Trevor Allan
Encyclopedia
Trevor Allan OAM
was an Australia
n dual-code rugby international who captained Australia
in rugby union
before switching to rugby league
with English club Leigh
.
in Sydney where his father was a coach. Tressider described him as a fine running centre with powerful acceleration once he got outside a rival. His forte was the muscle he would add to a back-line with his fierce tackling. He had strength beyond his years and slight physique. As a teenager he shared an ice-run with one of his brothers and he would haul a 28-pound block of ice on a hook in either hand sometimes climbing three or four flights of stairs to make the delivery.
aged just 19 and later that year for the 1946 tour of New Zealand, the Wallabies' first post-war tour. Allan's defence impressed against the experienced All Black backline.
In 1947 he was selected as vice-captain of the Wallaby side to tour Europe and North America. In the sixth game of the tour, in a minor match against London Counties, the captain Bill McLean
broke his leg badly and was able to play no further part in the nine-month tour. Allan took over. This was a few days after his 21st birthday making him the second youngest Wallaby captain and the youngest ever touring captain. The Wallabies beat Scotland
, Ireland
and England
but lost to Wales
on penalties. They did not have a try scored against them in any of these Tests. Allan returned from the tour having proved both his exceptional leadership and playing capabilities.
In 1949 he led the Wallabies to New Zealand where they won the Bledisloe Cup
for the first time in New Zealand and posted eleven wins from twelve games on tour. The Rugby Almanack of New Zealand that year named him one of the world's top 5 players.
He missed the Test against the British Lions
in 1950 due to injury but coached the Australian side.
In all he played 17 matches for the New South Wales Waratahs
in his rugby career, he played for Australia in 52 matches on which 14 were Tests. He was captain in 40 of those 52 national appearances, 10 of them Tests.
club Leigh
. With the assistance of Australian former rugby league international Ray Stehr
, He signed a four-year contract with the club worth 5,000 pounds sterling. He made 97 appearances for Leigh in a four-year period, scoring 52 tries. He also represented in a star studded Other Nationalities
side during this time, making him a dual-code international. He returned to Australia in 1955 and played three seasons with the North Sydney Bears
, the last two as captain-coach.
for services to rugby union. He was made a life member of the Sydney Cricket Ground
and has been honored there with the installment of a bronze sculpture of his likeness, and a plaque in the Walk of Honour there commemorates his career.
His 1947 Wallaby tour teammate Sir Nicholas Shehadie
described him as follows: I doubt that I ever laid eyes on a better defending centre who also excelled in attack. He performed many try-saving tackles, most memorably in our 1948 Test defeat of England at Twickenham. Few better leaders.
In 2007 the Trevor Allan Cup was created in his honour being a five round North/South pool competition involving first grade teams from all twelve Sydney clubs, conducted in the second half of the Sydney domestic season after completion of the Shute Shield
first grade competition.
In 2010 he was honoured in the sixth set of inductees into the Australian Rugby Union Hall of Fame.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
was an Australia
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 dual-code rugby international who captained Australia
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...
in 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...
before switching to rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
with English club Leigh
Leigh Centurions
Leigh Centurions is an English professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester who play in the Co-operative Championship.The club was founded in 1878 as Leigh Rugby Football Club and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in...
.
Rugby union club career
A North Sydney rugby union junior, Allan's senior career was with the Gordon rugby clubGordon RFC
Gordon Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club based on the North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales. The club, known as the Highlanders, play out of Chatswood Oval and compete in the New South Wales Rugby Union grade competition.-Club information:...
in Sydney where his father was a coach. Tressider described him as a fine running centre with powerful acceleration once he got outside a rival. His forte was the muscle he would add to a back-line with his fierce tackling. He had strength beyond his years and slight physique. As a teenager he shared an ice-run with one of his brothers and he would haul a 28-pound block of ice on a hook in either hand sometimes climbing three or four flights of stairs to make the delivery.
Rugby union representative career
After only a handful of senior games, he was selected for New South WalesNew 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...
aged just 19 and later that year for the 1946 tour of New Zealand, the Wallabies' first post-war tour. Allan's defence impressed against the experienced All Black backline.
In 1947 he was selected as vice-captain of the Wallaby side to tour Europe and North America. In the sixth game of the tour, in a minor match against London Counties, the captain Bill McLean
Bill McLean
William Malcolm McLean was an Australian soldier and a state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in five Test matches immediately after World War II.-Pre-war rugby:...
broke his leg badly and was able to play no further part in the nine-month tour. Allan took over. This was a few days after his 21st birthday making him the second youngest Wallaby captain and the youngest ever touring captain. The Wallabies beat Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
, Ireland
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...
and 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...
but lost to 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...
on penalties. They did not have a try scored against them in any of these Tests. Allan returned from the tour having proved both his exceptional leadership and playing capabilities.
In 1949 he led the Wallabies to New Zealand where they won the Bledisloe Cup
Bledisloe Cup
Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
for the first time in New Zealand and posted eleven wins from twelve games on tour. The Rugby Almanack of New Zealand that year named him one of the world's top 5 players.
He missed the Test against the British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
in 1950 due to injury but coached the Australian side.
In all he played 17 matches for the New South Wales Waratahs
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...
in his rugby career, he played for Australia in 52 matches on which 14 were Tests. He was captain in 40 of those 52 national appearances, 10 of them Tests.
Rugby league career
In late 1950 Allan signed with English Rugby Football LeagueRugby Football League
The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league football in England. Based at Red Hall in Leeds, it administers the England national rugby league team, the Challenge Cup, Super League and the Rugby League Championships...
club Leigh
Leigh Centurions
Leigh Centurions is an English professional rugby league club based in Leigh, Greater Manchester who play in the Co-operative Championship.The club was founded in 1878 as Leigh Rugby Football Club and is one of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in...
. With the assistance of Australian former rugby league international Ray Stehr
Ray Stehr
Raymond Ernest Stehr was an Australian rugby league footballer, a state and national representative player whose club career was played at Sydney's Eastern Suburbs club. He has been named as one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.-Early life:Stehr was born in the country New...
, He signed a four-year contract with the club worth 5,000 pounds sterling. He made 97 appearances for Leigh in a four-year period, scoring 52 tries. He also represented in a star studded Other Nationalities
Other Nationalities rugby league team
The Other Nationalities rugby league team regularly played international, and also county, rugby league football teams in Europe from 1904 to 1975. The team, created in 1904 to play England in the first ever rugby league international match, was at first made up of Welsh and Scottish players...
side during this time, making him a dual-code international. He returned to Australia in 1955 and played three seasons with the North Sydney Bears
North Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
, the last two as captain-coach.
Post-playing
After retiring he began a long and successful career with the Australian Broadcasting Commission as a commentator on league and union. He was the face and voice of the ABC's rugby union coverage throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He died early in 2007.Accolades and honours
He was awarded the Order of AustraliaOrder of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
for services to rugby union. He was made a life member of the Sydney Cricket Ground
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...
and has been honored there with the installment of a bronze sculpture of his likeness, and a plaque in the Walk of Honour there commemorates his career.
His 1947 Wallaby tour teammate Sir 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...
described him as follows: I doubt that I ever laid eyes on a better defending centre who also excelled in attack. He performed many try-saving tackles, most memorably in our 1948 Test defeat of England at Twickenham. Few better leaders.
In 2007 the Trevor Allan Cup was created in his honour being a five round North/South pool competition involving first grade teams from all twelve Sydney clubs, conducted in the second half of the Sydney domestic season after completion of the Shute Shield
Shute Shield
The Shute Shield is a rugby union competition in Sydney, New South Wales. It is the premier grade rugby trophy in NSW rugby. The Shute Shield is awarded at the end of the Sydney Club Rugby season to the team that wins the Grand Final...
first grade competition.
Sources
- Collection (1995) Gordon Bray presents The Spirit of Rugby, Harper Collins Publishers Sydney - (Essay specific to this article Phil Tressider's The Class of '47-48 1st published Sydney's Daily Telegraph 1987)
- Whiticker, AlanAlan WhitickerAlan J. Whiticker is an Australian non-fiction author with currently over 30 published books.Whiticker writes primarily on matters pertaining to the history of the sport of rugby league in Australia, but has also published works on subjects as diverse as the Wanda Beach Murders and an adaptation...
& Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney - Howell, Max (2005) Born to Lead - Wallaby Test Captains, Celebrity Books, Auckland NZ
- Shehadie, Nicholas (2003) A Life Worth Living, Simon & Schuster Australia