Michael Cain (7 July 1885 – 27 August 1951) 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. A hooker, Cain represented

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 ...

at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, 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 ...

, from 1913 to 1914. He played 24 matches for the All Blacks including four internationals. He was selected again for the All Blacks team to tour Australia in 1920, but withdrew. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Cain served as a Sergeant with the Otago Regiment and saw action in France. Following the end of the war, he played for the New Zealand Services rugby team in both the United Kingdom and South Africa. Cain died in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

in 1951, and he was buried in Waitara Cemetery.

References

1885 births 1951 deaths Burials at Waitara Cemetery New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Waitara, New Zealand Taranaki rugby union players {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1880s-stub