John Allan (rugby union)

John Allan (born 25 November 1963) is a former Scotland international rugby union player; and later a former South Africa international rugby union player. He played as a hooker.

John Allan

Date of birth	(1963-11-25) 25 November 1963
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
School	Glenwood High School, Durban
University	University of St Andrews, Fife
Notable relative(s)	Tommaso Allan (Nephew)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1989–1992 Edinburgh Academical () 1992–1993 London Scottish () Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1988–1997 Natal 126 () 1990 Reds Trial () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1990 Scotland 'A' 1 (0) 1990–1991 Scotland 9 (0) 1993–1996 South Africa 13 (0)

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Allan was born on 25 November 1963 in Glasgow, Scotland. He lived in Scotland until he was 8 years old.

He then moved to South Africa. Allan attended Glenwood High School, where rugby first became a part of his life. In 1981, at the age of 17, he played for Glenwood High School's 1st XV.

From 1982 to 1985 he captained the Glenwood Old Boys U20 and the Natal U20 teams. From 1986 to 1987, he played for North Tvl Defence 1st XV and the South African Defence 1st XV3. Then from 1988 to 1990 he captained the Glenwood Old Boys 1st XV.

When Allan moved back to Scotland he played for Edinburgh Academicals.

He later played for London Scottish.

Provincial and professional career

Allan played for the Natal Provincial 1st XV, and played for the South African Select XV. He made his senior provincial debut for Natal in 1988.

In 1993 Allan was made captain of the Natal team. While with Natal, he was a part of the Currie Cup winning teams of 1992, 1995 and 1996. Between 1988 and 1997, Allan earned 126 caps for the Natal Sharks.

In Scotland, he played for the Reds Trial side in January 1990.

He played for a Presidents XV side in 1991 in a curtailed Scottish Inter-District Championship due to the Rugby World Cup.

International career

He played for Scotland 'A' in 1990 against Spain.

Between 1990 and 1991, Allan played 9 tests and 24 games for Scotland, as their hooker.

With apartheid ending in South Africa, Allan was given the chance to play for South Africa. Subsequently, between 1993 and 1996, he represented South Africa in 13 tests, also as hooker. Allan also played in 12 tour matches, scoring 6 tries for the Springboks.

He was nicknamed "Jok Bok" by his Scottish teammates and "Bokjock" by his Springbok teammates.

Test history

Scotland
No.	Opposition	Result (Sco 1st)	Position	Tries	Date	Venue
1.	New Zealand	16–31	Hooker		16 June 1990	Carisbrook, Dunedin
2.	Wales	32–12	Hooker		2 February 1991	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
3.	Ireland	28–25	Hooker		16 March 1991	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
4.	Romania	12–18	Hooker		31 August 1991	Dinamo Stadion, Bucharest
5.	Japan	47–9	Hooker		5 October 1991	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
6.	Ireland	24–15	Hooker		12 October 1991	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
7.	Samoa	28–6	Hooker		19 October 1991	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
8.	England	6–9	Hooker		26 October 1991	Murrayfield, Edinburgh
9.	New Zealand	6–13	Hooker		30 October 1991	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
South Africa
No.	Opposition	Result (SA 1st)	Position	Tries	Date	Venue
1.	Australia	19–12	Hooker		31 July 1993	Sydney Football Stadium (SFG), Sydney
2.	Argentina	29–26	Hooker		5 November 1993	Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires
3.	Argentina	52–23	Hooker		13 November 1993	Ferro Carril Oeste Stadium, Buenos Aires
4.	England	15–32	Hooker		4 June 1994	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
5.	England	27–9	Hooker		11 June 1994	Newlands, Cape Town
6.	New Zealand	14–22	Hooker		9 July 1994	Carisbrook, Dunedin
7.	New Zealand	9–13	Hooker		23 July 1994	Athletic Park, Wellington
8.	New Zealand	18–18	Hooker		6 August 1994	Eden Park, Auckland
9.	Fiji	43–18	Hooker		2 July 1996	Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
10.	Australia	16–21	Hooker		13 July 1996	Sydney Football Stadium (SFG), Sydney
11.	New Zealand	11–15	Hooker		20 July 1996	AMI Stadium, Christchurch
12.	Australia	25–19	Hooker		3 August 1996	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
13.	New Zealand	18–29	Hooker		10 August 1996	Newlands, Cape Town

Coaching career

In 1997, Allan started coaching. His first stint was with London Scottish, from 1997 to 1998 where they were promoted to the Premier Division, and Allan moved on to coach the Natal Sharks forwards in 1999.

From 2000 to 2003 Allan was the Director of Coaching for the Glenwood Falcons, while also commentating on Supersport. He also worked as an advisor to the Natal Sharks from 2000 to 2001, and became their Forward Consultant in 2003.

In 2004, he was appointed the CEO of SARLA, a duty he still performs to this day. He does this, while still managing to maintain his various other positions. He is still the Director of Coaching for his club, the Glenwood Falcons, and a Supersport TV Presenter; in addition, he became the Executive Director of The eLan Rugby Legends.

Family

He is the uncle of Tommaso Allan, who played for Scotland at U-17, U-18 and U-20 and then, for the Italy national rugby union team

See also

• List of South Africa national rugby union players – Springbok no. 594
• List of Scotland national rugby union players – no. 866

External links

• John Allan international statistics