George Williams (rugby union)

George Williams

Date of birth	1856
Place of birth	Auckland, New Zealand
Date of death	(1925-04-27)27 April 1925
Place of death	Wellington, New Zealand
Occupation(s)	Police officer
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward[1] Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Poneke Football Club[2] () Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1886–88[1] Wellington () 1887[2] Hawke's Bay () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1888–89 New Zealand Natives

George Albert Williams (1856 – 27 April 1925), also known as Bully Williams, was a New Zealand rugby union player who toured with the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team to the British Isles and Australia.^[3] Williams was one of five non-Māori players in the Natives' side.^[4]

Williams was born in Auckland in 1856, and did not start playing rugby until the age of 24.^[2] He was a member of the Wellington club Poneke, and was selected for Wellington province from the club in 1886, 1887 and 1888.^[1]

In early 1888, Joe Warbrick, a member of the 1884 New Zealand team that toured Australia,^[5] started planning for a squad of Māori rugby players to tour the British Isles.^[6] As Warbrick was scouting for players throughout 1888, his plans changed, and he decided to include a number of Pākehā (European non-Māori) in the side.^[4] Eventually five Pākehā were included in the squad of twenty-six, and the side was consequently named the New Zealand Native football team.^[7][a]

At 32, Williams was the oldest player in the team,^[7] and only joined a day before their first match.^[8] The tour became the longest in rugby history; 107 matches were played during the 14-month tour, which had legs in Australia, the British Isles, and New Zealand.^[9] Of these 107 matches, 74 were in the British Isles,^[10] and an average of a game every 2.3 days on that leg.^[11] Williams played in 53 of these,^[12] scoring 12 tries in the process,^[13] and captained the team on a number of occasions.^[7] In total, Williams played at least 75 matches on tour (a number of team lists are missing).^[12]

Williams played in all three of the Natives' "international" matches while on tour; a victory over Ireland,^[14] a narrow loss to Wales,^[15] and a controversial loss to England.^[16][b]

Williams retired as a player after the tour, but continued to be involved in the game as a referee. Along with two other players, he contributed to tour manager Thomas Eyton's Rugby Football Past and Present, published in 1896,^[17] that gave an account of the tour.^[18] He contributed a number of article to the New Zealand Truth before the departure of the 1924 All Blacks.^[19] Outside of rugby, Williams was a police officer, and was involved in the arrest of the Maori spiritual leader Te Whiti o Rongomai.^[2] He served throughout New Zealand, including in Wellington, Hastings, Invercargill and Marlborough.^[2][3]

Williams' native team cap, donated by his grandson Rob Williams, is held in the collection of the New Zealand Rugby Museum.^[20]

• Mulholland, Malcolm (2009). Beneath the Māori Moon—An Illustrated History of Māori Rugby. Wellington, New Zealand: Huia Publishers. ISBN 978-1-86969-305-3.
• Ryan, Greg (1993). Forerunners of the All Blacks. Christchurch, New Zealand: Canterbury University Press. ISBN 0-908812-30-2.
• Swan, Arthur C.; Jackson, Gordon F. W. (1952). Wellington's Rugby History 1870 – 1950. Wellington, New Zealand: A. H. & A. W. Reed.
• "Obituary: Mr G. A. Williams". Evening Post. Wellington. 29 April 1925. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
• "The New Zealand Football Team—Details of Matches and Tour". The Auckland Star. Auckland. 23 January 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
• "New Zealand Natives tour – Blackheath, 16 February 1889: England (2) 7 – 0 (0) New Zealand Natives". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
• "New Zealand Natives tour – Swansea, 22 December 1888: Wales 1G – 0G New Zealand Natives". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
• "Footballer Passes". New Zealand Truth. 2 May 1925. p. 8. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
• Rugby football (past and present) and the tour of the Native Team in Great Britain, Australia & New Zealand, in 1888–89. WorldCat. OCLC 156235844. Retrieved 30 July 2015.