Gus Spillane

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=September 2015}} {{Short description|NZ rugby union player (1888–1974)}} {{Infobox rugby biography | name = Gus Spillane | honorific-suffix = | image = | caption = | birth_name = Augustine Patrick Spillane | birth_date = {{Birth date|1888|05|10|df=yes}} | birth_place = Geraldine, New Zealand | death_place = Timaru, New Zealand | death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|09|16|1888|05|10|df=yes}} | position = First five-eighth<br>Second five-eighth | height = | weight = | repteam1 = {{nrut|New Zealand}} | repyears1 = 1913 | repcaps1 = 2 | reppoints1 = 0 | province1 = {{Rut|South Canterbury}} | provinceyears1 = 1911–23 | provinceapps1 = 35 | provincepoints1 = | occupation = Farmer }}

'''Augustine Patrick Spillane''' (10 May 1888 – 16 September 1974) was a New Zealand rugby union player. Gus Spillane came from a Temuka rugby family of Irish descent and one steeped in rugby. Three of his brothers also represented South Canterbury with one, Charles, later moving to Wanganui and Taranaki and becoming prominent in refereeing and administration. The Spillane Cup, the traditional trophy competed for at Easter by North Island Marist clubs, is named after Charles Spillane. Primarily a tidyfirst five-eighth, Spillane represented South Canterbury at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in 1913. He appeared in two matches for the All Blacks, both of them internationals against the touring Australian team, in which he played at second-five eighth.<ref name="AB profile">{{cite web| url = http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=827 |title = Gus Spillane | last = Knight | first = Lindsay | publisher = New Zealand Rugby Union | accessdate = 17 September 2015}}</ref>

He also captained South Canterbury against the tourists midweek between the Dunedin and Christchurch tests. <Profile by Lindsay Knight for the New Zealand Rugby Museum>.

Between 1911, when he was 23, and 1923, when he was 35, he played 21 matches for South Canterbury. Much of this span was of course interrupted by World War I.

George Gaffaney, also a South Canterbury and South Island five eighths of the 1930s, recalled playing against Spillane while a young man and spoke glowingly of his talent.

Said Gaffaney of Spillane: "A wily tactician with an uncanny ability to extricate himself and his team from awkward situations. Spillane, by his very presence, was worth several points to any Temuka team - even before the match started."

He died in Timaru in 1974,<ref name="AB profile"/> and was buried at Temuka Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timaru.govt.nz/services/community-and-culture/cemeteries/cemetery-search?BurialId=11543 |title=Cemetery search |date= |website= |publisher=Timaru District Council |accessdate=11 January 2016}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spillane, Gus}} Category:1888 births Category:1974 deaths Category:People from Geraldine, New Zealand Category:New Zealand rugby union players Category:New Zealand international rugby union players Category:South Canterbury rugby union players Category:Rugby union fly-halves Category:Rugby union centres Category:New Zealand rugby union referees Category:Burials at Temuka Cemetery Category:20th-century New Zealand sportsmen