Anthony Peter Coll (7 February 1952 – 14 May 2020) was a New Zealand 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 ...

footballer and coach who represented

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 three

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

Early life and family

Coll grew up on the West Coast. He was the son of Peter Coll—a West Coast rugby league representative who played in the team that defeated the touring Great Britain side in 1946—and the uncle of squash player

Paul Coll Paul Daniel Coll (born 9 May 1992) is a New Zealand professional squash player. In March 2022, he became the first New Zealand man to achieve a world ranking of World No. 1. He is a two times British Open champion, having won this tournament ...

. He was educated at Marist Brothers High School, Greymouth.

Playing career

A West Coast representative, Coll played in 65 games (including 30 tests) for the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

including three world cups. Coll trialled for the 1971 Kiwis unsuccessfully, however he was selected the following year. He was the Kiwis' captain at the 1977 World Cup. Coll also had a brief spell 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, playing with Marist-Western Suburbs and 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 ...

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

Later years

Coll coached the West Coast in 1986 and 1987. He was made a

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 ...

"Legends of League" in 2007.Three more greats inducted into New Zealand's Legends of League
''rleague.com'', 3 June 2007 He ran a sports store in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

. In 2011 Coll was elected to the

Grey District Council Grey District Council is the territorial authority for the Grey District of New Zealand. The council is led by the Mayor of Grey, who is currently . There are also eight ward councillors. The council operates three departments: Office of CEO, ...

in a by-election. Coll suffered a heart attack in 2019. On 14 May 2020, he died aged 68 after suffering a second heart attack while biking near Karoro.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coll, Tony 1952 births 2020 deaths 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Canterbury rugby league team players Local politicians in New Zealand Marist (West Coast) players Marist-Western Suburbs players New Zealand national rugby league team captains New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand sportsperson-politicians People educated at John Paul II High School, Greymouth Place of birth missing Rugby league players from the West Coast Region Rugby league second-rows South Island rugby league team players West Coast rugby league team coaches West Coast rugby league team players