Bill McLennan (rugby league)

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Bill McLennan

Personal information

Full name

William Richard McLennan

Born

5 June 1927
The Catlins, Otago, New Zealand

Died

21 July 2007 (aged 80)
Auckland, New Zealand

Playing information

Height

185 cm (6 ft 1 in)

Weight

101 kg (15 st 13 lb)

Position

Prop

Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
	Blackball (WCRL)
	Runanga
	Total	0	0	0	0	0
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1949–19??	West Coast
	South Island
1951–1957	New Zealand	28	1	1	0	5

Source: ^[1]

William "Ginger" Richard McLennan^[2] (5 June 1927 – 21 July 2007) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1954 and 1957 World Cups.

Playing career

Born on the West Coast, McLennan was a miner and represented the West Coast. He played for the Runanga club.^[3] He was first selected for New Zealand in 1951. McLennan played in 84 games for the Kiwis, including 28 tests. This included 22 consecutive tests.^[4] His total 84 games has been bettered only by Jock Butterfield (99) and Tom Baxter (94).^{[citation needed]}

He was part of the famous Kiwi team that won back-to-back test series against Australia in 1952 (in Australia) and 1953 (in New Zealand).^[5]

McLennan was the vice-captain in the 1955-56 tour of Great Britain. He retired after this tour however he made a comeback for the 1957 World Cup.^[6]

He was inducted as one of the New Zealand Rugby Leagues "Legends of League" in 2000.^[7]

References

^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
^ McLENNAN, William Richard 1951 - 57 - Kiwi #334 Archived 19 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
^ Top Players Archived 2013-10-17 at the Wayback Machine West Coast Rugby Football League
^ Playing Records Archived 2012-09-08 at archive.today nzrl.co.nz
^ Kiwi League Legend passes away rleague.com, 25 July 2007
^ "Obituary: Bill 'Ginger' McLennan". The New Zealand Herald. 28 July 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
^ Legends of League Archived 2012-09-11 at archive.today nzrl.co.nz

v t e The West Coast Rugby League 75th Jubilee Team (1946-1989)
1. Don Ladner 2. Jack Forrest 3. Reese Griffiths 4. Graham Kennedy 5. Maurice Brereton 6 George Menzies 7. Gordon Smith 8. Bill McLennan 9. Jock Butterfield 10. Jack Newton 11. Charlie McBride 12. Tony Coll 13. Ken Mountford Reserves: 14. Frank Mulcare 15. Les McNichol

v t e New Zealand squad – 1954 Rugby League World Cup
Cyril Eastlake (c) Alister Atkinson (vc) Doug Anderson Jimmy Edwards Neville Denton Jim Austin Ron McKay Bill Sorensen George Menzies Len Eriksen Lory Blanchard John Bond Cliff Johnson Bill McLennan Jock Butterfield George McDonald John Yates Ian Grey Coach: Jim Amos

v t e New Zealand squad – 1957 Rugby League World Cup
Cliff Johnson (c) George Menzies (vc) Pat Creedy Vern Bakalich Neville Denton Tom Hadfield Ron Ackland Bill Sorensen George P. Turner Sel Belsham Jock Butterfield Bill McLennan Henry Maxwell Kevin Pearce Jim Riddell John Yates Rex Percy Keith Bell Reese Griffiths Coach: Bill Telford