CAPTAIN A. W. WESNEY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24783, 6 December 1941, Page 11

CAPTAIN A. W. WESNEY

BRILLIANT ATHLETIC CAREER MATCH WINNER IN RUGBY Captain A. W. Wesney, whose death in action has been reported, was (says a writer in the Southland Times) one of the foremost athletes produced in Southland in recent .years. He won' fame on the Rugby field by a magnificent performance for Southland in the Ranfurly Shield match against Otago (the holder) at Dunedin in 1937. Southland won by 12 points to 7, and Wesney scored eight of the points. Although he excelled at 'boxing, swimming, and cricket, Captain Wesney was best known by his deeds in Rugby football. A member of the Old Boys senior team for .several years, he first played for Southland in 1934. He also represented the province in 1936, 1937. 1938, and 1939, and he was a member of the.teams which won the Ranfurly Shield from Otago at Dunedin 1937/and 1938. He was a member of the victorious Southland team of 1939 which established several records in Southland Rugby and Ranfurly Shield history. One of his best performances that season, and one which took him to the head of the Southland list of scorers in Ranfurly Shield games, was the scoring of 20, points, mainly by goals, in the game in which Southland defeated Ashburton by 50 points to nil. In 1937 he had unusual success with his goal-kicking in club and interprovincial matches, and his total in points scored was 176. The following season he reached the peak of his form and he won both his South Island and New Zealand caps. He was a member of the All Blacks' team which toured Australia, and in 1939 he again played for the South Island. He was regarded as a "certainty-' ior selection in the New Zealand team for South Africa.

Captain Wesney (then Lieutenant Wesney) maintained his Rugby form during his training at Bumham camp last year, and was appointed captain of the Army team which played Southland at InvercargilL In the Middle East. also, he played football, and as late as November 8 he was a member of the.- New Zealand Army team which met and defeated the Springboks Army team. He was also captain of the Southland platoon and company teams, whose record in recent months was in keeping with the standards of Southland Rugby. He represented Southland at three sports —Rugby, cricket, and swimming. He gained many successes in diving, and three times he was runner-up to the New Zealand diving champion. He also won the Southland 100 Yards Breaststroke Championship. At the Southland Boys' High School he shone at cricket, Rugby, and boxing, and in addition to playing in the school first eleven and first fifteen, he won honours in the bgxing ring. He was a good all-rounder; at cricket; but he showed particular brilliance in the field. He was a member of the Old Boys' cricket and football clubs, the Ex-pupils' Swimming Club, and the Oreti Surf Life-saving Club. Advice of Captain Wesney's 0 promotion in the field was received in Invercargill only a few days ago.