James William McKay (12 July 1921 – 15 October 1997) 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 ...

player who played for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the British Lions and the Barbarians during the 1940s and 1950s.

Early life

McKay served during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, including with the

Chindits The Chindits, officially as Long Range Penetration Groups, were special operations units of the British and Indian armies which saw action in 1943–1944 during the Burma Campaign of World War II. The British Army Brigadier Orde Wingate form ...

unit. He studied at Coleraine Academy and then the

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 = ...

and played rugby for

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 ...

Rugby career

McKay made his first appearance for Ireland opening match of the

1947 Five Nations Championship The 1947 Five Nations Championship was the eighteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-third series of the northern hemisphere rugby u ...

against France. He played in every one of Ireland's matches during the Championship, a feat which he repeated in Ireland's Grand Slam championship win in 1948 and their championship win and Triple Crown in 1949. He did likewise in 1950 and was selected for the British Lions team for their tour to New Zealand and Australia. McKay featured in all six Test matches during the tour, four against New Zealand and two against Australia. He also featured in nine other games during the tour against local opposition, scoring ten tries during the tour, the most of any forward. He again featured in all four of Ireland's matches during the 1951 Five Nations Championship, which saw Ireland win their third championship in four years. His final game for Ireland came against France in January 1952. In total, McKay won 23 caps for Ireland. McKay twice played for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

against international opposition, against Australia in 1947 and South Africa in 1951. He also played three games for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

invitational team, against

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

and

Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premiership. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours. History ...

in 1948 and against East Midlands in 1951. Following completion of his studies at Queen's University, Belfast, McKay qualified as a doctor and decided to emigrate to New Zealand.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Bill 1921 births 1997 deaths Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Ireland international rugby union players Queen's University RFC players Rugby union players from Waterford (city) Rugby union flankers