William Richard ‘Bill’ ‘Bull’ Irvine {All Black #280}
A representative player, initially from Wairarapa, from 1920, Irvine made his All Black debut against New South Wales in 1923, partnering former Wairarapa teammate Quentin Donald in the front row.
Their partnership continued on the 1924/5 All Black tour of the United Kingdom where they comprised the two man front row in all four test matches. Irvine was one of the outstanding performers on that tour, playing in 27 of the 30 matches, a remarkable feat for a forward.
Having played for Hawkes Bay from 1922-26, “Bull” Irvine was back with Wairarapa in 1927 and, alongside old mate Quentin Donald, helped that union win the Ranfurly Shield from his former Hawkes Bay side. The return match, the “Battle of Solway” was one of the most remarkable ever played. Interest was so high that special trains were run from Napier, Dannevirke and Wellington, resulting in a crowd of 10,000, far beyond the capacity of Masterton’s Solway Showgrounds. The match had to be halted twice when the crowd encroached on the field. A shed collapsed under the weight of spectators on the roof.
The teams were coached by brothers, Norman (Hawkes Bay) and Ted (Wairarapa) McKenzie. A third brother, Bert, was the referee and created an early sensation when he sent All Blacks Morrie Brownlie and Quentin Donald from the field.
Hawkes Bay won the match 21-10, but the sensations were not over. A protest was lodged against a Hawkes Bay player not having met residential qualifications. This was upheld and the match awarded to Wairarapa who thus kept the Shield, only to lose it 18-16 to Manawhenua in the very next challenge.
William Richard Irvine bowed out of rugby as a player in the 1930 series against the Lions. His sons however kept the name to the fore, Ian hooking for the All Blacks in 1952 and Bob touring with national sides as official radio commentator.
Profile by Bob Luxford
for the New Zealand Rugby Museum.
| FULL NAME | William Richard Irvine |
| BORN | Friday, 2 December 1898 in Auckland, New Zealand |
| DIED | Saturday, 26 April 1952 in Whangarei |
| PHYSICAL | 1.72m, 83kg |
| POSITION | Hooker |
| LAST SCHOOL | Terrace School |
| RUGBY CLUB (First made All Blacks from) |
Waipukurau Rovers |
| PROVINCES | Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa |
| NICKNAME | Bull |
| ALL BLACK DEBUT | Saturday, 15 September 1923 v N.S.W. at Wellington aged 24 years, 287 days |
| INTERNATIONAL DEBUT | Saturday, 1 November 1924 v Ireland at Dublin aged 25 years, 335 days |
| LAST TEST | Saturday, 21 June 1930 v British & Irish Lions at Dunedin aged 31 years, 201 days |
| ALL BLACK TESTS | 5 5 |
| ALL BLACK GAMES | 36 36 |
| TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES | 41 41 |
| STARTING POSITIONS | Jersey Number 1 : 4
Jersey Number 2 : 1 |
| ALL BLACK TEST POINTS | 9pts (3t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) |
| ALL BLACK GAME POINTS | 12pts (4t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) |
| TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS | 21pts (7t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) |
| ALL BLACK NUMBER | 280 |
ALL BLACK GAMES THAT IRVINE PLAYED(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced |
| Click on the date below to view the Match Card |
1923 |
| 15 Sep vs N.S.W. at Wellington 38-11 |
1924 |
| 5 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 16-20 |
| 9 Jul vs Metropolitan Union at Sydney 38-5 |
| 12 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 21-5 |
| 16 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 38-8 |
| 23 Jul vs Auckland at Auckland 3-14 |
| 18 Sep vs Cornwall at Camborne 29-0 |
| 20 Sep vs Somerset at Weston-super-Mare 6-0 |
| 25 Sep vs Gloucestershire at Gloucester 6-0 |
| 27 Sep vs Swansea at Swansea 39-3 |
| 2 Oct vs Newport at Newport 13-10 |
| 4 Oct vs Leicester at Leicester 27-0 |
| 11 Oct vs Cheshire at Birkenhead 18-5 |
| 15 Oct vs Durham at Sunderland 43-7 |
| 18 Oct vs Yorkshire at Bradford 42-4 |
| 22 Oct vs Lancashire at Manchester 23-0 |
| 25 Oct vs Cumberland at Carlisle 41-0 |
| 1 Nov vs Ireland at Dublin 6-0 |
| 5 Nov vs Ulster at Belfast 28-6 |
| 12 Nov vs Cambridge University at Cambridge 5-0 |
| 15 Nov vs London Counties at London 31-6 |
| 20 Nov vs Oxford University at Oxford 33-15 |
| 22 Nov vs Cardiff at Cardiff 16-8 |
| 29 Nov vs Wales at Swansea 19-0 |
| 2 Dec vs Llanelli at Llanelli 8-3 |
| 6 Dec vs East Midlands at Northampton 31-7 |
| 11 Dec vs Warwickshire at Coventry 20-0 |
| 13 Dec vs Combined Services at London 25-3 |
| 17 Dec vs Hampshire at Portsmouth 22-0 |
| 27 Dec vs London Counties at London 28-3 |
1925 |
| 3 Jan vs England at London 17-11 |
| 11 Jan vs Selection Francais at Paris 37-8 |
| 18 Jan vs France at Toulouse 30-6 |
| 19 Sep vs N.S.W. at Auckland 36-10 |
1926 |
| 10 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 20-26 |
| 14 Jul vs A N.S.W. XV at Sydney 31-14 |
| 17 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 11-6 |
| 20 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 14-0 |
| 29 Jul vs A N.S.W. XV at Sydney 28-21 |
1930 |
| 18 Jun vs North Otago at Oamaru 34-6 |
| 21 Jun vs British & Irish Lions at Dunedin 3-6 |
POINTS SCORED FOR THE ALL BLACKS |
t | c | p | dg | pts |
| vs Metropolitan Union, 9 Jul 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Cornwall, 18 Sep 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Swansea, 27 Sep 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Wales, 29 Nov 1924 | 2 | – | – | – | 6 |
| vs London Counties, 27 Dec 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs France, 18 Jan 1925 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Totals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
 |
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TEST RECORD BY NATION |
P | W | D | L | t | c | p | dg | pts |
| British & Irish Lions | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| England | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| France | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wales | 1 | 1 | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | 6 |
| Totals | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
