Arthur Hardgrave

A fullback, Hardgrave played for Taranaki against Auckland in 1908, 1909 and again in 1911 when he kicked three goals.[1]

He later moved to Auckland and played for Manukau Rovers at club level and represented Auckland provincially. On his debut for Manukau he scored a try and kicked a goal in a 19 to 5 loss to a strong Ponsonby side[2][3]. Scoring records were very patchy for the Manukau team with the newspapers often failing to send out reporters to matches in Onehunga and therefore it is unknown how many points Hardgrave scored for Manukau beyond the 2 tries, 1 conversion and 2 penalties he was credited with during the 1912 season. The Manukau senior team collapsed during the 1913 season and in the 1914 season Hardgrave joined the newly formed Otahuhu senior team.

In 1912, Hardgrave was selected for the New Zealand national side who toured Australia. No test matches were played on the tour but Hardgrave became the 74th player to represent New Zealand. Following the tour, Hardgrave was part of the Auckland side that defeated New South Wales 10–3 in a return match at Victoria Park.[1]

In 1914 Hardgrave was a member of the New Zealand when they played the touring Great Britain Lions. The test match was lost 16–13 and Hardgrave never reappeared for New Zealand afterwards.[4] He also played against the Lions for Auckland.