Conrad "Con" Augustus Byrne was a New Zealand 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.

Early years

Originally from Nelson

Nelson, New Zealand

Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

, Bryne was a farmer by trade. Byrne 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 Wellington and was part of the side that won the Ranfurly Shield

Ranfurly Shield

The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies...

.

Rugby League

Byrne was selected for the professional All Blacks in their 1907–1908 tour of Great Britain and Australia. Like all players on the tour he immediately received a life ban from the New Zealand Rugby Union. In the second test against Australia Byrne captained the side to a 24–12 victory that clinched the series. Byrne played in three test matches while on tour.

In 1908 and 1909 Bryne played for Wellington

Wellington Rugby League

Wellington Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Greater Wellington region. It is responsible for the local competition of the same name, as well as its representative team, the Wellington rugby league team.- Local Senior Competition :The...

, including in matches against Taranaki

Taranaki Rugby League

Taranaki Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. The TRL are represented by the Taranaki rugby league team...

. In 1909 Bryne again toured Australia with the New Zealand side, captaining the side in all three test matches.

In 1910 Bryne joined the North Sydney club

North Sydney Bears

The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...

 in the NSWRL Premiership and later moved to Huddersfield

Huddersfield Giants

Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C....

for two seasons.

By 1913 Byrne had returned to New Zealand and was selected to be part of the tour of Australia, playing in his seventh and final test match.