Andrew James O'Brien (1897–1969) was a New Zealand

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

er who represented New Zealand with the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

and in

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

Rugby union career

O'Brien began his career playing

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

between 1919 and 1921. He also played for a combined

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

- Golden Bay-Motueka side against the 1921

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

in the side's 26–3 defeat. In that game he lined up alongside fellow future dual-international

Charles Fitzgerald Charles Fitzgerald ( – 29 December 1887) was an Irish officer in the Royal Navy and Governor of The Gambia from 1844 until 1847, then Governor of Western Australia from 1848 to 1855. Son of William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster, Fitz ...

. In 1922, he moved north to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, joining the Grafton club. He immediately was selected for the North Island side and subsequently the

tour of New Zealand and South Wales.Jim O'Brien profile
allblacks.com. Accessed 4 August 2023. He finished the tour having played in 3 games and scored one try. Returning to Auckland, O’Brien played his first game for the union late in the 1922 season. In 1923 he played five games for Auckland.

Rugby league career

City v Marist 24 May 1930 at Carlaw Park

O'Brien switched to

in 1924, joining Marist in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

competition. He played for

and made the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

for three tests against the touring

Great Britain Lions The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions. For most of the 20th century, the Great Britain team toured overseas, ...

side that year. He toured Australia in 1925 and gained another two Kiwi test caps playing against Great Britain when they toured again in 1928.O'BRIEN, Andrew James 1924 – 25, 1928 – Kiwi #157
''nzleague.co.nz'' In 1929, he served as the secretary of the Marist club.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Jim 1897 births 1969 deaths Dual-code rugby internationals New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Marlborough rugby union players Auckland rugby union players Rugby union hookers New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players Auckland rugby league team players Marist Saints players North Island rugby league team players Rugby league props North Island rugby union players Rugby union players from Blenheim, New Zealand