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Bryan Palmer

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Bryan Palmer
Birth nameGeorge Thomas Bryan Palmer
Date of birth(1899-01-21)21 January 1899
Place of birthDubbo, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death19 April 1990(1990-04-19) (aged 91)
Place of deathSydney, New South Wales
SchoolNewington College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
Australia

George Thomas Bryan Palmer (21 January 1899 – 19 April 1990) was an Australian rugby union player who coached the Wallabies. He has been described as "one of the most colourful personalities in Australian rugby".[1]

Early life

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Palmer was born in Dubbo, New South Wales, the son of T D Palmer, who had played Rugby for the Waratahs in 1899. He played his first Rugby in Dubbo before attending Newington College as a boarder (1915–1916).[2]

War service

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Palmer served with the Australian Light Horse in World War I and was invalided home after a bout of near fatal pneumonia. As part of his recovery he joined the Glebe-Balmain Rugby Club to build up his strength and over the ensuing seven seasons played 93 games on the wing.

Representative rugby

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His first of seven matches for NSW was played in 1927. Palmer was selected and toured with the Wallabies to New Zealand in 1931 but did not play a match.[3]

Coach

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Between 1963 and 1967 he was the coach of the national side, retiring at the age of 68.

Honours

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  • Palmer Shield - Played for by NSW Primary Schools[4]
  • Bryan Palmer Shield - Played for each year by The King's School and Newington College since the centenary of rugby between the two schools in 1970[5]

References

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  1. ^ Jack Pollard Syd (1994). "Palmer, George Thomas Bryan (1899 - 1990)". Australian Rugby - The Game and the Players. p. 456.
  2. ^ Syd (1999). Newington College Register of Past Students 1863-1998. p. 147.
  3. ^ Wallabies George Thomas Bryan Palmer Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  4. ^ "New South Wales Rugby". Archived from the original on 12 October 2009.
  5. ^ "Rugby at Newington - A History". Archived from the original on 12 September 2009.