John Dumbell

Rugger | name = John Dumbell


nickname =
birthname = John Thomas Dumbell
dateofbirth = Birth date|1859|01|1
placeofbirth = Liverpool, England
placeofdeath = New Plymouth, New Zealand
dateofdeath = Death date|1936|12|31
ru_position = Utility back,Forward
ru_nationalteam = All Blacks
allblacknumber = 4
allblackid = 243
ru_nationalcaps = 5 (no tests)
ru_nationalpoints = (9)
ru_nationalyears = 1884
ru_provinceyears = 1877,82-83
ru_provincecaps =
ru_provincepoints =
ru_province = WellingtonJohn Dumbell was a New Zealand Rugby Union player who played for the All Blacks in 1884.

Early life

John Dumbell was born in Liverpool, England in 1859. He moved to New Zealand as a child with his parents in 1872. His family settled down in New Plymouth (where he later died in 1936). Dumbell played all his rugby in Wellington, playing for the Wellington Union and also the Athletic club in Wellington. He made his debut for Wellington in 1877 and in 1883 he played his last match for the union in 1883, a year before he played for New Zealand.

All Blacks

In 1884 a New Zealand team was to tour Australia, Dumbell was included in this selection and played five matches on the tour.His first match came before they left for Australia, when they played a Wellington XV. Dumbell played at halfback in this match that they won 9-0. On May 28 they played against Cumberland County in Sydney. Dumbell played on the wing as they eased to a convincing 33-0 lead. The next match again in sydney saw them up against Combined Suburbs XV, this match saw Dumbell again on the wing but this time landing a conversion to give him his first points for the All Blacks and a helping hand in the 23-5 win. The next venue was the Newcastle Sports Ground where they played the Northern Districts. With poor weather conditions the New Zealand team battled on securing the game 29-0. The last game of the tour was against Western Districts in Bathurst. This was one of the more tough matches of the tour and at halftime it was only 4-0. They eventually won the match 11-0 and Dumbell had ended up with 9 points for the tour, scoring a try and a drop goal in the last match. Dumbell was known to be one of the smallest men to play for New Zealand, if not the smallest, but despite his size Dumbell was admired for his speed, courage and willingness to tackle much bigger opponents.

Retirement

After his retirement Dumbell served the Wellington union as a management committee member, as a selector and as a representative referee.

References

* [http://stats.allblacks.com/Profile.asp?ABID=243 allblacks.com]