Jack Rayner

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Full Name
Rupert John Rayner
Nickname(s)
Jack
Born
Monday, 11th April, 1921
Died
Saturday, 17th May, 2008 (Aged 87 years and 36 days)
Place Of Birth
Coraki, New South Wales, Australia

Awards & Accolades

Clive Churchill Medal
1955

Known Family Links

Cousin
Geoff Hawkey

Biography

One of the outstanding captains in the history of the code, Jack Rayner-led Souths teams won five premierships during the 1950s. Originally from Lismore, Rayner came to the club in 1946 on the recommendation of Eric Lewis, a staunch Souths clubman and 1937-38 Kangaroo, who spotted him playing for the Army while serving in New Guinea during the war. Rayner represented NSW in 1947 and earned the club captaincy with his tough brand of leadership from the front row. He made his Test debut in the First Test against NZ in 1948 but was a reserve in the Second Test in Brisbane. Rayner played in the first two Tests against Great Britain on the Kangaroo tour at the end of the year but his only other Test appearances were on the Australian Tour of NZ in 1949. However, it is his record as captain-coach of Souths for which he remains so highly regarded. A tough, no-nonsense detective, Rayner was able to harness the great talents in the club - Churchill, Moir, Hawick, Cowie, Purcell and Hammerton - to form the most successful era in the club’s history. After losing to St George in the 1949 grand final, Souths won premierships in 1950-51 before losing controversially to Wests in 1952. The Rabbitohs bounced back to win a hat trick of premierships in 1953-55, culminating in the amazing comeback win in 1955 after the club had been completely written off. Rayner retired at the end of 1957, feeling the affects of a knee injury, with a record five premiership titles in his 10 years as Souths captain (the last eight as captain-coach). Rayner returned to the game to coach P’matta between 1957and 1960 but remains a South Sydney and Australian rugby league legend.
- ALAN WHITICKER

Playing 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   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NRL 194 58 8   - 190 129 59 6 66.49% List
City vs Country Firsts 6 5 -   - 15 6 0 0 100.00% List
Interstate Matches 12 4 -   - 12 10 2 0 83.33% List
Tour Matches New South Wales Firsts 5 2 -   - 6 4 1 0 80.00% List
Tour Matches Australia 33 8 1   - 26 22 11 0 66.67% List
Test Series 5 1 -   - 3 1 4 0 20.00% List
The Ashes 2 - -   - - 0 2 0 0.00% List
NRL Finals 18 8 -   - 24 13 5 0 72.22% List
Tour Matches New South Wales XIII 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Tour Matches Australian XIII 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Country Carnival 6 3 2   - 13 5 1 0 83.33% List
Tour Matches Sydney Firsts 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1948-49 6 1 -   - 3 2 4 0 33.33% List

International Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1948-1949 1 1 -   - 3 1 0 0 100.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Probables (AU) 1946 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
NSW City Seconds 1946 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
NSW Firsts 1947-50, 1954 18 9 -   - 27 15 3 0 83.33% List
NSW City Firsts 1947-51, 1954 6 5 -   - 15 6 0 0 100.00% List
Australia XIII 1951 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
NSW XII 1951 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Possibles (AU) 1951 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Sydney Firsts 1953-54 2 2 -   - 6 2 0 0 100.00% List
Overall1946-1954 31 16 0   0 48 26 5 0 83.87% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Souths NSWRFL 1946 5 - -   - - 0 5 0 0.00% List
Souths NSWRFL 1947 16 10 -   - 30 7 9 0 43.75% List
Souths NSWRFL 1948 9 3 -   - 9 4 4 1 44.44% List
Souths NSWRFL 1949 20 5 -   - 15 13 6 1 65.00% List
Souths NSWRFL 1950 18 5 -   - 15 15 3 0 83.33% List
Souths NSWRFL 1951 19 5 3   - 21 16 2 1 84.21% List
Souths NSWRFL 1952 21 5 1   - 17 14 7 0 66.67% List
Souths NSWRFL 1953 19 5 4   - 23 13 5 1 68.42% List
Souths NSWRFL 1954 18 6 -   - 18 15 2 1 83.33% List
Souths NSWRFL 1955 18 4 -   - 12 13 5 0 72.22% List
Souths NSWRFL 1956 19 10 -   - 30 12 6 1 63.16% List
Souths NSWRFL 1957 12 - -   - - 7 5 0 58.33% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Souths 1946-57 194 58 8   - 190 129 59 6 66.49% List

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Contributions: Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson, Rugby League Tables, Alan Katzmann, Greg Fiveash, Paul Carter, Michael Borg, Bill Bates, Max Turner, AJ Lucantonio, Tim Costello