Lindsay James Townsend (3 March 1934 – 2 June 2020) was a New Zealand international rugby player. He was a member of 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 ...

in 1955, playing in the halfback position.Ron Palenski (2007) ''The All Blackography'', Hodder Moa. p. 488.

Early life

Townsend was born in

Mataura Mataura is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Mataura has a meat processing plant, and until 2000 it was the site of a large pulp and paper mill. Geography Mataura is situated on and the Main South Line railwa ...

, New Zealand, and was educated at Christian Brothers School,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, where he played rugby.Lindsay Knight
Lindsay James Townsend
New Zealand All Blacks Player Profile

Senior rugby

Townsend played for the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

club in 1953 and represented

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 ...

in that year. From 1954 until 1957 he played for the Southern club in Dunedin. He then shifted to 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 ...

and played for the

Kamo The name Kamo may refer to the following: Places Japan (Note: ''kamo'' ( 鴨), is the common word for ''duck'' in Japanese, but the following names do not necessarily mean ''duck'' and are not necessarily written with that character.) * Kamo, N ...

club and represented North Auckland in 1958–1963. He represented the South Island in 1954–1956 and was a New Zealand trialist 1956–1959. He played in the New Zealand XV in 1954 and 1955 and also played for the rest of New Zealand in the same years.

All Black

Townsend was selected for the All Blacks in 1955. He played in Australia in the first and third tests and at home for New Zealand which were the only games he played for the All Blacks.

Death

Townsend died in

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and ...

on 2 June 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Townesend, Lindsay 1934 births 2020 deaths New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players People educated at Trinity Catholic College, Dunedin People from Mataura Otago rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Rugby union players from Southland, New Zealand