James Hunter (6 March 1879 – 4 December 1962) was a

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 ...

footballer who played for New Zealand's 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 ...

. accessdate=2007-11-14 He played mainly at

second five-eighth Second five-eighths, or sometimes second five-eighth, is a name used in New Zealand to refer the rugby union position commonly known elsewhere as the inside centre or number 12. It traditionally described a playmaking type of 12 with good passing ...

, although he could play any position in the backline. He played for Hawera Club before being selected for

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 ...

in 1898 and the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

in 1904 before his first All Blacks selection in 1905. He toured with the 1905 All Blacks that travelled to Great Britain, France and North America. After returning he continued to be selected for the All Blacks until retiring after the 1908 season.

Playing career

Hunter was from a farming family in

, and attended

Wanganui Collegiate Whanganui Collegiate School (formerly Wanganui Collegiate School; see here) is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding, secondary school in Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Anglican c ...

. He then joined the Hawera Rugby Club and was selected to play for

in 1898 at the age of 18.McLean (1987), p. 86. He played in almost every position in the Taranaki backline before settling on

.Verdon (2000), p. 34. He continued to play for Taranaki and played for them against the touring

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

team that toured New Zealand in 1904. He was also selected to play for the All Blacks to play the one Test match against Great Britain, but after an injuring himself the day before the match, he was replaced. He was first selected for the

team in the annual inter-island match that year as well. In 1905 he captained the North Island to a 26–0 victory over the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

; the match was also used as a trial for the All Blacks team to tour 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, ...

that year.McLean (1987), p. 87. He was selected for the New Zealand team that toured the New Zealand and Australia that July. This was a preliminary tour and Hunter was appointed captain. Although there were seven matches, Hunter only played in three. He was selected for the final squad the tour the

Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

, but was replaced by

Dave Gallaher David Gallaher (30October 1873 – 4October 1917) was an Irish-born New Zealand rugby union footballer best remembered as the captain of the "Original All Blacks"—the 1905–06 New Zealand national team, the first representative New Zealand ...

as captain and

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 ...

as vice-captain.Verdon (2000), p. 35. The team became famously known as

The Original All Blacks 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 ...

, and played a total of 35 matches. The first of Hunter's 24 matches on tour was the match against

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. He scored eight tries in his first four games on tour,McLean (1987), p. 88. and after nine games had scored 23.McLean (1987), p. 91. He twice scored five tries in a single match on the tour, the first of which was against Northumberland. The second was when they played

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and the ''Morning Leader'' wrote "Hunter was the most destructive medium on attack and his personal tally was five tries. One half of this little wonder's tricks have not been told yet and the Oxford men were simply paralysed by his tenacity."McLean (1987), p. 90. His next match was against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Hunter played at half-back for that match, and the ''Athletic News'' wrote of his performance "it could only be a player like Hunter who, by the way, was brought to halfback, who could have got through the stonewall arrangements by which Richmond defied the New Zealanders for 30 minutes."McLean (1987), p. 89. Hunter did play in the All Blacks all five Tests on the tour, including the famous '' Match of the Century'', a 3–0 loss to

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. His first ever Test was the 12–7 victory over

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and his first ever Test try was scored against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

when he scored two in the All Blacks 38–8 victory. Hunter finished the tour with 44 tries which is described by writer Paul Verdon as "a sensational feat that has never been approached in the near-century of New Zealand tours and is most unlikely ever to be." He continued to play for Taranaki, the North Island and the All Blacks following the tour, and captained the All Blacks in their 1907 tour of Australia. He captained all three Tests 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 ...

; the first two won 26–6 and then 14–5 and the third drawn 5–5. Hunter then played in all three Tests against the Anglo-Welsh team that toured New Zealand in 1908, and captained the second. Following the 1908 season he retired from active play. After his retirement he farmed at Mangamahu. His homestead was called Oeta and is still in existence.

Notes and references

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Jimmy 1879 births 1962 deaths New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand farmers New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Hāwera People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School Rugby union centres