By
Michael Weaver
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From
when he started playing rugby union in the days of black
and white television, former Australian Wallaby Gary Pearse
has had a colourful career.
|
From
when he started playing rugby union in the days of black and white
television, former Australian Wallaby Gary Pearse has had a colourful
career.
His most recent venture was putting the current Australian Services
Rugby Union (ASRU) women’s team through its paces prior to
the Australian Women’s Invitational Tournament in Sydney
last month.
Well before that however, Pearse played for Australia from 1975-1978
as a flanker and from 1978-1984 as a prop in the seven-a-side
version.
He also spent a year playing with Italian club side Lazio - “It
was like playing with 14 Fonzies who spent most of their time
looking in the mirror before they went on” - before moving
to South Africa captaining Natal in their Curry Cup competition.
Pearse’s association with the ASRU team came about through
a similarly mutual admiration when he gave a speech at a gala
night at RMC Duntroon.
Team manager WO2 Barry Carr invited Pearse to put the team through
their paces and he was happy to help.
“I just helped get some basic things right and then let their
own talent take it from there,” he said.
