Elliot Tenbosch Nicholson (13 December 1871 – 1 December 1953)
Scrum.com was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

international

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 ...

wing who played club rugby for

Birkenhead Park Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847. It is generally acknowledged as the first publicly funded civic park in the world. Th ...

. Nicholson played international rugby for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and was selected 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 1899 tour of Australia.

Rugby career

Nicholson came to note as a rugby player while playing for Birkenhead Park, and in 1899 he became the first player form the club to represent the British Isles team; now known as the British Lions. Nicholson was selected for the British Isles tour of Australia, and was described by the team captain,

Matthew Mullineux Matthew Mullineux MC (8 August 1867 – 13 February 1945) was an English rugby union scrum-half who, although not capped for England, was selected for two British Lions tours. He gained one cap during the 1896 tour to South Africa and cap ...

, as 'a very fast wing'. Nicholson was not chosen for either of the first two Tests against

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, with captain Mullineux choosing Irish wing

Gerry Doran Gerald "Gerry" Percy Doran (15 July 1877 – 31 March 1943) also known as Blucher Doran, was an Irish international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Lansdowne. Doran played international rugby for Ireland and in 1899 he was selected for ...

; but in the Third Test Nicholson was brought into the squad. The British Isles won the Test by a narrow 11-10 score line, and Nicholson kept his place for the fourth and final test. On his return to Britain, Nicholson found himself in favour with the English selectors and was brought into the England team for the

1900 Home Nations Championship The 1900 Home Nations Championship was the eighteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 6 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. After losing all three games the previous Championship, the selectors brought in 13 new caps for the opening game, against Wales, and Nicholson was the only member of the threequarter line with any international experience. The game ended in a Welsh victory, although Nicholson scored his first and only international points during the match with a

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. Despite losing the opening game, Nicholson was retained by the selectors for the second English game of the tournament, which was played at home to Ireland. England won the game 15-4, but Nicholson was dropped from the team for the next game, and never reselected for his country again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Elliot 1871 births 1953 deaths English rugby union players Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Derby British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players Birkenhead Park FC players