James Taylor Lambie (9 April 1870 – 15 April 1905) 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 its m ...

player who represented 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 1893 and 1894. His position of choice was

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. Lambie did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Career

Described as "short but stocky" Lambie was "well under" tall and weighed . Out of the now-defunct Waimate club in

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

, Lambie was described as being a "prolific try scorer". He first made the Taranaki provincial side in 1889 as a teenager and was a regular in the team until 1894. He played in the trial to pick the side for the All Blacks that would tour Australia in 1893. After being selected Lambie played in every match and proved to be an outstanding player. He scored four tries. A superb season in 1894 followed and Lambie was selected for the North Island team to play the touring Waratahs. Just two days later Lambie was also selected for the Taranaki team that also had a match on the tour. Both games were won 15-3 and 21-6 respectively. He then played in the unofficial test match for the All Blacks in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, unfortunately this game was lost 8-6. His career ended after that game as Lambie never made another appearance at any level.

Death

Lambie died aged 35 in 1905 while travelling home on Horseback after watching Taranaki play Great Britain. He was kicked in the head by his Horse suffering serious injuries.

Family

His brother, W. Lambie represented Taranaki between 1895 and 1899.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lambie, James New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players 1870 births 1905 deaths Rugby union players from Christchurch Rugby union forwards