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James Allan (rugby)
Encyclopedia
James Allan was a former New Zealand rugby union
player who played 8 games for the All Blacks
, the New Zealand national rugby union team. He is listed as the first All Black in playing order and was nicknamed the Taieri Giant. Allan played in the first officially recognised national team.
Allan's position was forward and was one of the five original Otago
All Blacks. Allan played 6 seasons for Otago, from 1881 to 1886. Allan's 8 All Black appearances came on the 1884 All Blacks tour of Australia on which he scored 3 tries. He was rated as one of the tours valuable players. The tour saw him play 8 of the All Blacks' 9 games in a space of 23 days.
Allan was highly regarded as a forward with reports describing him as a player who was "consistently in the vanguard". Allan was also reported to be never far away from the ball along with being as "hard as nails" During his playing career at Otago, Allan became a distinguished player for the province. He had three other brothers who represented Otago.
Allan was a pupil of Otago Boys' High School
.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player who played 8 games for the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
, the New Zealand national rugby union team. He is listed as the first All Black in playing order and was nicknamed the Taieri Giant. Allan played in the first officially recognised national team.
Allan's position was forward and was one of the five original Otago
Otago Rugby Football Union
The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...
All Blacks. Allan played 6 seasons for Otago, from 1881 to 1886. Allan's 8 All Black appearances came on the 1884 All Blacks tour of Australia on which he scored 3 tries. He was rated as one of the tours valuable players. The tour saw him play 8 of the All Blacks' 9 games in a space of 23 days.
Allan was highly regarded as a forward with reports describing him as a player who was "consistently in the vanguard". Allan was also reported to be never far away from the ball along with being as "hard as nails" During his playing career at Otago, Allan became a distinguished player for the province. He had three other brothers who represented Otago.
Allan was a pupil of Otago Boys' High School
Otago Boys' High School
Otago Boys' High School is one of New Zealand's oldest boys' secondary schools, located in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was founded on 3 August 1863 and moved to its present site in 1885. The main building was designed by Robert Lawson and is regarded as one of the finest Gothic revival...
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