Dick Fogarty was a rugged forward who was just starting to make a name for himself when World War I broke out. He continued playing first-class rugby until well into his 30s and club rugby for longer than that, winning respect for his hard attitude and aggressive, no-nonsense rugby skills.

Born at Matakanui in Central Otago on 12 December 1891, Richard Fogarty initially broke into representative play with his home province in 1914 from the Union club. Although he wasn't overly big (5ft 10in (1.78m) and 13st 3lb (84kg)) he had the stamp of a young forward going places.

The next place he went was off to war, where he served in the NZ Rifle Brigade and won the Military Medal. He continued to shine on the football field when time permitted and won selection for the New Zealand Services team that contested and won the King's Cup in 1919. Promoted to sergeant for the South African tour, as were all his colleagues, he was one of the busiest players on that demanding trip, missing only three of the 14 engagements.

Once back in New Zealand, Fogarty shifted north and was welcomed into the Taranaki side in 1920. Playing out of Hawera, he was soon a first-choice selection in a good Taranaki pack and eventually played 26 times for the province. One of those matches was the scoreless draw with the 1921 Springboks, where his strong play caught the eye, and after the trials he was right in the national frame. Les McLean's withdrawal from the first test team allowed Fogarty to win his first All Black jersey. Although Fogarty went well and New Zealand won 13-5, the bigger Bay of Plenty man regained his place for the second test.

Following the All Blacks' loss in Auckland, Fogarty was reintroduced for the third test as the pack underwent major changes. He replaced Wellington veteran Ned Hughes in the front row, hooking for the first time in his life and played a notable part in another 0-0 draw. He thus faced the Boks three times for one win and two draws, as good a record against the tourists as any man in New Zealand could claim.

He moved further north in 1923, settling in Auckland, linked with College Rifles and played for Auckland for two seasons before concentrating on club matches only, where he carried on until the end of the decade. His 67 first-class matches represented a notable career that would have been even more impressive had it not been interrupted by the war.

As his career wound down he coached the senior side in partnership with Viv Wilson, still ready and willing to lace 'em up when needed and more than capable of giving practical hands-on demonstrations at training.

Although as tough as old boots, Fogarty had little time for bravado or stupidity as a popular story from Rifles shows. He was giving scrum instruction one night when he noticed a young hooker packing down without shinpads. Why had the youngster forgotten them? They weren't forgotten, just not needed, was the reply. Fogarty grunted and carried on. A little later live scrummaging practice was going on, with the coach packing in the front row, when an almighty howl from the depths stopped everything. There was the young man rolling on the ground, grabbing his shins. Among the thrashing legs of the four front-rowers Fogarty had hit his target directly, completely ignoring the ball and proving how necessary shinpads really were!

Fogarty later coached another struggling Auckland club, Manukau, for a season before gradually fading out of the picture. Although newspapers prematurely bumped him off a couple of times in the 1960s, Fogarty lived until a couple of months short of his 89th birthday, dying in Dunedin on 9 September 1980.

Profile courtesy Paul Neazor.

FULL NAME

Richard  Fogarty

BORN

Saturday, 12 December 1891 in Matakanui

DIED

Tuesday, 9 September 1980 in Dunedin

PHYSICAL

1.78m, 84kg

POSITION

Loose forward and hooker

LAST SCHOOL

Christian Brothers' School (Dunedin)

RUGBY CLUB
(First made All Blacks from)

Hawera

PROVINCE

Taranaki

ALL BLACK DEBUT

Saturday, 13 August 1921
v South Africa at Dunedin
aged 29 years, 244 days

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Saturday, 13 August 1921
v South Africa at Dunedin
aged 29 years, 244 days

LAST TEST

Saturday, 17 September 1921
v South Africa at Wellington
aged 29 years, 279 days

ALL BLACK TESTS

2 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAMES

0 (0 as Captain)

TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES

2 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK TEST POINTS

0pts

ALL BLACK GAME POINTS

0pts

TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS

0pts

ALL BLACK NUMBER

230

The All Black Games that Fogarty played.
(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced

Click on the date to be taken to the Match Card

1921

 13 Aug vs South Africa at Dunedin 13-5  

 17 Sep vs South Africa at Wellington 0-0  

Fogarty did not score any points for the All Blacks.

Test Record by Nation

P

W

D

L

t

c

p

dg

pts

South Africa

2

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

-

Totals

2

1

1

0

0

0

0

0

0