Innes "Bunny" Finlayson (4 July 1899 – 29 January 1980) was a New Zealand

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 ...

player who represented the national team, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

, between 1925 and 1930. His position of choice was flanker. Born in

Maungaturoto Maungaturoto is a small town in the Northland Region of New Zealand. The township is located close to the Otamatea River, an estuarial arm of the Kaipara Harbour 25 kilometres north of Wellsford and 45 kilometres south of Whangārei. The New ...

in 1899, Finlayson was educated at Maungaturoto School. He died in Whangarei in 1980, and was buried at Maunu Cemetery.

Career

He made his first-class debut in North Auckland's first ever match, against South Island Country in 1920 at Kensington Park, Whangarei. He scored the first try in the union's history playing as a wing three-quarter. Finlayson was selected as a loose forward for the 1925 New Zealand tour of Australia, his weight was listed at and height at . Considered an in-form player Finlayson played in all six tour matches. He was later selected for the 1928 tour of South Africa where he played in all four test matches. In total he played 36 matches for the All Blacks with six of them being test matches. Although he scored no points in test matches, he totalled 35 points (11 tries, 1 conversion) in games for the All Blacks. Finlayson served as a North Auckland selector from 1933 to 1935 and 1939 to 1940.

Family

Other members of Finlayson's family were also prominent in rugby union. Three of his brothers, "Bain", "Tote" and Angus represented North Auckland in the 1920s. Another brother, Jack, was the North Auckland RFU president for the 1950 season, while another, Callum, played for Otago between 1927 and 1930. Angus also represented

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

for a decade between 1924 and 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlayson, Innes 1899 births 1980 deaths Rugby union players from Whangārei New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Northland rugby union players Rugby union wings Rugby union flankers Burials at Maunu Cemetery