Arthur Summons

Coaching Career

Vital Statistics

Full Name
Arthur James Summons
Born
Friday, 13th December, 1935
Current Age
88 years and 107 days
Place Of Birth
Paddington, New South Wales, Australia

Biography

Wests junior was graded by Gordon RU club in 1954. Summons played in 10 RU Tests as pivot (including those against five nations on the 1957-58 Wallaby and NZ tours) before changing codes to play for Wests. The Ryde teacher, who played most of his League career at halfback, made his debut for NSW and Australia in 1961 - the same year Wests lost the first of three consecutive grand finals to St George. In 1962 Summons played in all three Tests against Great Britain and captained Australia in the Third Test victory. In 1963-64 he was captain-coach of the Kangaroos that won the Ashes in England for the first time since 1911. Summons missed the Tests against Great Britain because of injury but returned to play in two Tests against France on the tour. (He holds the distinction of never being beaten in a Test in which he was captain.) In 1962-63, he employed tactics that almost led to the end of St George's reign as premiers. Based on Summons' plan to blot out the St George forwards with great defence and turn the backs around with a well-placed kicking game, Wests defeated the Dragons on three occasions in 1963. It almost worked again in the grand final but St George held out in the mud to win 8-3. As Summons embraced opposing captain Norm Provan after the match, the two were immortalised in John O'Gready's famous photo, 'The Gladiators'. Summons' part in that lasting image has been an encouragement to the underdog, the 'little big man', to strive to play his part in the game. In 1965 he took on the position of captain-coach of Wagga Magpies. A non-playing coach in Australia's losing Ashes series against Great Britain in 1970, he has spent the last thirty years in the Riverina district giving something back to the area that produced so many great players. Having been honoured along with Norm Provan in the original Winfield Cup Trophy, the two champions have again lent their image to the NRL premiership trophy and their names to the game’s best and fairest medal.
- ALAN WHITICKER

Coaching Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.

Competitions

Competition   Games W L D Win %  
Tour Matches Australia 9 5 4 0 55.56% List
Test Series 9 5 4 0 55.56% List
The Ashes 6 3 3 0 50.00% List
City vs Country Firsts 6 1 5 0 16.67% List
Tour Matches Riverina 1 0 1 0 0.00% List
Tour Matches NSW Country 2 1 1 0 50.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years Games W L D Win %  
Australia 1963-64, 1970 9 5 4 0 55.56% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years Games W L D Win %  
NSW Country Seconds 1969, 1978 2 1 1 0 50.00% List
Riverina 1970 1 0 1 0 0.00% List
NSW Country Firsts 1970-75 6 1 5 0 16.67% List
NSW Country 1970, 1972, 1975 3 1 2 0 33.33% List
Overall1969-1978 12 3 9 0 25.00% List

Your Say

  • Anonymous
    17/05/2020

    RIP Arthur Summoms.

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Contributions: Greg Fiveash, Paul Carter, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, Rugby League Tables, Alan Katzmann, AJ Lucantonio, Bill Bates