McLean Family (rugby footballers)
Encyclopedia
The McLean family were a remarkable Australian rugby clan who between them played 77 Tests for the Australian national rugby union team and a number of Tests for the Australian national rugby league team
.
n representative rugby union
and rugby league
player, a dual code international. He represented with the Wallabies in 3 Tests and as a Kangaroo
in 2 Tests.
Doug had three sons and three grandsons who also played for Australia:
Tests on the wing and making the 1937 Kangaroo tour
of Great Britain.
. He was selected to lead the national side to tour 1947-48 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland, France and North America. He badly broke a leg early in the tour and did not play in any further Tests. As a Captain in 2/3rd Commando Squadron (Australia)
he saw action against the Japanese in World War II
.
A fourth son Bob McLean had two sons who won Test caps:
- died 6 August 2010) played 13 times for the Wallabies between 1971 and 1974 on the wing. He debuted in 1971 against the Springboks
. His final Wallaby appearance in the 1st Test of 1974 against the All Blacks
was also the representative debut of his younger brother Paul. He died in 2010, aged 63, from cancer.
was the most feted and successful footballer of the family. Paul was capped 31 times between 1974 and 1982 either at fullback or more frequently at fly half. He made his Wallaby debut in the first Test of 1974 against the All Blacks
.
He was a world-class goalkicker and at his prime there was no better tactical kicker in the game. He was also a gifted runner and passer when he took those options although later in his career critics were regularly calling for Mark Ella
's more obvious running game to be brought into the Wallaby side. In his 1982 farewell international season McLean smashed his own point scoring record with 21 points (five penalties and three conversions) in the 2nd Test against Scotland, a record which stood for eight years.
Brisbane newspaper journalist Hugh Lunn recorded the following epitaph on McLean's career in The Australian:
"Paul McLean played 31 Test matches for Australia and one hundred games for Queensland; he won the rugby premiership for his school (St Josephs Nudgee) with a 55m penalty kick; Brothers club lost only one of the eight grand finals in which he played; he scored exactly one thousand points for Queensland in his one 100th match in the last match of Queensland Rugby's Centenary year; he kicked 14 consecutive goals against Wales on their Australian tour; he holds the individual Australian point scoring record for a Test match of 21 points and he is the greatest point scorer in the history of Australian Rugby Union".
Paul McLean since 2005 has been the President of the Australian Rugby Union
.
.
kate mclean was born 1999/29/12
Australian national rugby league team
The Australian national rugby league team have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League, the Kangaroos' are ranked number one in the RLIF World Rankings...
.
Doug McLean Snr
Douglas James McLean (1880 – 1947) was the patriarch. He was a pioneer AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n representative rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
and rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player, a dual code international. He represented with the Wallabies in 3 Tests and as a Kangaroo
Australian national rugby league team
The Australian national rugby league team have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League, the Kangaroos' are ranked number one in the RLIF World Rankings...
in 2 Tests.
Doug had three sons and three grandsons who also played for Australia:
Doug McLean Jnr
Alexander Douglas McLean (1912 – 1961), played 10 Tests for the Wallabies between 1933 and 1936. He too was a dual code international, playing two KangarooAustralian national rugby league team
The Australian national rugby league team have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League, the Kangaroos' are ranked number one in the RLIF World Rankings...
Tests on the wing and making the 1937 Kangaroo tour
Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France. The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours took place every four years and involved a three-Test Ashes series against Great Britain and a number of tour matches...
of Great Britain.
Bill McLean
William Malcolm McLean (1918 – 1996) played 5 Tests as captain of the Wallabies immediately after World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He was selected to lead the national side to tour 1947-48 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland, France and North America. He badly broke a leg early in the tour and did not play in any further Tests. As a Captain in 2/3rd Commando Squadron (Australia)
2/3rd Commando Squadron (Australia)
The 2/3rd Commando Squadron was one of twelve independent or commando companies and squadrons formed by the Australian Army for service during World War II. Raised in October 1941 as the 2/3rd Independent Company, it served in New Caledonia and New Guinea before being amalgamated into the 2/7th...
he saw action against the Japanese in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Jack McLean
Jack McLean was a member of the 1946 Wallaby team that toured New Zealand though he didn't make the Test XV.A fourth son Bob McLean had two sons who won Test caps:
Jeff McLean
Jeffrey James McLean (born 26 January 1947, Ipswich, QueenslandIpswich, Queensland
Ipswich is a city in South-East Queensland, Australia. Situated along the Bremer River Valley approximately 40 kilometres away from the state's capital Brisbane. The suburb by the same name forms the city's Central Business District and administrative centre...
- died 6 August 2010) played 13 times for the Wallabies between 1971 and 1974 on the wing. He debuted in 1971 against the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
. His final Wallaby appearance in the 1st Test of 1974 against the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
was also the representative debut of his younger brother Paul. He died in 2010, aged 63, from cancer.
Paul McLean
Paul Edward McLean born 12 Oct 1953 at Ipswich, QueenslandIpswich, Queensland
Ipswich is a city in South-East Queensland, Australia. Situated along the Bremer River Valley approximately 40 kilometres away from the state's capital Brisbane. The suburb by the same name forms the city's Central Business District and administrative centre...
was the most feted and successful footballer of the family. Paul was capped 31 times between 1974 and 1982 either at fullback or more frequently at fly half. He made his Wallaby debut in the first Test of 1974 against the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
.
He was a world-class goalkicker and at his prime there was no better tactical kicker in the game. He was also a gifted runner and passer when he took those options although later in his career critics were regularly calling for Mark Ella
Mark Ella
Mark Gordon Ella is an Indigenous Australian former rugby union player, often considered as one of his country's all-time greats in that sport. In a relatively short career , Mark Ella established himself as one of the all-time greats in world rugby union...
's more obvious running game to be brought into the Wallaby side. In his 1982 farewell international season McLean smashed his own point scoring record with 21 points (five penalties and three conversions) in the 2nd Test against Scotland, a record which stood for eight years.
Brisbane newspaper journalist Hugh Lunn recorded the following epitaph on McLean's career in The Australian:
"Paul McLean played 31 Test matches for Australia and one hundred games for Queensland; he won the rugby premiership for his school (St Josephs Nudgee) with a 55m penalty kick; Brothers club lost only one of the eight grand finals in which he played; he scored exactly one thousand points for Queensland in his one 100th match in the last match of Queensland Rugby's Centenary year; he kicked 14 consecutive goals against Wales on their Australian tour; he holds the individual Australian point scoring record for a Test match of 21 points and he is the greatest point scorer in the history of Australian Rugby Union".
Paul McLean since 2005 has been the President of the Australian Rugby Union
Australian Rugby Union
The Australian Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Australia. It was founded in 1949 and is a member of the International Rugby Board the sport's governing body. It consists of eight member unions, representing each state and territory...
.
Peter McLean
Bill's son Peter William McLean born 8 Feb, 1952 in Brisbane, Queensland also represented at lock for the Wallabies. He made 16 Test appearances between 1978 and 1982, playing 11 times alongside his cousin Paul. His Wallaby debut was in the first Test of 1978 against the All BlacksAll Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
.
kate mclean was born 1999/29/12