Tommy Chase
New Zealand rugby union and rugby league player

Tommy Chase (Tame Henare Teehi Chase) (1912- 4 May 1956) was a rugby league player. He represented the New Zealand rugby league team in one match on the 1939 aborted tour of England. In the process he became the 271st player to represent New Zealand. He also represented New Zealand Māori rugby league team, Auckland, and Auckland Māori on several occasions. He had joined the Manukau club in Auckland in 1937 following several years playing rugby union. He originally played for the Huia club in the Moawhango area in Whanganui and also spent time at the Old Boys and Ratana clubs. Chase also represented Taihape, Whanganui, Whanganui Māori, the Māori All Blacks, and several other representative sides. He became famous for his versatility where he played in almost every backline position on both rugby union and rugby league. Though it was generally stated that his ideal position on attack was the left wing due to a lightning fast left foot side step and swerve.
Early life
Tommy Chase was born in 1912 to Wire Hiraka Te Rakeipohe Pine and Paekiri Pine in Moawhango, in rural Whanganui.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Tommy Chase” as new Zealand rugby union and rugby league player. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as new Zealand rugby union and rugby league player. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 8, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q132368009. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1912, 1956, 1939 and 1937.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tommy Chase” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.