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Norm "Sticks"〔 〕 Provan (born 18 December 1931) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. A giant of a man, he was a second-row forward with the St. George Dragons during their 11-year consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. Named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century, he was a representative in the Australian national team from 1954 to 1960 earning 14 Test and 2 World Cup cups. ==Club career & player-coach== His first junior football was played for North Sydney but after his family relocated to the St George/Sutherland region, Provan played with the Sutherland Woronora Juniors 〔Haddan p X〕 and the Sutherland Gravediggers. 〔Apter ''The Coaches: The Men Who Changed Rugby League'' ISBN 9781743465660〕 He was graded by St George in 1950 after being turned down by Easts the prior year. Having won the premiership in 1949, St George slipped to a fifth-place finish in 1950 but things were falling into place that year with the move to Jubilee Oval, Frank Facer's move from player to club selector and committeeman and Provan's arrival. Provan featured in their 1951 campaign - a loss in the final against Manly for 3rd place; a 2nd place in the minor premiership in 1952 and a semi-final exit to North Sydney; and then the 1953 Dragons side that lost the 1953 final to South Sydney. St George and Souths would battle head-to-head on many more occasions in Provan's illustrious career. Provan's strength at second row in attack and in defence, in partnership with Harry Melville, Harry Bath and Monty Porter laid the foundations in those first years of their glory run. After the retirement of Ken Kearney in 1962 from the playing arena, and given the Dragons administrators' preference for a player-coach, Provan took over as captain-coach and the club's dominant run continued. A fitness fanatic himself, Provan continued Kearney's punishing and successful training routine giving Dragon sides of the period confidence that they could edge out their fatiguing opposition in the final twenty minutes of each encounter. 〔Apter ''The Coaches: The Men Who Changed Rugby League'' ISBN 9781743465660〕 Provan set high standards for himself and his players directing a training mix that included sandhill running at Cronulla; lap running at Kogarah and touch-football. He was content to maintain a certain distance from the team and saw the captain-coach role as a tough, solitary role requiring him to stand slightly apart from his players. A teetotaller later in life, Provan occasionally shared a drink in the shed after a match but he would rarely finish the first beer.〔Apter ''The Coaches: The Men Who Changed Rugby League'' ISBN 9781743465660〕 Provan holds the club record of 284 games for St George achieved between 1951 and 1965.〔Haddan p X〕 He played in the first ten of their run of premiership victories – as captain-coach for four – and made 30 finals appearances for the club over fifteen consecutive seasons. His last game before retirement was a victory in the 1965 Grand Final where the Dragons beat the Rabbitohs 12–8 in front 78,065 which stands as the Sydney Cricket Ground's all-time attendance record.〔(Fitting Farewells ), ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 6 January 2007.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Norm Provan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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