Ray Mordt

Raymond Herman Mordt ; born 15 February 1957) is a Zimbabwean/South African rugby footballer who represented his country in rugby union before moving to English professional rugby league club, Wigan, with whom he won the Championship during the 1986–87 season. He is the uncle of England Sevens player Nils Mordt.

Playing career Rugby union Mordt grew up and started playing rugby in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). He went to Churchill High School in Salisbury. He played Wing for the Springboks where he captained the team 3 times (twice as a substitute) from 1980 until 1984. He made his début against the South American Jaguars on 26 April 1980 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. South Africa won the game 24–9. As a player, he may be best known for scoring 3 tries against the All Blacks in the famous "flour bomb" Test at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand on 12 September 1981. South Africa lost the game 25–22. Ray Mordt played a total of 18 tests (plus 7 tour games) for the Springboks, scoring 12 tries for a total of 48 points.

Mordt played Currie Cup rugby for Zimbabwe, Transvaal and Northern Transvaal and scored 35 career tries.

Test history

No. Opposition Result (SA 1st) Position Tries Date Venue1. 24px South American Jaguars 24–9 Wing 1 26 April 1980 Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg2. 24px South American Jaguars 18–9 Wing 3 May 1980 Kings Park Stadium, Durban3. 26–22 Wing 31 May 1980 Newlands, Cape Town4. 26–19 Wing 14 June 1980 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein5. 12–10 Wing 28 June 1980 Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth6. 13–17 Wing 12 July 1980 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria7. 24px South American Jaguars 22–13 Wing 18 October 1980 Wanderers Club, Montevideo8. 24px South American Jaguars 30–16 Wing 2 25 October 1980 Prince of Wales Country Club, Santiago 9. 37–15 Wing 8 November 1980 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria10. 12–10 Wing 6 June 1981 Kings Park Stadium, Durban11. 9–14 Wing 15 August 1981 Lancaster Park, Christchurch12. 24–12 Wing 29 August 1981 Athletic Park, Wellington13. 22–25 Wing 3 12 September 1981 Eden Park, Auckland 14. 38–7 Wing 3 20 September 1981 Owl Creek Polo ground, Glenville, New York15. 24px South American Jaguars 50–18 Wing 2 27 March 1982 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 16. 24px South American Jaguars 12–21 Wing 3 April 1982 Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein17. 24px South American Jaguars 32–15 Wing 20 October 1984 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 18. 24px South American Jaguars 22–13 Wing 1 27 October 1984 Newlands, Cape Town

Accolades During his rugby union playing career Mordt was nominated for the SA Rugby Young Player of the Year in 1978 and SA Rugby Player of the Year in 1981, 1983 and 1984. he scored his first try for Wigan in the 44–6 victory over Hull F.C. at Central Park, Wigan on Sunday 2 March 1986. He played on the in Wigan's 11–8 victory over Hull Kingston Rovers in the 1985–86 John Player Special Trophy Final at Elland Road, Leeds on Saturday 11 January 1986, and was also part of the Championship-winning team during the 1986–87 season. He scored his last try for Wigan in the 54–2 victory over Oldham at Central Park, Wigan on Wednesday 8 April 1987, he played his last match for Wigan in the 24–6 victory over Oldham at Watersheddings, Oldham on Monday 20 April 1987, before retiring due to injury.

Baseball Mordt also represented Rhodesia in the 1978 inter-provincial tournament in Durban, South Africa.

Coaching career After his active career Mordt has been engaged as a coach for the Springboks and other teams. In 1994 The International Rugby Board barred Mordt from joining South Africa's tour of Wales, Scotland and Ireland as a fitness instructor because of his time spent playing rugby league.

As a coach Mordt has won the Currie Cup in 1994, coaching Transvaal. He was also a crucial cog in the 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning coaching set-up of Kitch Christie.