Eric Simms (rugby league) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Eric Simms

Simms in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Eric John Simms
Born	(1945-08-02) 2 August 1945 (age 79) Karuah, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Position	Fullback, Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1965–75 South Sydney 206 23 803 86 1841 1976 Crookwell Total 206 23 803 86 1841 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1968 New South Wales 1 0 6 1 14 1968–70 Australia 8 1 39 3 87 1969 NSW City 1 0 4 1 10
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1976–77 Crookwell 1978 La Perouse Total 0 0 0 0

Eric Simms (born 2 August 1945) is a famous former Indigenous Australian rugby league player. He is known as one of the best players of the 20th century. Eric mostly played as a fullback, but he could also play in the centres. He played his entire top-level career for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. With them, he won four major championships. He was also the top point-scorer for four years in a row.

In 2008, Eric Simms was chosen as the fullback for the Indigenous Team of the Century. This team celebrates the best Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rugby league players. Eric set many records during his playing days, and some of them are still unbroken! He was an amazing goal-kicker, scoring points from field goals, penalty goals, and conversions. Once, in 1969, he kicked five field goals in just eleven minutes during a game against Penrith. People say Eric Simms was so good at kicking field goals that he changed the game of rugby league all by himself.

Eric Simms' Early Life and School

Eric Simms was born in Karuah, New South Wales on August 2, 1945. He was the oldest son of John (Jack) Simms. His mother was Gwendoline May Cook. Eric and his sister, Beverley, grew up in Karuah. They were raised by their mother and stepfather, Fred Ridgeway. Eric had many brothers and sisters.

Eric went to Karuah Public School. Later, he attended Raymond Terrace High School. There, his sports teacher, Les Leggatt, taught him how to kick goals really well.

Eric Simms' Amazing Playing Career

After school, Eric moved to La Perouse in Sydney. He played for the La Perouse Panthers Junior Rugby League Football Club. In 1964, his team won the championship. In 1965, when he was 19 and working as a truck driver, he joined the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He played in the centres in the 1965 Grand Final. His team lost to St George, but Eric scored the last points with a penalty goal.

Eric went on to play 206 first-grade games. He helped South Sydney win the Grand Final in 1967, 1968, 1970, and 1971. In total, he scored an amazing 1,841 points in his career. In 1969, he broke the record for the most points scored in a season with 265 points. This record was later broken by Mick Cronin. In 1973, Eric also broke the record for the most career points in the NSWRFL competition. His total of 1,841 points was the new record for ten seasons.

South Sydney Club Records

Eric Simms still holds several important records for the South Sydney Rabbitohs club:

• He is second for the most points scored in a first-grade career: 1,841 points. This includes 23 tries, 803 goals, and 86 field goals.
• He holds the record for the most first-grade points in a single season: 265 points in 1969.
• He has the most goals in a first-grade career: 890 goals.
• He has the most goals in a first-grade season: 131 goals in 1969.
• He scored the most goals in a single first-grade game: 11 goals. He did this twice in 1969, against Cronulla and against Penrith.

Eric Simms is also fifth on the list for the most first-grade matches played for South Sydney.

Playing in the World Cups (1968, 1970)

In the 1968 Rugby League World Cup, Eric Simms became the fourth Aboriginal player to represent Australia. He scored 50 points in just four games at that World Cup. This is a record that still stands today!

He also played in the 1970 World Cup in England. There, he scored 37 points in total. The final game in 1970 was very tough and physical. Australia won the match.

Coaching After Playing

After the 1975 season, Eric Simms moved to Crookwell, New South Wales. He became a captain-coach there in 1976. However, an arm injury forced him to stop playing at age 31. He coached Crookwell in 1977. Then, he returned to Sydney and coached the La Perouse team in 1978.

His Amazing Goal Kicking Skills

Eric Simms is known as one of the best goal kickers in Rugby League history.

His teammate, Ron Coote, said that Eric's kicking was a mix of natural talent and hard work. Ron explained that Eric would practice field goals from the halfway line for half an hour, almost never missing!

Eric himself said that kicking in a game is much harder than in practice. He explained that players are charging at you, and the crowd is booing. He remembered one time against Wests when a player hit him hard just as he kicked. Eric fell flat on his back, but he saw the ball go right between the posts!

People often say that the rule about field goals was changed because Eric was so good at them. He said he didn't really believe it at first, but so many people told him it was true that there must be something to it!

Awards and Special Honours

In 2001, Eric Simms was named in the Indigenous Team of the Century. This special team was chosen to honor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rugby league players. The team was announced at the Eric Simms Challenge event at Redfern Oval. This event celebrated all Indigenous players, past and present.

Life After Rugby League

In 1977, Eric Simms returned to Sydney. He started working on the wharves, which are docks where ships load and unload goods. He worked in this industry for over 30 years. The shift work meant he couldn't coach rugby league anymore. By 1997, he was a foreman at the White Bay wharves in Sydney. In 2008, he was still working at the Rozelle wharves.

Eric Simms is married to Charlene, and they have two children together. He also has three children from his first marriage.