William "Ginger" Richard McLennan (5 June 1927 – 21 July 2007) was a New Zealand

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 ...

footballer who represented

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 ...

in the

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

and 1957 World Cups.

Playing career

Born on the West Coast, McLennan was a miner and represented the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

. He played for the Runanga club. He was first selected for

in 1951. McLennan played in 84 games for the Kiwis, including 28 tests. This included 22 consecutive tests. His total 84 games has been bettered only by

Jock Butterfield John Rutherford "Jock" Butterfield (18 January 1932 – 14 February 2004) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He was named amongst the finest that New Zealand produced during the 20th century. A New Zeala ...

(99) and

Tom Baxter Tom Baxter (born Thomas Baxter Gleave, 29 October 1973) is an English singer-songwriter based in London. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew up in Camborne Cornwall with his 4 siblings. The second son of Jeff and Julie Gleave (who were r ...

(94). He was part of the famous Kiwi team that won back-to-back test series against Australia in 1952 (in Australia) and 1953 (in New Zealand). McLennan was the vice-captain in the 1955-56 tour of Great Britain. He retired after this tour however he made a comeback for the 1957 World Cup. He was inducted as one of the New Zealand Rugby Leagues "Legends of League" in 2000.Legends of League
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLennan, Bill 2007 deaths New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players West Coast rugby league team players 1927 births New Zealand miners South Island rugby league team players Blackball players Rugby league props Runanga players