Alexander Roulston Foster (22 June 1890 – 24 August 1972) was an Irish

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 ...

international who was part of the first official

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 that toured South Africa in 1910. He also played on 17 occasions for Ireland.

Early life

Alexander Roulston Foster was born in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

22 June 1890. He was the son of John Foster and Chrissie Bell Foster née Roulston. His father was a Relieving Officer originally from

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

from whence his mother also hailed. He had a number of siblings including older sister Mary Elizabeth and older brother Samuel Russell, and two younger sisters, Sarah Jane and Christina McClelland.1901 Ireland census
/ref> He was educated at

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

Rugby career

Foster played rugby union as a centre and captained his university side,

Queen's University RFC Queen's University Belfast Rugby Football Club is the rugby union team of Queen's University Belfast, currently playing in Division 2A of the All-Ireland League. Founded in 1869, it is the most successful and oldest continuous rugby union clu ...

. He also played for City of Derry R.F.C. He was selected to play for Ireland in 1910, debuting at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

against England on 12 February 1910. He went on to play against both Scotland and France in that first ever

Five Nations championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

and was later selected for the first official

team that toured South Africa in 1910. In that tour he played in two of the tests. On his return to Five Nations rugby he played in every match of the 1911 and 1912 seasons but was absent for the 1913 championship. In 1914 he returned to play in three of the four matches for Ireland in the final championship before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and was selected in the first championship after the war in 1921, playing his last match for Ireland on 12 March 1921 against Wales.

Career

Foster taught at

Foyle College Foyle College is a co-educational non-denominational voluntary grammar school in Derry, Northern Ireland. The school's legal name is Foyle and Londonderry College. In 1976, two local schools, Foyle College and Londonderry High School, merged und ...

and coached its rugby side during what has been termed its great rugby era. The school, which had won the School's Cup in 1900, reached consecutive School's Cup finals in 1913 and 1914, losing in these finals to

Campbell College Campbell College located in Belfast, Northern Ireland and founded in 1894 comprises a preparatory school department (junior age) and a senior Northern Ireland 'Voluntary Grammar' school, the latter meaning, in terms of provision of education, a ...

and Methody (the Methodist College Belfast) respectively. However, a third final was reached in 1915 and on this occasion the school managed a 5–3 win over

Royal School, Armagh The Royal School, Armagh is a co-educational voluntary grammar school, founded in the 17th century, in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. It has a boarding department with an international intake. It is a member of the Headmasters' and H ...

. Over half of the trophy-winning team fought in the First World War. Foster soon left Foyle moving first to the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

and later becoming headmaster of the

Belfast Royal Academy The Belfast Royal Academy (commonly shortened to ) is the oldest school in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school in north Belfast. The Academy is one of 8 schools in Northern ...

, a position he held until 1942.Jonathan Bradley, ''Foyle College recall history boys - Londonderry school seeking cup glory century after last triumph'', Belfast Telegraph, January 9, 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Alexander 1890 births Irish rugby union players Rugby union centres British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland 1972 deaths Queen's University RFC players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union players from County Londonderry