Toby Allchurch

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Toby James Allchurch (born 1958 in Karachi) is an English former rugby union footballer. Allchurch represented England on the 1979 England rugby union tour of Japan, Fiji and Tonga.

Allchurch matriculated at Hatfield College, Durham in 1977 to read for a degree in General Arts, but was promoted to the Honours Course in Politics and Sociology. He graduated with a gentleman's degree in 1980. [1]

According to Alastair Hignell, in the aftermath of the first match against Japan, Allchurch was involved in a bar brawl after being struck on the head by an ashtray thrown by a drunken Japanese fan. [2] He was named to the bench for the second match against Japan and made his England debut as a flanker against Tonga in the final match of the tour, scoring one try. [3] [4]

Allchurch moved on from Durham to read Land Economy at Downing College, Cambridge, where he played for Cambridge University R.U.F.C. and later captained Rosslyn Park. [5] [6]

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References

  1. Moyes, Arthur (2007). Be The Best You Can Be: A History of Sport in Hatfield College, Durham University. Durham: Hatfield College Trust. p. 138.
  2. Hignell, Alastair (2011). Higgy: Matches, Microphones and MS. p. 113.
  3. "Japan v England XV". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  4. "Tonga v England XV". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  5. "Rhythm of the blues can still be found in time". The Times. 24 November 1980. p. 7.
  6. Dick, Brian (8 March 2012). "Rugby Notes: Dreamer Dan Hawkes still believes". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 7 September 2019.