Bill Cunningham (rugby union), Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Bill Cunningham (rugby union)

New Zealand Rugby union footballer

Date of Birth: 08-Jul-1874

Place of Birth: Waikato Region, New Zealand

Date of Death: 03-Dec-1927

Profession: rugby union player

Nationality: New Zealand

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

William "Bill" Cunningham (8 July 1874 – 3 September 1927) was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented New Zealand—known as the All Blacks—between 1901 and 1908.
Most notably he toured with the Original All Blacks on their 1905–06 tour of the British Isles, France and North America.
They were the first New Zealand representative team to visit the British Isles, and of their 32 matches there Cunningham played in 23.
He played mainly at lock, and was added to the touring party due to his strong scrummaging ability.
He played in three Test matches during the trip: against Scotland, Ireland and France, but did not play in the loss to Wales due to injury, the All Blacks' only defeat on tour. Born near Te Awamutu, Cunningham originally played club rugby in Waihi, in the Coromandel region.
Lying within the Auckland Rugby Football Union's boundaries, he was selected to play for Auckland province in 1899 and continued to represent the side until his retirement in 1913.
He was first picked for New Zealand in 1901, and played against New South Wales that year, but was not selected again until the 1905 Originals' tour.
After the tour he continued to represent New Zealand in both 1907 and 1908.
Affiliating to Rongowhakaata, he was a member of the first ever New Zealand Maori team in 1910, and played for them again in 1912.
On retirement in 1913 he had appeared for Auckland 45 times, and for New Zealand 39—both large numbers for the time.