incorporated in 1867 and is named after Lady Diamantina Bowen (née di Roma), the wife of Sir ...
, Higgs played for
Nambour Crushers and
Souths Magpies
The Souths Logan Magpies, more commonly referred to by their former names Southern Suburbs Magpies, or South Brisbane Magpies, or often simply referred to as Souths, are a rugby league football club based in the southern suburbs of Brisbane, Au ...
. He was selected to represent Queensland and then made his debut for the
Australian national side in 1974. The following year he helped the Kangaroos to victory in the
1975 World Cup. After winning both the
Rothmans Medal and the
Rugby League Week player of the year award in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...
, he captained his club, the
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and thei ...
, to that year's and
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrati ...
's
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...
s. Higgs continued representing Australia, featuring in
The Kangaroos' triumph in the
1977 World Cup. Higgs is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 478. He played a total of nine Tests for Australia between 1974-1977.
After only four seasons in the
NSWRFL, Ray Higgs returned to Queensland in 1979.
Accolades
In 2011, Higgs was inducted into the
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and thei ...
hall of fame.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgs, Ray
1950 births
Living people
Australian rugby league players
Australia national rugby league team players
City New South Wales rugby league team players
New South Wales rugby league team players
Parramatta Eels players
People from Roma, Queensland
Queensland rugby league team players
Rugby league players from Queensland
Souths Logan Magpies players
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players
Rugby league second-rows
Date of birth missing (living people)