Gerald "Gerry" Percy Doran (15 July 1877 – 31 March 1943) also known as Blucher Doran, was an Irish 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 it ...

wing who played club rugby for

Lansdowne Lansdowne or Lansdown may refer to: People * Lansdown Guilding (1797–1831), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines naturalist and engraver *Fenwick Lansdowne (1937–2008), Canadian wildlife artist * George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne (1666–1735) ...

. Doran played international rugby 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 ...

and in 1899 he 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 tour of Australia. Doran's older brother

Eddie Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

and younger brother, Bertie, also played international rugby for Ireland. Doran is most notable within rugby for scoring the winning try in the final game of the 1899 Home Nations Championship, which gave Ireland their second

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Rugby career

Doran played all his international rugby while representing Lansdowne, captaining the club for two seasons between 1898 and 1900. His nickname within the club was ''Blucher'', a reference to Field Marshal

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Fürst von Wahlstatt (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (sovereign prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Prussian '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earne ...

, as he always arrived late. Doran was first capped for Ireland in the country's second encounter of the 1899 Home Nations Championship, played away from home against Scotland. Ireland had begun the tournament with a win over England, but swapped out three of the four threequarter players for the game in Scotland. Doran was brought in on the wing opposite Edward Campbell, in a game which saw Ireland beat the Scottish on their own soil. Doran was reselected for the final game of the Championship, played against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

. The game was a chaotic affair, interrupted several times as crowds overflowed onto the pitch. Doran scored the only points of the game, his first international

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

, which not only gave Ireland the Championship, but also the Triple Crown. After the 1899 Championship victory, Doran was invited to tour Australia with

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 ...

's British Isles team. Doran played in twelve of the twenty tour matches, and was chosen for the first two Test matches against the Australian national team.Gerry Doran player profile
lionsrugby.com Although Doran failed to score in the Test matches he amassed six tries in the invitational games. On his return to Britain, Doran was reselected for the Ireland national team, playing in the opening game of the 1900 Championship, a loss against England. Despite the loss, Doran was reselected for the very next match, his first international played in Ireland. The game was played at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

against Scotland, and is notable as being the first international game for Doran's brother, Bertie. Doran and Bertie played three international games together, though neither played with older brother Eddie, as his international career was over by 1890. Doran missed the 1901 Championship, but played in the final two games of the 1902 tournament, scoring a try in a win over Scotland, but then losing heavily to Wales. Doran played in two more international games, both ending in losses, to Wales in

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...

and against England in

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Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Doran, Gerry 1877 births 1943 deaths Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Rugby union wings Lansdowne Football Club players Rugby union players from County Dublin