Ian Geddes Davidson (10 August 1877 – 22 June 1939) was an Irish rugby union player who played in the wing position. Davidson played club rugby with North of Ireland F.C., was capped 9 times 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 was a member of the British Isles team that toured South Africa in 1903.

Early life and club

Davidson was a pupil at 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 Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

, before going on to play club rugby for North of Ireland F.C. based in Belfast.

International rugby

Davidson made his debut for the Ireland national team against

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 ...

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 ...

on 4 February 1899. Ireland won the match and would go on to become the champions of the

1899 Home Nations Championship The 1899 Home Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 18 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 1899 Championship w ...

. Later that year, Ireland embarked on their first ever international tour to Canada, with Davidson the only member of the touring party to have also competed in that year's Home Nations Championship. The following year, he won two further caps for Ireland against Wales and Scotland. He played in all three of Ireland's games in both the

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

and 1902 Home Nations Championships, with his last cap for Ireland being against Wales on 8 March 1902. In June 1903, Davidson joined the British Isles tour to South Africa. He played in 12 games against provincial opposition and in one of the three test matches against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

; the first test which was drawn 10-10. In later life, Davidson emigrated to Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Ian 1877 births 1938 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Irish rugby union players North of Ireland F.C. players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union players from County Down Rugby union wings