Alf West was a tough siderow or breakaway forward who epitomised typical south Taranaki values. In his 1968 book, Haka, veteran radio commentator Winston McCarthy, with a vivid memory of players from the 1920s, described him as one of the hardest men to have played for the All Blacks.

At 1.85m and around 90kgs he was a big man by the standards of those years. His resilience and strength were also honed by his experiences as a soldier during World War I when he served as a gunner with the New Zealand Field Artillery and suffered gassing.

West had first played senior rugby in the Hawera district as a teenager in 1911 but because of his army service his entry into first class rugby was delayed until after the war ended.

In 1919 he was in the New Zealand Army team which won the King's Cup and then toured South Africa (where West played in nine of the fifteen tour matches), returning to make his debut for Taranaki in 1920. After just one provincial match he was included in the North Island side and then the All Blacks for a tour of Australia.

He had a successful tour appearing in nine of the 10 matches.

In 1921 he was again in the North Island side and in the All Black trials and after helping the Taranaki side to a scoreless draw against the visiting Springboks he was included in the second and third tests, the latter game at Athletic Park also resulting in a 0-0 draw.

Those were his only official international caps in the 24 matches he played for the All Blacks.

West was next an All Black in a match against New South Wales in 1923 and was then chosen for the "Invincibles" 1924-25 tour of Britain and France. But by now he was a veteran at 31 years of age and against the competition of the Brownlie brothers, the taller Les Cupples and the captain for many of the matches, Jock Richardson, he got limited chances.

He was not included in any of the internationals and had 10 games in Britain and another two in Canada on the trip home.

West's career ended with just one appearance for Taranaki in 1925 and after serving his Hawera club in coaching and administration he died in 1934 at just 40.

His great nephew, Graeme, also from the Hawera area, became prominent in the 1970s and 80s as a Kiwi league international and captain and then with a lengthy and significant involvement in British league as a player and coach.

Profile by Lindsay Knight
for the New Zealand Rugby Museum.

FULL NAME

Alfred Hubert West

BORN

Saturday, 6 May 1893 in Inglewood

DIED

Sunday, 7 January 1934 in Hawera

PHYSICAL

1.85m, 90kg

POSITION

Loose Forward

LAST SCHOOL

Matapu School

RUGBY CLUB
(First made All Blacks from)

Hawera

PROVINCE

Taranaki

ALL BLACK DEBUT

Saturday, 10 July 1920
v Auckland at Auckland
aged 27 years, 65 days

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT

Saturday, 27 August 1921
v South Africa at Auckland
aged 28 years, 113 days

LAST TEST

Saturday, 17 September 1921
v South Africa at Wellington
aged 28 years, 134 days

ALL BLACK TESTS

2 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK GAMES

22 (0 as Captain)

TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES

24 (0 as Captain)

ALL BLACK TEST POINTS

0pts

ALL BLACK GAME POINTS

20pts (6t, 1c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS

20pts (6t, 1c, 0p, 0dg, 0m)

ALL BLACK NUMBER

225

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

Click on the date to be taken to the Match Card

1920

 10 Jul vs Auckland at Auckland 11-11  

 14 Jul vs Manawatu-Horowhenua-Wanganui at Palmerston North 39-0  

 24 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 26-15  

 28 Jul vs Manning River District at Taree 70-9  

 31 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 14-6  

 2 Aug vs Metropolitan Union at Sydney 20-11  

 7 Aug vs N.S.W. at Sydney 24-13  

 11 Aug vs Metropolitan Union at Sydney 79-5 (+) 

 18 Aug vs Wellington at Wellington 38-3  

1921

 27 Aug vs South Africa at Auckland 5-9  

 17 Sep vs South Africa at Wellington 0-0  

1923

 1 Sep vs N.S.W. at Christchurch 34-6  

1924

 13 Sep vs Devon at Devonport 11-0  

 27 Sep vs Swansea at Swansea 39-3  

 2 Oct vs Newport at Newport 13-10  

 11 Oct vs Cheshire at Birkenhead 18-5  

 15 Oct vs Durham at Sunderland 43-7  

 8 Nov vs Northumberland at Gosforth 27-4  

 12 Nov vs Cambridge University at Cambridge 5-0  

 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  

1925

 14 Feb vs Vancouver at Vancouver 49-0  

 18 Feb vs Victoria (B.C.) at Vancouver Island 68-4  

Points scored for the All Blacks

t

c

p

dg

pts

vs Manning River District, 28 Jul 1920

1

-

-

-

3

vs N.S.W., 31 Jul 1920

1

-

-

-

3

vs Metropolitan Union, 11 Aug 1920

1

1

-

-

5

vs Durham, 15 Oct 1924

1

-

-

-

3

vs Vancouver, 14 Feb 1925

1

-

-

-

3

vs Victoria (B.C.), 18 Feb 1925

1

-

-

-

3

Totals

6

1

0

0

20

Test Record by Nation

P

W

D

L

t

c

p

dg

pts

South Africa

2

-

1

1

-

-

-

-

-

Totals

2

0

1

1

0

0

0

0

0