Alan Gerald Bernard Old (born 23 September 1945) is an English
rugby union player who had 16
caps for
England.
Old was an undergraduate at
Queen Mary College and later studied for a year at
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
, where he competed for
Durham University RFC.
In 1970 he was selected for North-Eastern Counties in their match against South Africa at Gosforth, part of the controversial
1969–70 South Africa rugby union tour of Britain and Ireland.
He made his debut for England against
Wales in 1972 and made a further 15 appearances with his final one being against
France in 1978. His 16 caps included four wins, although these were against
New Zealand,
South Africa,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
Wales. Old also played in the famous victory of the North of England over the touring
All Blacks at
Otley in 1979 with the English regional side running out 21-9 winners.
Old was selected for the
1974 British Lions tour to South Africa
In 1974, the British & Irish Lions toured South Africa, with matches in South West Africa and Rhodesia. Under the leadership of Willie John McBride, the Lions went through the tour undefeated, winning 21 of their 22 matches and being held to a ...
but could not displace
Phil Bennett at
fly-half. He played in only four matches on the tour, scoring a then-record 37 points in the match against South West Districts. His tour was ended by a serious leg injury in the match against the
Proteas.
He was often more admired by England fans than by the selectors. On one occasion, a fan was so enraged when a player whom he considered to be inferior was selected in Old's place that he reputedly composed a letter of complaint pointing out the many ways in which Old would have been a better choice and then sent a copy to each member of the selection committee, written in
Braille.
Old is the brother of former England fast bowler
Chris Old, and the brothers achieved a notable feat when Alan represented his country against
Scotland at
Murrayfield, whilst Chris was playing for England against the
West Indies in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
. Alan was also a
cricketer
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, playing 40 Minor County matches for
Durham between 1968 and 1978 and one 2nd X1 appearance for
Middlesex against
Kent in 1970. He also played in one
first-class match for
Warwickshire against
Cambridge University in 1969.
After the end of his playing career, Alan Old became a successful educationalist, serving as the Principal of Cleveland Technical College, having already been a master at
Worksop College and a mathematics teacher at
Sir William Turner's Grammar School, Redcar during his playing career.
External links
Alan Old on sporting-heroes.net
References
1945 births
Living people
Alumni of Durham University
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England
Durham cricketers
Durham University RFC players
England international rugby union players
English cricketers
English rugby union players
Leicester Tigers players
Minor Counties cricketers
Rugby union players from Middlesbrough
Warwickshire cricketers
Yorkshire County RFU players
Alumni of Queen Mary University of London
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