Robert Louis Challoner (born 3 October 1872) was a rugby union

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 represented for Australia

Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...

.

Challoner, a number 8, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and claimed a total of 1 international rugby caps for Australia. His debut game was against Great Britain, at Brisbane, on 22 July 1899 the second ever Test match

Test match (rugby union)

Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....

 played by an Australian national side

Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...

Early life

Robert attended Warwick School

Warwick School

Warwick School is an independent school with boarding facilities for boys in Warwick, England, and is reputed to be the third-oldest surviving school in the country after King's School, Canterbury and St Peter's School, York; and the oldest boy's school in England...

, and in fact was in the same school rugby side as Sidney Nelson Crowther

Sidney Nelson Crowther

Sidney Crowther was a rugby union international who represented Great Britain on the 1904 tour to Australia and New Zealand.-Early life:...

, the first Old Warwickian to gain international honours for Great Britain

British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

. Robert, after leaving school, emigrated to Australia and represented New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 and later Australia

Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...

 in the second test against a touring Great Britain side in 1899

1899 British Lions tour to Australia

The 1899 British Isles tour to Australia was the fourth rugby union tour by a British Isles team and the second to Australia; though the first tour in 1888 was a private venture, making the 1899 tour the first official undertaking of Australia...

. Due to funding constraints he was one of only six New South Wales

New South Wales Waratahs

The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...

 players ( with Charlie Ellis

Charlie Ellis

Charles L. Seymour "Charlie" Ellis was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Ellis, a lock and flanker, was born in Newcastle, New South Wales and claimed a total of four international rugby caps for Australia...

, Hyram Marks

Hyram Marks

Hyram A. Marks was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Marks, a lock, was born in Sydney, NSW and attended Sydney Grammar School and Sydney University. He claimed two international rugby caps for Australia and was the University rugby club's first Wallaby representative...

, Lonnie Spragg

Lonnie Spragg

Alonzo Stephen "Lonnie" Spragg was a rugby union player who represented Australia.Spragg, a centre, was born in Redfern, New South Wales and claimed four international rugby caps for Australia...

, Peter Ward

Peter Ward (rugby)

Peter M. Ward was a rugby union player who represented Australia.A fly-half, he was born in Invercargill and claimed a total of four international rugby caps for Australia. His Test debut was against Great Britain, at Sydney, on 24 June 1899, the inaugural rugby Test match played by an Australian...

 & Bob McCowan

Bob McCowan

Robert Herman "Bob" McCowan was a pioneer Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative fullback who played in his country's first Test series of 1899, captaining the national side on one occasion....

) selected to make the trip to Brisbane

Brisbane Exhibition Ground

The Brisbane Exhibition Ground , is a showground established in Brisbane during 1875 especially for Ekka . The Exhibition ground is owned and operated by the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland...

four weeks after the historic first Test. His performance in that match was noted as excellent by the press.