Ward Prentice
Encyclopedia
Warden Selby Prentice was an Australian sportsman who captained Australia at rugby union
and New South Wales
at first-class cricket
and also played first-grade rugby league
for the Western Suburbs Magpies
.
in Sydney at various times and two others played in the lower grades. Ward and two of his brothers later played first grade rugby league
. Ward's club career started with the his local Western Suburbs RUFC
and he made his representative debut in 1908 for New South Wales
against a touring Anglo-Welsh side.
In 1908 he was selected in the 31 man squad for the 1908-09 Australia rugby union tour of the British Isles and France. Chris McKivat
was the standout incumbent five-eighth even though McKivat had greater career success at half-back. The selectors generally opted for Fred Wood, the tour vice-captain at half, with McKivat at fly-half. Prentice made a handful of tour match appearances at centre and at five-eighth and the Howell reference quotes Pollard "he distinguished himself by his unselfish team play and clever-cross-kicking for his loose forwards and wingers.....and was an astute cover-defender who on numerous occasions saved certain tries by launching himself at opposition wingers when they were set to score". In the tour match before the first Test Prentice scored the try of the match stepping through the whole team before touching down in the corner
Prentice made his Test debut against Wales
at Cardiff Arms Park
on 12 December 1908 at five-eighth and paired with McKivat. He set up the Wallabies
' first try scored by Tom Richards though Australia lost the Test 6-9. Prentice had to leave the field twice for treatment after being kicked in the mouth and his injury caused him to miss the next five tour matches. In January he earned his second cap in the Test against England
. He played at centre in the 9-3 win. By the end of the tour which also took in Canada and the USA, Prentice had played in 13 of the 35 matches.
In 1910 he represented for Australia in three internationals against New Zealand
. His representative career highlight came in 1912 when he was selected as touring captain of the Wallabies squad for the 1912 Australia rugby union tour of Canada and the USA
. The tour was a disappointment with the squad billeted out in college fraternity houses where the hospitality played havoc with team discipline and as result the team lost against two California University sides and three Canadian provincial sides. They rose to the occasion for the sole Test of the tour against the United States
where Prentice earned his final cap and kicked a penalty goal to score his only international career points. All told Ward Prentice played for Australia on thirty-two occasions including six Tests, one as captain.
's New South Wales
side, against Queensland
at the Sydney Cricket Ground
. Although he fell for a duck in his only innings, he took the catches of both Queensland opening batsmen. Prentice had to wait until 1921 for his second and final first-class appearance when he captained New South Wales against the same opponents and on the same ground. Again playing as a wicket-keeper, Prentice made another duck and didn't take a catch.
a Western Suburbs rugby league
stalwart who played 115 games with the club in a war-interrupted career over nine years. Ward played five first grade games for the Magpies in the New South Wales Rugby League
in season 1920
. Their older brother Archie had also played for the club (27 games) in 1915-16.
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...
and New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
at first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
and also played first-grade 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...
for the Western Suburbs Magpies
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
.
Rugby union career
Ward Prentice and four of his brothers played first grade rugby unionRugby 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...
in Sydney at various times and two others played in the lower grades. Ward and two of his brothers later played first grade 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...
. Ward's club career started with the his local Western Suburbs RUFC
West Harbour RFC
The West Harbour Rugby Football Club is a team in the Shute Shield, the premier club rugby union football competition in New South Wales.The club is based in Concord in the Inner West of Sydney, and play their home matches at Waratah Stadium, Concord Oval...
and he made his representative debut in 1908 for New South Wales
New South Wales Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...
against a touring Anglo-Welsh side.
In 1908 he was selected in the 31 man squad for the 1908-09 Australia rugby union tour of the British Isles and France. Chris McKivat
Chris McKivat
Christopher Hobart McKivat was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player – a dual-code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in over 20 Tests and tour matches from 1907 to 1909 and the Kangaroos in 5 Tests from 1910 to 1912...
was the standout incumbent five-eighth even though McKivat had greater career success at half-back. The selectors generally opted for Fred Wood, the tour vice-captain at half, with McKivat at fly-half. Prentice made a handful of tour match appearances at centre and at five-eighth and the Howell reference quotes Pollard "he distinguished himself by his unselfish team play and clever-cross-kicking for his loose forwards and wingers.....and was an astute cover-defender who on numerous occasions saved certain tries by launching himself at opposition wingers when they were set to score". In the tour match before the first Test Prentice scored the try of the match stepping through the whole team before touching down in the corner
Prentice made his Test debut against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
at Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
on 12 December 1908 at five-eighth and paired with McKivat. He set up the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
' first try scored by Tom Richards though Australia lost the Test 6-9. Prentice had to leave the field twice for treatment after being kicked in the mouth and his injury caused him to miss the next five tour matches. In January he earned his second cap in the Test against England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
. He played at centre in the 9-3 win. By the end of the tour which also took in Canada and the USA, Prentice had played in 13 of the 35 matches.
In 1910 he represented for Australia in three internationals against New Zealand
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
. His representative career highlight came in 1912 when he was selected as touring captain of the Wallabies squad for the 1912 Australia rugby union tour of Canada and the USA
1912 Australia rugby union tour of Canada and the USA
The 1912 Australia rugby union tour of Canada and the USA was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the Australia national rugby union team against various invitational teams from Canada and the USA, and also against the US national team....
. The tour was a disappointment with the squad billeted out in college fraternity houses where the hospitality played havoc with team discipline and as result the team lost against two California University sides and three Canadian provincial sides. They rose to the occasion for the sole Test of the tour against the United States
United States national rugby union team
USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...
where Prentice earned his final cap and kicked a penalty goal to score his only international career points. All told Ward Prentice played for Australia on thirty-two occasions including six Tests, one as captain.
Cricket career
His first-class cricket debut came in 1913 when he kept wicket for Victor TrumperVictor Trumper
Victor Thomas Trumper was an Australian cricketer known as the most stylish and versatile batsman of the Golden Age of cricket, capable of playing match-winning innings on wet wickets his contemporaries found unplayable. Archie MacLaren said of him, "Compared to Victor I was a cab-horse to a Derby...
's New South Wales
New South Wales Blues
The New South Wales cricket team are an Australian first class cricket team based in Sydney, New South Wales...
side, against Queensland
Queensland Bulls
The Queensland cricket team, nicknamed the Bulls, are the Brisbane-based Queensland representative cricket team in Australia's domestic cricket tournaments:*Sheffield Shield, 4-day matches with first-class status, since the 1926/27 season...
at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. Although he fell for a duck in his only innings, he took the catches of both Queensland opening batsmen. Prentice had to wait until 1921 for his second and final first-class appearance when he captained New South Wales against the same opponents and on the same ground. Again playing as a wicket-keeper, Prentice made another duck and didn't take a catch.
Rugby league career
In 1920, Prentice joined his brother ClarrieClarrie Prentice
Clarence Warwick Prentice was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who represented his country at both sports - a dual-code rugby international...
a Western Suburbs rugby league
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
stalwart who played 115 games with the club in a war-interrupted career over nine years. Ward played five first grade games for the Magpies in the New South Wales Rugby League
New South Wales Rugby League
The New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
in season 1920
New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1920
The 1920 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the thirteenth season of Sydney's professional rugby league football club competition, Australia's first. The introduction of a Sydney University side saw nine teams from across the city contest during he season. Balmain were crowned...
. Their older brother Archie had also played for the club (27 games) in 1915-16.
Published references
- Howell, Max (2005) Born to Lead - Wallaby Test Captains, Celebrity Books, Auckland NZ