Charlie James Pearce was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 rugby football

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

er who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.

Rugby Football

Pearce originally played rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 for the Christchurch Albion and represented Canterbury between 1903 and 1906. In 1906 Pearce was also selected for the South Island team. He was a butcher

Butcher

A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat or any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat, poultry, fish and shellfish for sale in retail or wholesale food establishments...

 by trade.

Rugby League

Like Albion team-mates, Joseph Lavery

Joseph Lavery

Joseph Aloysius Lavery was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.-Rugby football:...

 and Hubert Turtill

Hubert Turtill

"Jum" Hurbert Sydney Turtill was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.-Early years:...

, Pearce was selected for the professional All Blacks 1907-1908 tour of Australia and Great Britain. All the members of the touring party received a life ban from the New Zealand Rugby Union.

Pearce played in several test matches while on tour, including the first ever rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 test match on 1 January 1908, and captained the side in the third test match against Australia. Pearce's versatility was put to good use during the tour and he played everywhere in the pack, including hooker, and even played a match at centre. After the tour Pearce remained in New Zealand and went on to captain the Canterbury rugby league team. He toured Australia in 1909 and 1913, playing in a total of eight test matches. He played for Addington in the Canterbury Rugby League

Canterbury Rugby League

Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby league team which represents the region in New Zealand...

 competition.

Pearce later served as a selector for the New Zealand side and was appointed the second official "coach" of the New Zealand team, during the 1925 season. He was made a life member of the New Zealand Rugby League

New Zealand Rugby League

The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....

in 1920.