James Duncan (12 November 1869 – 19 October 1953) was a New Zealand
rugby union footballer, coach and referee. He captained New Zealand in its first test, and coached New Zealand in its first home test.
Duncan was born in
Dunedin, New Zealand. He appeared for
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, before being selected to play for
New Zealand in 1897. He captained New Zealand for the first time against
Wellington in 1901. He captained New Zealand in its first
Test, against
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, in 1903. That was also his last game for New Zealand.
Duncan then moved to coaching, coaching New Zealand in its first home test, against
Great Britain, in 1904. In 1905, he was selected to coach the
New Zealand team to tour the Northern Hemisphere. Duncan's appointment as coach was unpopular, and most of the coaching ended up being done by team members
Billy Stead
Billy Stead, born John William Stead, (18 September 1877 – 21 July 1958) was a rugby union player born in Invercargill who played for New Zealand, the All Blacks, on their 1905–06 tour. Stead also played provincially for Southland, and late ...
and
Dave Gallaher instead.
In 1908 James Duncan refereed a Test between New Zealand and the
Anglo-Welsh.
Duncan is credited with naming the position "five-eight"; as there was already positions half-back and three-quarters, he came up with the name according to the fraction between them.
See also
*
New Zealand national rugby union team
*
The Original All Blacks (1905)
The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...
References
External links
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1869 births
1953 deaths
New Zealand international rugby union players
New Zealand rugby union players
Rugby union players from Dunedin
Rugby union wing-forwards
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