Ron Jarden

Ron Jarden

Player information
Full name	Ronald Alexander Jarden
birthday	December 14, 1929
place of birth	Lower Hutt , New Zealand
date of death	18th February 1977
Place of death	Lower Hutt, New Zealand
size	173 cm
society
society	deceased
position	Outer three-quarters
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
1949-1956	Victoria University RFC
province
province	deceased
position	Outer three-quarters
Provinces as active
Years	province	Games (points)
1949-1956	Wellington RFU	63
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
1951-1956	New Zealand	16 (42)
As of August 20, 2010

Ronald Alexander Jarden (born December 14, 1929 in Lower Hutt , New Zealand , † February 18, 1977 in Lower Hutt) was a New Zealand rugby union player on the position of the outer three quarters . After his active rugby career, he was a successful businessman in the petroleum industry and chairman of the New Zealand Public Broadcasting Corporation .

rugby

As a student, Jarden attended Hutt Valley High School. He then studied at the Victoria University of Wellington , where he joined New Zealand's top rugby in 1949 as a player for the Victoria University RFC. In the same year he was appointed to the provincial selection of the Wellington RFU . Because of his performance in his debut season, he was selected a year later for the national teams of the North Island and the New Zealand Barbarians .

In 1951, Jarden toured with the selection team of New Zealand universities in Australia . New Zealand's university selection won all seven games on the tour. He then stayed in Australia to join the New Zealand national team (All Blacks), in whose roster he was nominated, on their tour of Australia to join. With the All Blacks he managed to win back the Bledisloe Cup against the Australian national team (Wallabies) in a series of three international matches, as New Zealand won all three. Jarden played in two of the three international matches against the Wallabies and scored two attempts in the second game . In the third international match he had to stay out due to injury. On the tour he scored a total of 88 points in his six missions, including 38 points (six attempts and ten increases ) against Central West from New South Wales . This was a world record that would last until 1974.

For his athletic achievements he was named New Zealand Sportsman of the Year 1951. The following year he played in both home games against Australia and was able to defend the Bledisloe Cup with the All Blacks, despite a 9-14 defeat in the first international game.

In 1953 he was able to win the Ranfurly Shield with Wellington against the Waikato RU . In the game he scored all 9 points for his team through one try and two penalties. Wellington could defend the Ranfurly Shield for five games before losing it to Canterbury RFU that same year . In the shield defense against the East Coast RFU Jarden managed six attempts, which remained a shield record for 40 years, which was only broken by John Kirwan .

1953 and 1954 he toured with the All Blacks in Europe and played in all five internationals against England , France , Ireland , Scotland and Wales . However, he could not put a try in any of the international matches, but scored with 15 attempts and 94 points each the most attempts and points of his team on the tour, as he was more successful in the other games. Since the All Blacks lost to Wales, they missed the first Grand Slam in their history. In addition, the game against the French was also lost.

Against the Wallabies, who were touring again in New Zealand, Jarden played all three international matches in 1955, in which he succeeded in each attempt. The New Zealanders won two of the three international matches and thus defended the Bledisloe Cup again.

His greatest triumph in rugby followed a year later when he won the international series with the All Blacks against the South African national team (Springboks) touring New Zealand . It was the first defeat of the Springboks in an international series at all. The New Zealanders won three of their four internationals and lost one. Jarden was a key player during this tour as he managed to intercept a Springbok pass in his first international match and make an important attempt after the 40-meter sprint that followed. He also scored a try in the third international match. He was also able to win surprisingly against the Springboks with the New Zealand university selection.

Businessman

Following this success, Jarden announced his retirement from rugby at the age of 26 to focus on his work at Shell . He later started his own company, RA Jarden and Company, and became a director of several companies.

Public legal radio

Although he was never an active politician himself, he decided to support the National Party with its top candidate Robert Muldoon in the New Zealand parliamentary elections in 1975 . After the National Party won the elections, Jarden was named chairman of the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC). Under him, the New Zealand public service broadcasting was reformed. The NZBC was dissolved and replaced by three separate bodies (two television stations and one radio).

Private

Ron Jarden married Joan Ella Morton in Wellington on April 4, 1953, with whom he later had two daughters. He was also involved with the New Zealand Music Association and was a curator of the National Art Gallery and the National Museum . He stayed in active sport and became an international competitive sailor in the 1970s.

He died suddenly of a heart attack on February 18, 1977 at the age of 47 at his home in Lower Hutt.

Web links

• Profile on allblacks.com
• Profile on teara.govt.nz (The Encyclopedia of New Zealand)