Innes Finlayson

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Innes Finlayson
All Blacks Souvenir Book, 1928 (Innes Finlayson) (cropped).jpg
Born(1899-07-04)4 July 1899
Maungaturoto, New Zealand
Died29 January 1980(1980-01-29) (aged 80)
Whangārei, New Zealand
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight95 kg (209 lb)
SchoolMaungaturoto School
Notable relative John Finlayson (brother)
Rugby union career
Position Flanker
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1920, 23–27, 29 Kamo
1921 Maungakaramea
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1920, 23–27, 29 North Auckland
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1925–30 New Zealand 6 (0)

Innes "Bunny" Finlayson (4 July 1899 – 29 January 1980) [1] [2] was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the national team, the All Blacks, between 1925 and 1930. His position of choice was flanker.

Contents

Early life

Born in Maungaturoto in 1899, his father was Norman Finlayson (died 1938), prominent for decades as either president or patron of the Otamatea Rugby Union. Finlayson's grandparents had immigrated to New Zealand from Nova Scotia; [3] John Finlayson was an older brother. [4] Finlayson was educated at Maungaturoto School. [5]

Career

He made his first-class debut in North Auckland's first ever match, against South Island Country in 1920 at Kensington Park, Whangarei. He scored the first try in the union's history playing as a wing three-quarter. [6] [7]

Finlayson was selected as a loose forward for the 1925 New Zealand tour of Australia, his weight was listed at 15 st (95 kg) and height at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m). Considered an in-form player Finlayson played in all six tour matches. He was later selected for the 1928 tour of South Africa where he played in all four test matches. In total he played 36 matches for the All Blacks with six of them being test matches. Although he scored no points in test matches, he totalled 35 points (11 tries, 1 conversion) in games for the All Blacks. [5] [6]

Finlayson served as a North Auckland selector from 1933 to 1935 and 1939 to 1940. [5] [6]

Family and death

Other members of Finlayson's family were also prominent in rugby union. Three of his brothers, "Bain", "Tote" and Angus represented North Auckland in the 1920s. Another brother, Jack, was the North Auckland RFU president for the 1950 season, while another, Callum, played for Otago between 1927 and 1930. Angus also represented Auckland for a decade between 1924 and 1934. [5] [6]

Finlayson died in Whangārei in 1980, [6] and was buried at Maunu Cemetery. [8]

References

  1. ↑ "the 1,109 rugby ALL BLACKS since 1884 – ABBOTT to FURLONG :: FamilyTreeCircles.com Genealogy". www.familytreecircles.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "PECK of Taita – Family Tree". ngairedith.tribalpages.com. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Obituary". The New Zealand Herald . Vol. LXXV, no. 23062. 13 June 1938. p. 12. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "Otamatea leader passes". The Northern Advocate . 11 June 1938. p. 6. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Chester, Rod; McMillan, Neville; Palenski, Ron (1987). The Encyclopedia of New Zealand Rugby. Auckland, New Zealand: Moa Publications. p. 61. ISBN   0-908570-16-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Luxford, Bob. "Bunny Finlayson". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "History – Northland Rugby Union". Northland Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Cemetery record details". Whangarei District Council. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
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