Alan Blake

Alan Blake

Full name	Alan Walter Blake
Date of birth	3 November 1922
Place of birth	Carterton, New Zealand
Date of death	31 October 2010 (aged 87)
Place of death	Masterton, New Zealand
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	92 kg (203 lb)
School	Wairarapa College
Occupation(s)	Freezing works supervisor[1]
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Flanker
New Zealand No.	501
Provincial/State sides
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1941–60	Wairarapa	108
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1949 1948–50	New Zealand New Zealand Māori	1 26	(0)

Alan Walter Blake (3 November 1922 – 31 October 2010) was a New Zealand rugby union player. A flanker, Blake represented Wairarapa at a provincial level. He played for the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in a single test match in 1949. Despite not having any Māori ancestry, Blake played 26 matches for New Zealand Māori and captained the side in 1950.^[2] He had an African American grandfather.^[3]

During World War II, Blake served as a trooper with the 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade from 1943, and saw action in Italy.^[4] At the end of the war, he toured with the New Zealand Army rugby team, known as the "Kiwis", appearing in 24 matches.^[2]

References

1. Wairarapa Electoral District: main roll of persons entitled to vote for Members of Parliament of New Zealand. 1972. p. 23.
2. Knight, Lindsay. "Kiwi Blake". New Zealand Rugby Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
3. "Death of former All Black Kiwi Blake". Radio New Zealand News. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
4. "Alan Walter Blake". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 3 November 2015.