Birth name | Ernest Edward Booth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 24 February 1876 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Teschmakers, North Otago, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 18 October 1935 | (aged 59)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | Journalist, rugby union coach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ernest Edward Booth (24 February 1876 – 18 October 1935) was a New Zealand rugby union player. A fullback and three-quarter, Booth represented Otago at a provincial level between 1896 and 1907, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, from 1905 to 1907. He played 24 matches for the All Blacks including three internationals, and was a member of the Original All Blacks on their 1905–06 tour of the British Isles, France and North America. [1]
Booth moved to Sydney and played for New South Wales between 1908 and 1909. [1] He toured as a press correspondent with the Australian rugby union team on their 1908–09 tour of Britain, and while there played 5 matches for Leicester becoming the first non-British international to play for the club. [2] [1] [3] He served with the Australian forces during World War I as secretary in the YMCA. [1]
In the 1920s, Booth was appointed as a professional coach by the Southland Rugby Union, developing the game in that region. [1] In 1924, he accompanied the All Blacks on their tour of Britain, Ireland and France as the representative of the Australian Press Association. [3] He then toured with New Zealand Māori on the British and French legs of their 1926–27 tour, reporting for newspapers in the North Island. [3]
Booth died in the Christchurch suburb of St Albans on 18 October 1935, [1] [3] [4] and he was buried in the Oamaru Old Cemetery. [5]