Alec Morris Explained

Alec Morris
Fullname:Alexander Morris
Birth Date:1892
Birth Place:Bulls, Manawatu, New Zealand
Death Date:30 July 1957
Death Place:Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand
Weight:10 st 5lbs
First:RU
Ru Position:First Five-eighth
Ru Club1:Poneke
Ru Year1start:1911
Ru Year1end:13
Ru Club2:Newtown (Sydney)
Ru Year2start:1914
Ru Appearances2:9
Ru Tries2:2
Ru Goals2:4
Ru Fieldgoals2:0
Ru Points2:16
Ru Club3:Poneke
Ru Year3start:1918
Ru Teama:Wellington
Ru Yearastart:1911
Ru Yearaend:18
Ru Teamb:Sydney Metropolitan
Ru Yearbstart:1914
Ru Appearancesb:4
Ru Triesb:2
Ru Goalsb:0
Ru Fieldgoalsb:0
Ru Pointsb:6
Ru Teamc:New South Wales
Ru Yearcstart:1914
Ru Appearancesc:1
Ru Triesc:0
Ru Goalsc:0
Ru Fieldgoalsc:0
Ru Pointsc:0
Club1:Athletic
Year1start:1919
Year1end:21
Appearances1:8
Tries1:7
Goals1:5
Fieldgoals1:0
Points1:31
Teama:Wellington
Yearastart:1919
Appearancesa:3
Triesa:3
Goalsa:2
Fieldgoalsa:0
Pointsa:13
Teamb:New Zealand
Yearbstart:1919
Appearancesb:2
Triesb:0
Goalsb:0
Fieldgoalsb:0
Pointsb:0
New:yes
Retired:yes
Updated:31 July 2012

Alexander "Alec" Morris (birth unknown – death unknown) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s. He played at representative level for New Zealand (Heritage № 126), and Wellington, as a, or, i.e. number 2 or 5, or, 6.[1] [2]

Playing career

Rugby

Alec (Snowy) Morris played rugby for Poneke and had represented Wellington in 1911. He played for Poneke right through the junior grades and in 1914 was reported as having already spent 14 years at the club. He was moving to Sydney at the beginning of that year and played for Newtown. While there he played for the Sydney Metropolitan team against the All Blacks on 5 August, and then a few days later he played for New South Wales in a 25-10 loss to the All Blacks. He played them a third time in an 'Olympic' fundraiser match but only a small crowd turned out owing to war have just broken out. Morris soon returned to New Zealand and went off to war. He later switched codes in July 1918 after falling out of favour with his club selector just weeks prior to being selected for the New Zealand rugby league team.[3]

International honours

Alec Morris represented New Zealand in 1919 against Australia in the first 2 tests.[4] Morris played for Wellington against Canterbury on 13 September in a 23 all draw. he kicked a penalty in the middle stages to give Wellington a 15 to 8 lead.[5] He played in a loss for Wellington against Canterbury in Christchurch though he did score 2 tries. He then played in the match between Wellington and Australia in which the home team were thrashed 93-5 with Morris scoring a try and kicking a goal.[6]

In 1920 he was only listed in one match for Athletic however in 1921 he played in at least 4 matches for them as well as playing in a Wellington City side against Petone as a trial for the Wellington team. He scored a try in the match but had to go off injured. In 1922 he applied for reinstatement which was eventually granted and he rejoined his old Poneke club.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Roll of Honour at nzrl.co.nz . nzrl.co.nz . 31 December 2011 . 1 January 2012 . dead . https://archive.today/20120714044737/http://nzrl.co.nz/roll-of-honour.aspx . 14 July 2012.
  2. Web site: Past Kiwis → M at nzrl.co.nz . nzrl.co.nz . 31 December 2011 . 1 January 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130205193218/http://nzrl.co.nz/past-kiwis/past-kiwis-caps-m.aspx . 5 February 2013.
  3. News: Rugby Football. 8. New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10350. 1919-08-06. 2021-04-10.
  4. Web site: Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org. rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2011. 1 January 2012.
  5. News: Fine Game at Newtown Park. 4. Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 65. 1919-09-15. 2021-04-10.
  6. News: Australia v Wellington. 6. Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 9. 1919-10-06. 2021-04-10.