Jim Lenehan
Encyclopedia
Jim Lenehan is a former Australia
n rugby union
footballer. A state
and national
representative versatile back, he played twenty-four matches for Australia, once as captain. His national representative career spanned a ten year period during which time he made two grande Wallaby
tours to the Home Nations
and numerous appearances against New Zealand
and South Africa.
Lenehan was sent to Sydney to school at Riverview. He was a schoolboy hurdler of some note at the GPS athletics level. After school his rugby career continued with the Wagga Wagga Waratahs and the Narrandera Rugby Club.
1957–58 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France.
His eight-month tour was a dream representative debut. His Test debut
was made against Wales
and he played in four of the five Tests of the tour and in thirty-two of the total forty-one games. He was the leading point scorer (114 points) and leading try scorer (13). He caused some controversy in the 3rd Test of the tour - that against England
at Twickenham
when he knocked England's Peter Thompson out cold in a tackle that some of the crowd felt was late and cynical. He was booed by the Twickenham crowd as he had been similarly by the crowd in the tour match against Swansea RFC
three weeks earlier. In a tour which was not successful for the Wallabies (winning nil from five Tests and only winning 22 of the total 41 matches) Lenehan's performances were strong and he returned to Australian with his playing reputation enhanced.
In 1958 he made representative appearances for New South Wales
and Australia
against the visiting New Zealand Maori
and that same year embarked on a tour of New Zealand where he played in two tour matches but was prevented from any Test appearances due to injury. In 1959 he played for Australia in both Tests against the visiting British Lions as well as in state and regional representative teams that met them. In 1961 he made his first tour to South Africa
playing in five of the six possible tour matches including both Tests against the Springboks
. That year he played at fullback in the one-off Sydney
Test against France
.
In 1962 he was honored with the national captaincy in the second Test against the All Blacks
in Sydney. He would have captained the side in the first test was kept out by injury and that honor went to Peter Johnson. On the tour to New Zealand that same year he was the squad's vice-captain with John Thornett
commencing his leadership ascendancy at that time. Lenehan played in nine of the thirteen matches, including all three Tests and captained the side in a mid-week tour game.
Injury stopped him making any representative appearances in 1963 and he was sent home from a tour squad bound for South Africa with a knee problem. In 1965 he returned to the national scene for two Tests against the Springboks
which Australia won. His devastating defensive capabilities saw him named for the 1966–67 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France. Along with Tony Miller
he became at that time, one of only two Australian players after Nicholas Shehadie
to make his second "grande tour" since till that point Wallaby tours to the British Isles and Europe were always spaced a decade apart. He enjoyed another successful tour playing in all five Tests, 23 of the 36 possible matches and placing 2nd as tour point scorer behind Phil Hawthorne
. Later in 1967 he made the final state and national appearance of his illustrious career when the Irish national team
toured to Sydney.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n 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...
footballer. A state
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...
and national
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...
representative versatile back, he played twenty-four matches for Australia, once as captain. His national representative career spanned a ten year period during which time he made two grande Wallaby
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...
tours to the Home Nations
Home Nations
Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on the context. Politically, it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom...
and numerous appearances against New Zealand
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....
and South Africa.
Early life
A grazier's son born in Wagga Wagga, New South WalesWagga Wagga, New South Wales
Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, and with an urban population of 46,735 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia...
Lenehan was sent to Sydney to school at Riverview. He was a schoolboy hurdler of some note at the GPS athletics level. After school his rugby career continued with the Wagga Wagga Waratahs and the Narrandera Rugby Club.
Representative rugby career
Lenehan was a tremendous left-foot punt kicker of the ball and is said to have regularly kicked the ball 75m in matches. He was an excellent goal-kicker and a punishing defender who used his full 14stone playing weight to hit opponents ferociously. His potential was noticed at school by national coach Alan Roper, who also coached at Riverview. At 19 years of age with only some school and country rugby behind him, he was trialled and selected in the squad for the WallabiesAustralia 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...
1957–58 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France.
His eight-month tour was a dream representative debut. His Test debut
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....
was made against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
and he played in four of the five Tests of the tour and in thirty-two of the total forty-one games. He was the leading point scorer (114 points) and leading try scorer (13). He caused some controversy in the 3rd Test of the tour - that against England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
when he knocked England's Peter Thompson out cold in a tackle that some of the crowd felt was late and cynical. He was booed by the Twickenham crowd as he had been similarly by the crowd in the tour match against Swansea RFC
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
three weeks earlier. In a tour which was not successful for the Wallabies (winning nil from five Tests and only winning 22 of the total 41 matches) Lenehan's performances were strong and he returned to Australian with his playing reputation enhanced.
In 1958 he made representative appearances for 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...
and 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...
against the visiting New Zealand Maori
New Zealand Maori rugby union team
New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...
and that same year embarked on a tour of New Zealand where he played in two tour matches but was prevented from any Test appearances due to injury. In 1959 he played for Australia in both Tests against the visiting British Lions as well as in state and regional representative teams that met them. In 1961 he made his first tour to South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
playing in five of the six possible tour matches including both Tests against the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
. That year he played at fullback in the one-off Sydney
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
Test against France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
.
In 1962 he was honored with the national captaincy in the second Test against 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....
in Sydney. He would have captained the side in the first test was kept out by injury and that honor went to Peter Johnson. On the tour to New Zealand that same year he was the squad's vice-captain with John Thornett
John Thornett
John Thornett is a former Australian rugby union player, having played 37 Tests for Australia between 1955 and 1967. He captained Australia on four of the eight occasions that he went on tour....
commencing his leadership ascendancy at that time. Lenehan played in nine of the thirteen matches, including all three Tests and captained the side in a mid-week tour game.
Injury stopped him making any representative appearances in 1963 and he was sent home from a tour squad bound for South Africa with a knee problem. In 1965 he returned to the national scene for two Tests against the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
which Australia won. His devastating defensive capabilities saw him named for the 1966–67 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France. Along with Tony Miller
Tony Miller (rugby)
Tony Miller MBE, was an Australian rugby union footballer and coach, A state and national representative second-row forward, he played forty-one Test matches for Australia in a representative career spanning sixteen seasons. His age at 38 years, 113 days at the time of his last Wallaby...
he became at that time, one of only two Australian players after Nicholas Shehadie
Nicholas Shehadie
Sir Nicholas Michael Shehadie, AC, OBE KStJ is the former Lord Mayor of Sydney and a former national representative rugby union captain, who made thirty career Test appearances...
to make his second "grande tour" since till that point Wallaby tours to the British Isles and Europe were always spaced a decade apart. He enjoyed another successful tour playing in all five Tests, 23 of the 36 possible matches and placing 2nd as tour point scorer behind Phil Hawthorne
Phil Hawthorne
Phil Hawthorne was an Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer - a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in 21 Tests and the Kangaroos in 3 Tests. He captained Australia in rugby league the 3rd Test of the 1970 Ashes series.-Rugby union career:Hawthorne was born in 1943...
. Later in 1967 he made the final state and national appearance of his illustrious career when the Irish national team
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
toured to Sydney.
Accolades
Lenehan was inducted into the Wagga Wagga City Council, Sporting Hall of Fame and given a biographical entry on the City website.Published references
- Howell, Max (2005) Born to Lead - Wallaby Test Captains, Celebrity Books, Auckland NZ