All Blacks year by year

Bob Barber ended his time with the All Blacks in Australia and Fiji; in his last four starting games he was no.8, flanker, lock and prop.

Guy’s Hospital and England
1 international for England 1906

Arnold Alcock was a ‘one cap wonder’ whose one game for his country came about in rather unusual circumstances.

Alcock was a useful enough club player for Guy’s Hospital who, it is insisted, never had aspirations at all of becoming an international. Imagine his surprise when he received in the mail an official invitation to play for his country against the touring 1906–07 Springbok team.

Alcock was initially shocked but then felt honoured and on the great day of the game he duly turned up at Twickenham all set to play. Upon seeing him, the secretary of the Rugby Union realised that the man before him was not the man the selectors had thought they were getting. Apparently they had chosen L.A.N. Slocock of Liverpool, and only by a typing error did Alcock receive his invitation to play. By then, of course, it was too late to summon Slocock from the north, so Alcock took the field for England. By all accounts he played sensibly and tolerably well. However, it was not a major surprise when Alcock was not invited to play for England again. Slocock was. In fact, Slocock went on to play the next eight internationals.

Arnold Alcock later had a distinguished association with the Gloucester club, for which he was president for nearly 50 years.

93%. (Played 100, won 93, drew 3, lost 4)