Ronald Charles Ackland (27 December 1934 − 25 October 2013) was a New Zealand professional

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 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 1960s and 1970s, who represented

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 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

in the

1957 1957 (Roman numerals, MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday, common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, t ...

and 1960 World Cups, and coached

in the 1977 World Cup. His nephew,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, also played for New Zealand.

Playing career

Ackland was a Mt Wellington player. During the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fir ...

's District era he played for Eastern Districts. In 1960, Ackland won the inaugural Rothville Trophy for player of the year, a feat he repeated in 1961. Ackland also played for the

Mount Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 the Lions won the Fox Memorial. ...

and captained the

City Newton Dragons The City Newton Dragons are a defunct New Zealand rugby league club that was based at Victoria Park, Auckland. The club was created in 1948 by a merger of two original clubs, the City Rovers and Newton Rangers. Both the Rovers and the Rangers par ...

in 1961.Bruce Montgomerie ''Those Who Played'', Montgomerie Publishing, 2004. . p.16. He was selected for

in 1954 and went on to play in 18 test matches for the Kiwis. He was part of the

and

1960 World Cup The 1960 Rugby League World Cup was the third staging of the tournament and the first Rugby League World Cup to be held in Great Britain. The same format as used in 1957 Rugby League World Cup, 1957 was used, with a group stage leading to a fina ...

squads. He captained the Kiwis twice in 1961. Ackland, along with

Neville Denton Neville Leon Denton (22 July 1934 – 27 March 2015) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand in the 1954 and 1960 World Cup. Playing career Denton, an Auckland representative, played in 13 test matches for the New Z ...

and Gary Phillips, withdrew from the 1961 tour of Great Britain due to a dispute over allowances.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. . He then moved to the

New South Wales ) , 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 ...

country and was captain-coach of Goulburn between 1965 and 1970 and Inverell between 1971 and 1973.

Coaching career

After retirement Ackland became Mt Wellington's head coach. In 1976, he won the Hyland Memorial Cup as the

's coach of the year. Ackland became the coach of New Zealand in 1977, taking the squad to the 1977 World Cup. In his two-year reign the Kiwis won one out of six test matches.

Later life and death

Ackland was inducted as a

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

"Legend of League" in 1995. He is an

Immortal. In 2009, he was named in the New Zealand Rugby League Team of the Century in the second row. Ackland died following complications from heart surgery on 25 October 2013, aged 78, in his hometown of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

.Legendary Ron Ackland passes away
''warriors.co.nz'', 26 October 2013

References

1934 births 2013 deaths Auckland rugby league team players City Newton Dragons players Mount Albert Lions players Mount Wellington Warriors coaches Mount Wellington Warriors players New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team coaches New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Auckland Rugby league second-rows {{NewZealand-rugbyleague-bio-stub