Douglas James McLean Sr. (15 April 1880 – December 1947) was a pioneer Australian representative

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer, a dual-code international. He also represented Queensland in rugby league.

Rugby union career

Born in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

McLean earned his debut as a centre with the Australian representative team playing against Great Britain, at Brisbane, on 23 July 1904. In total he played three tests, twice against the touring Great Britain side in 1904 and then in New Zealand the following year.

Rugby league career

McLean was a registered

player in Queensland in 1908 at the time of the rugby league code's inaugural competition year in Australia. He was selected in the first ever Queensland Maroons state representative side to play the new "Northern Union" style of rugby, taking on Albert Baskerville's New Zealand All Golds on their inaugural tour. It would be his sole rugby league state appearance for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. When the New Zealand team came back on the return leg of their tour, they played three Test matches against the first Australian representative sides ever selected. The first Test was played in Sydney on 9 May 1908 with the Kiwis prevailing. McLean played in that Test on the wing and has been allocated Kangaroo representative No. 9. McLean was one of five former Wallabies who debuted for the Kangaroos in that inaugural Test along with Dally Messenger,

Micky Dore Michael Joseph Dore (1 July 1883 – 13 August 1910) was an Australian representative rugby union and rugby league footballer - a dual-code international. He was one of the founding fathers of rugby league in Queensland. Along with Dally M ...

, Denis Lutge and John Rosewell. McLean and his Queensland former rugby union colleagues Dore and

Bob Tubman Robert Tubman (6 June 1884 – 17 December 1956) was a pioneer Australian rugby league footballer, one of his country's first selected national representatives. Playing career Tubman was a registered rugby union player in Queensland in 1908 a ...

were all disqualified by the

Queensland Rugby Union The Queensland Rugby Union, or QRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within the state of Queensland in Australia. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. The QRU was founded in Brisbane in 1883 as the ''Northern ...

within days. Since his two rugby league Test appearances were made as a 1908 rebel before a Brisbane club competition began in 1909, Doug McLean Sr., like George Watson was a Kangaroo with no rugby league club career.

Rugby lineage

Doug Sr. was the patriarch of an extraordinary rugby union dynasty with three of his sons and three of his grandsons also playing for Australia. His sons

Doug McLean Jr. Alexander Douglas McLean Jr. (15 December 1912 – 1961) was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player, a dual-code rugby international A dual-code rugby international is a rugby footballer who has played at the senior international ...

Bill McLean William Malcolm McLean (28 February 1918 – 9 December 1996) was an Australian soldier and a state and national representative rugby union player who captained the Wallabies in five Test matches immediately after World War II. Pre-war ...

, and Jack McLean were Wallabies, with Doug Jr. also one of Australia's

Dual-code rugby internationals A dual-code rugby international is a rugby footballer who has played at the senior international level in both codes of rugby, 13-a-side rugby league and 15-a-side rugby union. Rugby league started as a breakaway version of rugby in Northern Eng ...

. A fourth son Bob had two sons who represented for Australian in rugby union – Jeff McLean and Paul McLean, along with their cousin Peter McLean (Bill's son). See

McLean Family (rugby footballers) The McLean family were an Australian rugby clan who between them played 77 Tests for the Australian national rugby union team and a number of Tests for the Australian national rugby league team. The main grandstand at Ballymore, the home of the ...

Sources

* The Spirit of Rugby (1995) – A collection of essays- Harper Collins, Australia * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'', Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney * Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Hodgson (1994) 'Australian Rugby – The Game and the Players', Jack Pollard Publishing Sydney

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, Doug Sr. Australian rugby union players Australian rugby league players Australia national rugby league team players Dual-code rugby internationals Australia international rugby union players Queensland rugby league team players 1880 births 1947 deaths Doug Sr. Rugby union players from Brisbane Rugby union centres