Ron Elvidge

Ron Elvidge

Player information
Full name	Ronald Rutherford Elvidge
birthday	March 2, 1923
place of birth	Timaru , New Zealand
size	180 cm
society
society	Career ended
position	Inner three quarters
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
	Otago RFU
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
1946-1950	New Zealand	9 (12)
Status: January 22, 2010 National team July 1, 1950

Ronald Rutherford Elvidge (born March 2, 1923 in Timaru , New Zealand , † March 30, 2019 ) was a New Zealand national rugby union player on the position of the inner three quarters . He was instrumental in the victory of the New Zealand national team (All Blacks) in the test series against the British Lions in 1950.

Elvidge played provincial rugby for the Otago RFU and was there captain of the team. In 1947 he won the Ranfurly Shield with Otago by defeating Southland Rugby . In the following three years Otago was able to successfully defend the Shield in 18 challenge games in a row. Elvidge played eleven of these games.

He made his national team debut on September 14, 1946 in an international match against Australia in Dunedin . This first game of the Bledisloe Cup in 1946 was won by the New Zealand All Blacks 31: 8. Since they also won the second game, the New Zealanders defended the cup.

Only three years later he ran again for the All Blacks. This was on a tour of South Africa in 1949 that included a four-game test series against the South African national team . The All Blacks lost all four. Thus, the South Africans were able to win the test series with a clear 4-0. Elvidge was one of the few outstanding New Zealand players on the tour and therefore took over the captain's armband from the injured Fred Allen after the second loss to South Africa . On that tour, he played 14 games in which he was able to score two attempts - one against South Africa.

The following year the British Lions toured New Zealand. In three of the four internationals Elvidge led the All Blacks again as captain. The first game ended 9: 9 and in the second the All Blacks won the game 8: 0. When the third friendly was tied 3: 3, Elvidge fought for his place in the annals of rugby history. He was forced to leave the field because of a collarbone injury and a gaping wound on his face that had to be stitched with four stitches. However, when the pillar Johnny Simpson had to leave the field due to a serious knee injury, Elvidge came back to the field despite great pain, as the All Blacks would otherwise have had to play with two fewer men. At that time, substitution and substitution were strictly forbidden, even if injured. He took the position of an extra goalkeeper and scored the only attempt of the game to close 6: 3 final score for the All Blacks. So New Zealand won the 1950 test series against the Lions even before the last game.

Before that, he also defeated the Lions with his province of Otago.

In the fourth and last international match of the tour, he was unable to participate due to injury, and then never played rugby again, as he retired from rugby that same year. From then on he successfully concentrated on his medical career as a gynecologist .

Web links

• Profile on allblacks.com