Travers Harry Hardwick (13 March 1923 – 25 April 1979) was a New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and 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 representative rugby league (RL) for

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 coached them in the

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 was used, with a group stage leading to a final table. The 1960 World Cup ...

Early years

Hardwick originally played

in the Wairarapa before taking up

when he moved to Auckland.

Playing career

Hardwick played for Ponsonby in 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 fi ...

competition. He first represented

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1945. Hardwick was selected for

in 1946 and went on to play in fourteen Test matches between 1946 and 1952. He also captained the Kiwis. In 1950 Hardwick moved south, joining the Ngaruawahia Panthers in the

Waikato Rugby League Waikato Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of rugby league in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The WRL are represented by the Waikato rugby league team. They are currently part of the Upper Central Zone alo ...

and represented Waikato. Hardwick assisted the touring American All Stars team in 1953 due to their injury crises.

Coaching career

Hardwick coached the New Zealand Māori in 1956. He coached

for two years, in 1959 and 1960. This included the

. He also served as a New Zealand selector between 1971 and 1975.Air New Zealand Rugby League Annual 1977 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1977. p.18. He was an

selector in 1973. Hardwick was inducted into the New Zealand Rugby League's Legends of League in 2000.Legends of League
''nzrl.co.nz''

Notes

References

* 1923 births 1979 deaths Auckland rugby league team players New Zealand Māori rugby league team coaches 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 administrators New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union players Ngaruawahia Panthers players Ponsonby Ponies players Rugby league locks Rugby league second-rows United States national rugby league team players Waikato rugby league team players {{NewZealand-rugbyleague-bio-stub