Wally Desmond

Walter Leslie Desmond (born 6 January 1906) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level for New Zealand (Heritage № 184), and Wellington, and at club level for Leeds,[2] Castleford (Heritage № 86),[3] Batley and Bramley, as a wing, centre, or stand-off, i.e. number 2 or 5, 3 or 4, or, 6,[4][5][6] and he was Chairman of the Leeds & District rugby league referees' society in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

For the Californian judge, see Walter Desmond.
Wally Desmond
Personal information
Full nameWalter Leslie Desmond
Born(1906-01-06)6 January 1906
New Zealand
Playing information
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight11 st 10 lb (74 kg)
PositionWing, Centre, Stand-off
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1925 Linwood 12 7 10 1 43
1925 Inangahua 2 0 1 0 2
1927–29 Leeds 42 10 0 0 30
1929–30 → Castleford (trial) 2 0 0 0 0
1930–31 Batley 50 5 10 0 35
1931–33 Bramley 56 1 29 0 61
Total 164 23 50 1 171
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1925 Canterbury 2 5 3 0 19
1925 West Coast 1 1 0 0 3
1926 Wellington 1 2 0 0 6
1926 North Island 1 1 0 0 3
1926 New Zealand XIII 1 1 0 0 3
1926 NZ Trial 1 2 0 0 6
1926–27 New Zealand 16 (1) 9 0 0 27
Source: [1]

Playing career

International honours

He was selected for the New Zealand side to tour England and Wales in July 1926. Before they departed he played for New Zealand against Auckland on July 31 and he scored a try in a 52-32 loss.[7] On their tour he played he played in 15 matches and scored 8 tries. Desmond's only test appearance was against Great Britain on October 2 1926. He played stand-off in New Zealand's 20-28 defeat by Great Britain at Central Park, Wigan.

Club and domestic career

Desmond began playing rugby league for the Linwood club in the Canterbury Rugby League competition in the early 1920s. He was their 5th grade captain in 1922.[8] He made his debut for the senior side in 1925. They struggled to win many matches but Desmond stood out for them and scored 7 tries and kicked 11 goals in 12 matches. He played for Canterbury in 2 matches against a combined Otago-West Coast side and then against West Coast. Against Otago-West Coast on June 13 he scored 2 tries, while against the West Coast on August 22 he scored 4 tries and kicked 2 conversions. Late in the year he transferred to Greymouth where he joined the Inangahua club before requesting a transfer to Runanga. A week later however he played for Inangahua, kicking a conversion in their 11-8 knockout loss to Blackball.[9][10] Then on September 23 he played for West Coast against the touring Queensland. The West Coast lost 27-10 with Desmond scoring 1 try.

In 1926 he transferred to Wellington however there was no club competition there so he only played in a trial match and then for the Wellington against South Auckland on June 23 where he scored 2 tries. Following this he played for the North Island against the South Island at Carlaw Park. The North Island won 31 to 22 with Desmond again scoring a try.[11] On July 7 he played for the 'Rest of New Zealand' against Auckland. His side won 28-21 and he scored 1 try.[12] Following this he played in a New Zealand trial match for the Probables on July and once again found the try line, this time twice however his side lost 32-15.[13]

Desmond made his début for Leeds scoring 2-tries in the 31-5 victory over Keighley at Headingley Stadium on Saturday 29 October 1927,[14] he signed for Batley from Leeds on 30 January 1930, and he made his début for Batley against Hunslet at Mount Pleasant, Batley on Saturday 1 February 1930, he and centre/halfback J. Whitaker signed for Bramley from Batley on 29 September 1931, with Bramley's Welsh forward Charles Walker transferred to Batley from Bramley.

Personal life

Desmond married Norah Ellen Hill on 1 April 1933 at St Michael's Church, Buslingthorpe, Leeds.[15]

References
  1. "New Zealand Newspapers at Papers Past". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  2. "League: Attitude needs adjusting". nzherald.co.nz. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  3. "Profile at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk". thecastlefordtigers.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  4. "Roll of Honour at nzrl.co.nz". nzrl.co.nz. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  5. "Past Kiwis → D at nzrl.co.nz". nzrl.co.nz. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  6. "Profile at nzleague.co.nz". nzleague.co.nz. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  7. "New Zealand Outplayed/Auckland's Decisive Win/Superiority of Local Men". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXIII, no. 19395. 2 August 1926. p. 13. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  8. "League Rugby". Star (Christchurch), Issue 16830. 1922-09-05. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  9. "West Coast Notes". Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18476. 1925-09-02. p. 14. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  10. "League West Coast Centre". Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18493. 1925-09-22. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
  11. "Selecting Dominion Team/Two Fine Trial Games/North Island Wins Keen Game/Backs Check South Forwards". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXIII, no. 19371. 5 July 1926. p. 13. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  12. name="Auckland v the Rest">"Auckland v the Rest". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXIII, no. 19374. 8 July 1926. p. 6. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  13. "Dominion Team Trials/The Final Games Played/Possibles Beat Probables". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXIII, no. 19377. 12 July 1926. p. 13. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  14. "Leeds results and scorers - 1927-28". mcgrail.fsnet.co.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  15. "West Yorkshire, England, Church of England marriages and banns, 1813–1935". Ancestry.com Operations. 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2018.
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