William Hutchinson (1856–1880) was a rugby union 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 1876 to 1877.William Hutchinson Profile on scrum.com
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Early life

William Hutchinson was born on 1856 in .

Rugby union career

Hutchinson attended and played his club rugby for the

Royal Indian Engineering College The Royal Indian Engineering College (or RIEC) was a British college of Civil Engineering run by the India Office to train civil engineers for service in the Indian Public Works Department. It was located on the Cooper's Hill estate, near Egham, ...

(Cooper's Hill). He was selected to play for England in 1876 and made his international debut on 6 March 1876 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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

match. His debut was described as "a very brilliant first appearance" and he was described as a first-rate half-back, a quick starter, with a very fair amount of pace, an unselfish player, and good tackle.Francis Marshall, ''Football, the Rugby Union Game'', p154, (Cassel) 1892 His second and final match was on 5 February 1877 at

in the

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

match. This match was the first international to be played with fifteen a-side, making Hutchinson one of the few players to have played international matches in both 20 and 15 a-side eras. Eight minutes into the match Hutchinson ran in for a try and later scored again, making him England's record try scorer at that point. Hutchinson's military career was to take him to India and it was this which curtailed his rugby playing career. Whilst in India, he died in 1880.

References

1856 births 1880 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union halfbacks RIE College RFC players Alumni of the Royal Indian Engineering College {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub