Class of 2009

Candidates for induction to the IRB Hall of Fame

19th Century

19.1 William “Bill” E Maclagan (Scotland) (1858-1926) – One of the giants of the world game he entered rugby legend as the first ever captain of the British team (the forefathers of the Lions) to tour South Africa. By the time he accepted the captaincy of the 1891 British team, in fact an English-Scottish selection, he had already won 26 caps for Scotland, eight of them as captain. He was the second to appear as a lone full back for Scotland, as the shape of the game was changing from the two full backs of the 20-a-side game to the sole guardian of 15-a-side rugby. Born in 1858 in Edinburgh, he began his rugby at the Edinburgh Academy and after graduation he joined the Edinburgh Academicals club where he won his first cap for Scotland at full back, though he had also played on the wing and at centre. A stockbroker by trade he joined London Scottish after a career move to London in 1880 and served as club captain for a decade from 1881 to 1891. A complete player admired for his ball skills, tackling and the accuracy of his kicking he became Scotland’s most capped player during an international career spanning three decades. By the time the tour to South Africa had begun he had retired from international rugby, yet he nevertheless played in 19 of the 20 tour matches. He handed over the cup offered by Sir Donald Currie to the best South African opponent to Griqualand West. In turn, the Griquas offered the soon to be called Currie Cup to the South African Union as the main trophy for their inter-provincial competition. Capped twice for Scotland at cricket, Bill Maclagan became President of the Scottish Football Union in 1894/95 and 1896 and sat on the IRB Council from 1894 to 1897.

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19.2 Randolph L Aston (England) (1869-1930) – One of the most prolific centres of his era, Aston was one of the nine international players of the 1891 British (Lions) tour, captained by Scotland’s W.E. Maclagan. Aston, who was a huge man by the standards of 19th Century test rugby, stood 6ft 3in tall and weighed 15 stones. He scored an unbeaten all-time record of 30 tries – from a total of 89 scored by the whole team – in the 20 tour matches and entered the record books as the first try scorer against South Africa in a Test match. Born on 6 September 1969, Randolph Littleton Aston was only 22 at the time of the tour, having made his international debut for England in a Calcutta Cup game the previous year. A remarkably skilful player, he was described by South Africa’s captain Barry Heatlie as the “the finest centre” he had ever seen. Aston also played for Cambridge University and finished his brief international career of five Test matches – two for England and three for the Lions – undefeated after the end of the Lions tour.

19.3 John ‘Johnny’ Hammond & Dr. Thomas ‘Tommy’ J Crean – Although Johnny Hammond, the dynamic Cambridge University and Blackheath forward and vice-captain of the pioneering 1891 British tour, was the inspiration and the captain of the 1896 tour, it was the blockbusting Irish forward Dr. Tommy Crean who became the tour’s leading personality and de facto captain. With Ireland – the winner of the Triple Crown two years earlier – still regarded as the best team in the British Isles, the second British team to South Africa was very much an Irish-English combination and dominated by the leading Irish players of the era, of whom Crean was probably the most gifted forward. At 15 stone he was the fastest man in the team and was described by his teammate Walter Carey, who became Bishop of Bloemfontein, as “the most Irish, the most inconsequent, the most gallant, the most lovable personality one could imagine and he made the centre of the whole tour.” Crean returned to South Africa during the Boer War as a captain in the Imperial Light Horse regiment and won a VC for gallantry. After the war he settled in South Africa and went on playing for Transvaal. On the other hand, although Hammond did not play until the 15th match of the tour, possibly due to injury or illness, his considerable influence as tour leader and supporter of British exchanges with South Africa should not be underestimated. Although they lost the final Test –the first ever win by South Africa – Hammond’s men were the last team from Britain to win a test series in South Africa until 1974. Hammond returned eight years later as manager of Mark Morrison’s team and his enthusiastic support for South African rugby convinced the RFU to invite the 1906 Springboks to tour Britain.   

19.4 Barry H. ‘Fairy’ Heatlie (South Africa) (1872-1951) – Arguably one of the all-time greats of South African rugby, Barry Heatlie learned the Game at that famous Cape rugby nursery Bishops School (Diocesan College), which he entered at the age of 16 in 1889. He played for and captained the School, Gardens RFC, Old Diocesans RFC, Villagers RFC, the Western Province, while still at College in 1894, and South Africa. He appeared for Western Province in 34 matches between 1890 and 1904 – of which 28 were wins in the Currie Cup. He played six times for South Africa against the 1891, 1896 and 1903 British & Irish (Lions) tourists and captained the country in two Tests, the only two South Africa won that decade. He is credited with the adoption by South Africa of the green jersey, which happened before the final 1903 Test at Newlands when he captained South Africa in his final game for the country. Heatlie eventually moved to Argentina, where he carried on playing for the Gymnasia y Esgrima club in Buenos Aires, whom he captained and coached until 1915.       

19.5 Herbert Hayton Castens (South Africa) (1864-1929) – One of the founding fathers of South African rugby, he had the unique honour of leading South Africa in their maiden Test in rugby and in their first overseas tour in cricket. Born on 23 November 1864, Herbert Hayton Castens was educated at Rugby School in Warwickshire where he became very proficient at both games. After Rugby he went to Oxford where he read Law, and won his rugby Blue in 1886 and 1887. During his time at Oxford he also played for Middlesex County and South of England, after which he returned to South Africa where he set up a Law practice in Cape Town. Like many other Old Rugbeians he became a missionary of the rugby football code, playing for, teaching, coaching and refereeing at the Villagers club, Western Province and eventually South Africa. He refereed the first match of the British tour against the Cape clubs in 1891 and played against them for Western Province two days later as he was appointed WP team manager and captain, probably the earliest coaching appointment in South Africa. Castens was 27 when he was elected to lead his country from the front row for the first ever Test in their history. Uniquely, having captained South Africa at Port Elizabeth, he also refereed the final Test of the series at Newlands on September 5, 1891, as well as the last match of the tour at Stellenbosch.

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