Playing Career
Vital Statistics
- Full Name
- George Leslie Piggins
- Born
- Saturday, 14th October, 1944
- Current Age
- 80 years and 61 days
Honours & Awards
Based only on data available in the RLP database. This information should be used as a guide only.
- World Cup
- 1975
- Interstate Series
- 1974, 1976
- NSWRFL Premiership (NRL)
- 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971
- Preseason Cup
- 1978
- Dally M Coach Of The Year
- 1986, 1989
- National Rugby League Hall Of Fame
- 2023
Known Family Links
- Nephew
- Braith Anasta
Biography
Tough hooker brought the same brand of resilience to the Souths club as coach, and later club president, that he did as a player. Piggins was understudy to international Test rake Elwyn Walters for several seasons but was called up into Souths' grand final team in 1971. Piggins produced a ‘blinder’ - turning defence into attack with his raking back of the ball in the rucks and stealing yard after yard with his determined bursts. While Souths lost a galaxy of stars to other clubs in the 1970s Piggins remained and proved to be a tenacious opponent in any match he played. His try against Wests in a club match in 1975 was characteristic of the courage with which he played; Piggins beat man after man with a determined, bullocking run and crashed over beside the posts. He represented NSW (against Queensland and Great Britain) in 1974 but received his highest honour with selection for Australia in a World Series match against NZ the following year. Piggins was under a fitness cloud before the match but he was not to be denied his ‘green and gold’ jersey. After his retirement Piggins led a Souths’ revival during the 1980s ('Dally M' Coach of the Year in 1986 and1989), culminating in the club’s minor premiership success in 1989. Unfortunately the club was ravaged by financial and internal problems in 1990 and finished last. Piggins resigned as coach, but as football club chairman during the embattled 1990s fought hard to keep the Rabbitohs in the premiership before the newly formed NRL excluded the club from the 2000 premiership. Piggins then led a two-year, public campaign to have the club reinstated in the premiership. Souths’ appeal victory in July 2001 was due largely to his efforts and perseverance - few men in the history of the game have shown such single-mindedness in pursuit of a principle. In 2002-03, Piggins fought internal politics that led to his sacking of Souths’ CEO Paul Dunn and coach Craig Coleman before surviving a move by rebel Board members to oust him from the club Board. However, the arrival of the Peter Holmes a Court-Russell Crowe consortium and the acceptance by members of their plan to revitalize the club, saw the end of Piggins’ involvement in the club. Autobiography, Never Say Die (2002).
- 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 | Comp Wins | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
World Cup | 1 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
Tour Matches | New South Wales Firsts | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
Tour Matches | Australia | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | |||
Interstate Series | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) | 4 | 120 | 6 | - | - | 18 | 51 | 66 | 3 | 42.50% | List | ||||
NSWRFL Finals | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
Preseason Cup | 1 | 11 | - | - | - | - | 7 | 4 | 0 | 63.64% | List | ||||
Midweek Cup | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
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Test Matches - By Team | |||||||||||||||
Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
Australia | 1975 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
World Cup Matches - By Team | |||||||||||||||
Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
Australia | 1975 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
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Australia - By Team | |||||||||||||||
Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
NSW City Seconds | 1974-75 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
NSW Firsts | 1974, 1976 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
Overall | 1974-1976 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
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NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Year | |||||||||||||||
Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1967 | 16 | - | - | - | - | 11 | 5 | 0 | 68.75% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1968 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1969 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1970 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1971 | 10 | - | - | - | - | 6 | 4 | 0 | 60.00% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1972 | 5 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 40.00% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1973 | 16 | - | - | - | - | 8 | 7 | 1 | 50.00% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1974 | 17 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 52.94% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1975 | 15 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 11 | 0 | 26.67% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1976 | 18 | 2 | - | - | 6 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 38.89% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1977 | 11 | 1 | - | - | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 9.09% | List | ||||
South Sydney | NSWRFL 1978 | 3 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | List | ||||
NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Team | |||||||||||||||
Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
South Sydney | 1967-78 | 120 | 6 | - | - | 18 | 51 | 66 | 3 | 42.50% | List |
Contributions:
Rugby League Tables, Andrew Ferguson, Greg Fiveash, Paul Carter, Shawn Dollin, Alan Katzmann, Max Turner, Tony McCarron, Wests Archives, AJ Lucantonio
Your Say
20/02/2022
Barging try was v Wests in 1976
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