Sir Stephen Finney CIE (8 September 1852 – 1 March 1924) 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 ...

international who represented

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

from 1872 to 1873.

Early life

Stephen Finney was born on 8 September 1852 in Marylebone. He was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

and the Royal Indian Engineering College, Cooper's Hill. As well as rugby, Finney also played cricket at Clifton and was said to have been one of the school's finest players.Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, p237, Volume 121, 1924

Rugby union career

Finney played his rugby in the 1870s in a newly found club close to his working area Crewe Britannia which was short lived, closing in the 1880s. Currently in that area from 1922 is the present Crewe & Nantwich RUFC. Before his days at Crewe Finney made his international debut on 5 February 1872 at

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

in the

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 ...

match. Of the two matches he played for his national side he was on the winning side on one occasions. He played his final match for England on 3 March 1873 at

Hamilton Crescent Hamilton Crescent is a cricket ground in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the home of the West of Scotland Cricket Club. Hamilton Crescent hosted the first international football match, between Scotland and England, played on 30 ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in the

match. Of his prowess on the rugby field it was written after his death that ''"among those qualified to judge he is considered to have had no superior as a fearless and determined halfback"''. He also appeared with

Calcutta FC The Calcutta Cricket & Football Club (CC&FC) (formally named as Calcutta Cricket Club) is a multisports club based in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Founded in 1792 as a cricket institution, the association football, football and rugby union, rug ...

, oldest rugby and football club in Asia.

Career

Finney entered the service of the Indian Public Works Department in 1874 and served as assistant and district engineer for four years. He then joined the administrative branch of the Railway Department and stayed there until 1891.Edmund Burke, ''The Annual register of world events: a review of the year, Volume 166'', p119, Longmans, Green, 1925

References

1852 births 1924 deaths Alumni of the Royal Indian Engineering College Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire England international rugby union players English rugby union players People educated at Clifton College RIE College RFC players Rugby union halfbacks Rugby union players from the City of Westminster Sportspeople from Marylebone {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub