Lee Oudenryn
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Full name | Lee Oudenryn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Wee Waa, New South Wales, Australia | 8 February 1970|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Height | 187 cm (6 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Lee Oudenryn (born 8 February 1970) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. His outstanding speed saw him play mostly on the wing, though he also played a few games at fullback.
Background
[edit]Oudenryn was born in Wee Waa, New South Wales, Australia.
Playing career
[edit]A former junior soccer player, Oudenryn switched to rugby league in the early 1990s and made his first grade début on the wing for the Parramatta Eels in 1992 against Eastern Suburbs at the Sydney Football Stadium. He went on to play 19 games and score 8 tries in his debut season.
A noted speedster, Oudenryn gained a reputation as the fastest player in rugby league when he defeated Great Britain winger Martin Offiah, generally regarded at the time to be the fastest player, by half a metre in a 100-metre sprint race[2] prior to the Parramatta vs Great Britain match played at Parramatta Stadium during the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australasia (which Parramatta won 22–16).[3]
Oudenryn's standing as the fastest player in rugby league took a big hit at the Rugby League Sprint race held during the Botany Bay Gift in March 1993. Over 75 metres, Oudenryn could only finish in 3rd place behind winner Brett Dallas and second placed John Minto.[4]
After spending four seasons at Parramatta where he scored 146 points (18 tries, 37 goals) in 50 games, he signed to play with the Gold Coast Chargers in 1996. After a single season with the Chargers, Oudenryn moved to play with the Auckland Warriors in the 1997 Super League season, and stayed with the club until the end of the 2000 NRL season.
Oudenryn then signed with the North Queensland Cowboys, spending 2001 in Townsville before retiring at the end of the season at age 31.
Later years
[edit]After retiring from playing, Oudenryn returned to New Zealand where he became a member of the New Zealand Police.[5]
In 2011 Oudenryn returned to Australia where he continued his passion for policing becoming a detective in the New South Wales Police Force.
His son, Eli Oudenryn, who attended Palmerston North Boys' High School has played rugby union for Tasman and the New Zealand under-20 team.[6][7] He won the DJ Graham Medal as the player of the 2025 Super Rugby Under 20 tournament.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Lee Oudenryn rugbyleagueproject.org
- ^ Proszenko, Adrian (16 May 2010). "Race lines up NRL's quick men". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
- ^ Lee Oudenryn Archived 15 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine rugbyleague.co.nz
- ^ "Bulldog Winger Is League's Fastest". www.promotionalgift.com.au. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
- ^ "Dogs at the centre of action on Rural Day". Manawatu Standard. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ "The Press". www.thepress.co.nz.
- ^ www.vcsnet.co.nz, VCS Websites (NZ)-Lower Hutt and Wellington. "Eli M Oudenryn | New Zealand Rugby History". www.rugbyhistory.co.nz.
- ^ "Four of the best performers from Super Rugby Pacific round six". www.rugbypass.com. 23 March 2025.
- 1970 births
- Living people
- Australian rugby league players
- Australian police officers
- Gold Coast Chargers players
- 20th-century Australian sportsmen
- New Zealand police officers
- New Zealand Warriors players
- North Queensland Cowboys players
- Parramatta Eels players
- Rugby league players from Wee Waa
- Rugby league wingers