Geoff Didier
| Full name | Geoffrey Lawrence Didier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 10 August 1959 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Warrnambool, VIC, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Marist College Canberra Phillip College, Canberra | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Geoffrey Lawrence Didier (born 10 August 1959) is an Australian former rugby union player.[1]
Didier was born in the Victorian city of Warrnambool, moving at the age of seven to Canberra, where he undertook most of his schooling at Marist College, before finishing up at Phillip College. His parents ran a shop in the suburb of Ainslie.[2]
A front-row forward, Didier began playing first-grade in 1978 with the Canberra Royals and would retire as their games record holder, along with winning eight premierships. Earning Wallabies selection for the 1990 tour of New Zealand, Didier had to compete with Tony Daly, Ewen McKenzie and Matt Ryan for the prop positions, and made six uncapped appearances during the tour. He made the initial extended 36-man 1991 Rugby World Cup squad[3]
Didier was given the nickname "Duke" during his time with the Royals, which is the name he gave to his son, Commonwealth Games judoka and MMA fighter Duke Didier.[4]
In 2000, Didier was inducted into the ACT Sport Hall of Fame.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "Three Didiers pull on Royals jersey for 70th anniversary". The Canberra Times. 21 June 2019.
- ^ "The Duke: Rugby Royalty". The Canberra Times. 29 August 1993. p. 23 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Geoffrey Lawrence Didier". classicwallabies.com.au.
- ^ "Duke Didier chooses fighting career over potential rugby riches". Herald Sun. 13 July 2014.
- ^ WIN TV News. 5 July 2000. WIN Canberra.