Lindsay James Townsend is a former New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 international rugby player. He was a member of 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 1955, playing in the Halfback position.

Early life

Townsend was born in Mataura

Mataura

Mataura is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Mataura has a meat processing plant, and until 2000 it was the site of a large pulp and paper mill....

, Southland

Southland

-Australia:* Westfield Southland, a large retail complex located in the suburb of Cheltenham, approximately 16 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD in Australia-Canada:* Greater Toronto Area...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and was educated at Christian Brothers School

Kavanagh College

Kavanagh College is a Catholic Secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. The school in its present form dates from 1989 but its origins as a secondary school go back to 1871....

, Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

 where he played rugby.

Senior rugby

Townsend played for the University

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

 club in 1953 and represented Otago

Otago

Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...

 in that year. From 1954 until 1957 he played for the Southern club in Dunedin. He then shifted to the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 and played for the Kamo

Kamo

-Japan:*Kamo, Niigata*Kamo District, Gifu*Kamo District, Hiroshima*Kamo District, Shizuoka*Kamo, Kyoto*Kamo, Okayama*Kamo, Shimane*Kamo, Shizuoka*Kamō, Kagoshima*The Kamo River in Kyoto-Rest of the world:*Gavar, Armenia - formerly Kamo*Kamo, Armenia...

 club and represented North Auckland in 1958-1963. He represented the South Island in 1954-1956 and was a New Zealand trialist 1956-1959. He played in the New Zealand XV in 1954 and 1955 and also played for the rest of New Zealand in the same years.

All Black

Townsend was selected for the All Blacks in 1955. He played in Australia in the first and third tests and at home for New Zealand which were the only games he played for the All Blacks.

Sources

• Ron Polanski, The All Blackography, Hodder Moa, 2007.