News

International pioneer Tas Baitieri receives Order of Australia Medal

Published by IntRL

12 Jun 2023

IRL life member Tas Baitieri, a pioneer of the international game, has been awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to Rugby League.

Baitieri has at various times been the game’s first International Development Officer, the French national coach and a dedicated employee of the NRL, while performing almost every role in the sport at grassroots and representative level.

Without Baitieri's selfless commitment it is unlikely the number of league-playing nations would have increased from five to 63 in the 38 years since the former Penrith and Canterbury forward moved to France after playing each off-season there from 1981.

Baitieri has been heavily involved in establishing league in Russia, the Middle East, South-East Asia and just about everywhere else the game is now played, including Melbourne, where he worked as a development officer in 1993 after returning from France.

His contribution to the game and achievements include:

International Development Manager, NRL, Asia Pacific Confederation, 1999-2020
Coaching Development Manager, New South Wales Rugby League, 1996-1999
Development Officer, Victoria Rugby League, 1993-1994
Player, Penrith Panthers, 1977-1981 and 1985
Player, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, 1982-1984
International Rugby League, Life Member, 2019
Referee, Japan versus Lebanon, 1998
Development Manager, 1999-2018
Federation Franï¿½aise de Rugby a XIII
Player coach, Paris Chatillon XIII, 1981-1990
Coach, les French Chanticleers, 1984-1986
Federation Francaise de Rugby a XIII, International Relations & Development 1984-1990
RLWC 2013 England & France - Group Manager France
Player and Coach, University Rugby League Competition, Cumberland College of Health Sciences, 1991-1992
Chief Executive Officer, Paris Saint-Germain Rugby League - France, 1995
Director, Rugby League World Cup Tournament, 2008
Technical Director, Pacific Games, 2007, 2015 and 2019
Chairman, Australian Universities, 2011
Test event, Brisbane Commonwealth Games, Redcliff, 2018
Chairman's Award, New South Wales Council for Pacific Communities, 2022.

Having become a fluent French speaker during his off-season playing stints in France, Baitieri was recruited as an interpreter for a pivotal international board meeting in Paris on May 7 and 8, 1985.

The international board comprised of Ron McGregor (New Zealand), Ben Sabumei (Papua New Guinea), Ken Arthurson (Australia), David Oxley (England) and Jacques Soppelsa (France).

Bill Fallowfield was the secretary at the time and Maurice Oldroyd (BARLA) was also present, while Mike Mayer as an observer from the United States.

A year earlier Baitieri had featured on the cover of Rugby League Week after travelling to Moscow to lobby for Russia to enter a team at the University World Games.

In 1998, the Youth Olympics were staged in Russia and featured an eight-nation league tournament comprising under 16s teams.

Baitieri was awarded life membership of International Rugby League at the 2018 annual general meeting and continues to serve the game.

He was involved with Italy at last year’s 2021 World Cup in England, while France and Tonga played for the Tas Baitieri Cup in the lead-up to the tournament in Halifax.

Tas Baitieri: International Pioneer

1981-84: Off-season stints for Paris club Chatillon
1984-86: France coach and full-time employment with FFR
1985: Attended inaugural RLIB meeting (predecessor to RLIF)
1989: Arranged first Dutch Amateur RL tournament
1990: French mid-season tour of Australia
1993: ARL as Development Officer in Melbourne
1994: Returned to France on secondment from RLIB for two years preparing a SWAT analysis of the game. World 7s in Sydney.
1995: Employed by Paris Saint Germain in European Super League. World 9s in Fiji.
1996: NSWRL Coaching Manager
1998: World Youth Games in Russia. Mediterranean Cup in France
1999: Tournament Manager for England, New Zealand, Australia tri-series
2000: World Cup and Emerging Nations World Championships in UK
2002: France to Lebanon and start of the game's foot print in the Middle East
2003: World 9s in Sydney and inauguration of Rugby League European Federation in Paris
2004: World 9s, French Wheelchair team to Australia, Australian Police team to Morocco
2005: First Prime Minister's 13 in PNG. Australian Police team to Argentina
2008: Centenary World Cup and Festival of World Cups in Australia
2010: Four Nations involving Australia, England, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand
2011: Four Nations involving England, Wales, New Zealand and Australia. Inauguration of Asia Pacific Rugby League Confederation in Auckland
2015: Pacific Games in PNG, Pacific Test
2016: Pacific Test
2018: Commonwealth Championships, Emerging Nations World Championships