Archie D’Arcy [All Black #22]
Born in Masterton in 1870 Archie D’Arcy was involved in a number of rugby “firsts”. As a 16 year old he played for Wairarapa against Wellington in the first junior representative fixture in this country, even though earlier in the season he had played against the same province, for the full Wairarapa team.
His early rugby was for the Red Star club, and he captained the club’s first senior team in 1889. That was the year he became the first player to kick a penalty goal (dropped) in an inter-union game in New Zealand, again in a match against Wellington. D’Arcy continued to represented Wairarapa until 1894, playing out of the Masterton club from 1891. He also represented the Union at the meeting in the Club Hotel, Wellington on November 7 1891 where the forming of the New Zealand Rugby Union was considered and a draft Constitution drawn up. After the establishment of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union in 1892 the first official New Zealand team toured Australia in 1893. Archie D’Arcy was one of the two fullbacks selected, and played in six of the eleven tour matches, four in his normal fulback position and two as a forward. D’Arcy’s big rugby finished in 1894 when he again represented New Zealand, in Christchurch, against the touring New South Wales side. He also served as a Wairarapa selector 1891,92,94,96 as Union secretary 1894, 95 and as a representative referee. Transferring to Auckland in 1897 Archie D’Arcy played for the Parnell club and was nominated, unsuccessfully, for the New Zealand team. He was joint manager of the N Z Insurance Co. branch in Sydney at the time of his death in 1919. Profile by Bob Luxford |
| FULL NAME | Archibald Edgar D’Arcy |
| BORN | Sunday, 18 September 1870 in Masterton, New Zealand |
| DIED | Tuesday, 24 June 1919 in Auckland, New Zealand |
| PHYSICAL | 86kg |
| POSITION | Fullback |
| LAST SCHOOL | Unknown |
| RUGBY CLUB (First made All Blacks from) |
Masterton |
| PROVINCE | Wairarapa |
| ALL BLACK DEBUT | Wednesday, 21 June 1893 v Combined XV at Wellington aged 22 years, 276 days |
| ALL BLACK TESTS | 0 |
| ALL BLACK GAMES | 7 |
| TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES | 7 |
| STARTING POSITIONS | |
| ALL BLACK GAME POINTS | 0pts |
| TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS | 0pts |
| ALL BLACK NUMBER | 22 |
ALL BLACK GAMES THAT D’ARCY PLAYED(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced |
| Click on the date below to view the Match Card |
1893 |
| 21 Jun vs Combined XV at Wellington 7-4 |
| 28 Jun vs Cumberland County at Sydney 8-0 |
| 6 Jul vs Northern Districts at Newcastle 25-3 |
| 15 Jul vs Queensland at Brisbane 12-3 |
| 19 Jul vs Queensland 2nd XV at Brisbane 5-0 |
| 29 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 16-0 |
1894 |
| 15 Sep vs N.S.W. at Christchurch 6-8 |
| D’Arcy did not score any points for the All Blacks. |
|
D’Arcy played in no test matches for the All Blacks. |
