Robert Tunnicliff was a relatively small man at 1.75m and around 75kg but had a surprising strength and wiriness which added to a high work rate made him an effective hooker in the 1920s in the 2-3-2 scrum.

All of his representative rugby was for two small unions at the top of the South Island, Nelson and Buller.

In 1919 he played for Nelson and then from 1922 to 1928 he was a Buller representative.

Tunnicliff was perhaps a shade fortunate to become an All Black and might not have gained the distinction under a more exacting selection system in later years.

He was among the 37 players used for just three matches against the touring New South Wales side of 1923. So weak were those Waratahs that the selectors of the time cynically used the unofficial test series as trials for the following year's major tour of Britain and France.

Several of the players used, like Tunnicliff, were never All Blacks again and like Tunnicliff had just one game.

Tunnicliff at the advanced age of 29 appeared in the third match at Athletic Park and made a useful contribution to a 38-11 win, scoring one of the All Blacks' eight tries.

He was never again an All Black though he played in the 1924 trials and again in the trials of 1927 to help pick the side to go to South Africa in 1928.

He also played for a combined West Coast-Buller side against the touring New South Welshmen in 1925, for a Seddon Shield unions selection in 1926 and for the South Island minor unions in 1928.

Profile by Lindsay Knight
for the New Zealand Rugby Museum.

FULL NAME

Robert Graham Tunnicliff

BORN

Monday, 25 June 1894 in Nelson

DIED

Sunday, 7 January 1973 in Westport

PHYSICAL

1.75m, 75kg

POSITION

Hooker

LAST SCHOOL

Nelson College

RUGBY CLUB
(First made All Blacks from)

Umere

PROVINCE

Buller

ALL BLACK DEBUT

Saturday, 15 September 1923
v N.S.W. at Wellington
aged 29 years, 82 days

ALL BLACK TESTS

0 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAMES

1 (0 as Captain)

TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES

1 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAME POINTS

3pts (1t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS

3pts (1t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK NUMBER

289

The All Black Games that Tunnicliff played.
(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced

Click on the date to be taken to the Match Card

1923

 15 Sep vs N.S.W. at Wellington 38-11  

Points scored for the All Blacks

t

c

p

dg

pts

vs N.S.W., 15 Sep 1923

1

-

-

-

3

Totals

1

0

0

0

3

Tunnicliff played in no test matches for the All Blacks.