Rube McWilliams
Ruben George McWilliams, commonly known as Rube, was a New Zealand rugby union player. A loose forward, McWilliams represented at a provincial level from 1922, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1928 to 1930. He played 27 matches for the All Blacks and was the first to play 10 consecutive tests, scoring 25 points in all.
Early life and family
McWilliams was born on 12 June 1901 in Paeroa. His father was James Alexander McWilliams, described as one of the pioneers from the Waikato. McWilliams junior attended Eureka School and Hamilton West School, so named of the Hamilton suburb. Tom McWilliams, the radio operator for Charles Kingsford Smith's 1928 Trans-Pacific flight, was Ruben McWilliams' cousin.Rugby union career
In 1927, McWilliams was described as a "dashing forward" and "very fast", weighing in at and standing tall. McWilliams was chosen in October 1927 for his international debut against South Africa as part of the 1928 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa; the game was played at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban in June 1928. At the time, McWilliams and his fellow All Black Fred Lucas both played for Ponsonby RFC. Following the South Africa tour, the Waikato Times described McWilliams as the country's best forward. On their return to New Zealand, the five representatives from Auckland were welcomed at the Chamber of Commerce by rugby union officials and the deputy mayor of Auckland, Andrew Entrican. In 1930, McWilliams was appointed as coach for the Frankton Football Club in Hamilton, but he also captained the team.In 1937, McWilliams was used as co-selector for Auckland's match against the [1937 South Africa national rugby union team|South Africa rugby union tour of Australia and New Zealand|touring South African team]. He missed the fiftieth reunion for members of the 1928 tour held in 1978 in Christchurch for health reasons.