Arthur Boniface O'Brien (15 May 1878 – 31 May 1951) CCC Cemeteries Database Results Summary
librarydata.christchurch.org.nz was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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 it ...

fullback who played club rugby for

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. ...

. O'Brien is most notable for playing international rugby for the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

team on its 1904 tour of Australia, for which he was also elected team manager.

Rugby career

New Zealand born, O'Brien came to England to study medicine. While a student at

, he joined the hospital rugby team. In 1904, a British Isles team was formed to tour Australia and New Zealand, and Guy's Hospital provided four members of the team. O'Brien and fellow New Zealander

Pat McEvedy Patrick Francis McEvedy (17 March 1880 – 2 March 1935) was a rugby union player from New Zealand. He has the unique distinction of being on two British Lions tours, but never actually being capped for any nation. McEvedy was born in Southbri ...

, were two of the medical staff chosen to represent the Lions against their home country. As well as being chosen to play, O'Brien was also given the task of managing the British team. Of the 19 matches arranged for the tour, O'Brien played in 16 of them, and selected himself for all four Test games. His first match of the tour, against the New South Wales Waratahs, saw him score four conversions.Arthur O'Brien Lions profile
lionsrugby.com

Place of burial

Arthur O'Brien is buried in Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, NZ in Block 40 Plot 4. His last known address is listed as 70 Papanui Road, Christchurch. He was aged 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'brien, Arthur 1878 births 1951 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from New Zealand Burials at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Westport, New Zealand