Jim Lenehan
| Full name | James Kenneth Michael Lenehan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 April 1938 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wagga Wagga | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 14 st (89 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Grazier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amateur team(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| Provincial / State sides | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1958–67 | NSW | 21 | () |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1957–1967 |
 Australia
|
24 | () |
Jim Lenehan (born 1938) is a former Australian rugby union footballer. A state and national representative versatile back, he played twenty-four matches for Australia, once as captain. His national representative career spanned a ten-year period during which time he made two grande Wallaby tours to the Home Nations and numerous appearances against New Zealand and South Africa.
A grazier's son born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales Lenehan was sent to Sydney to school at Riverview. He was a schoolboy hurdler of some note at the GPS athletics level. After school his rugby career continued with the Wagga Wagga Waratahs and the Narrandera Rugby Club.
Lenehan was a tremendous left-foot punt kicker of the ball and is said to have regularly kicked the ball 75 m in matches. He was an excellent goal-kicker and a punishing defender who used his full 14 stone playing weight to hit opponents ferociously. His potential was noticed at school by national coach Alan Roper, who also coached at Riverview. At 19 years of age with only some school and country rugby behind him, he was trialled and selected in the squad for the Wallabies 1957–58 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland and France.
His eight-month tour was a dream representative debut. His test debut was made against Wales and he played in four of the five tests of the tour and in thirty-two of the total forty-one games. He was the leading point scorer (114 points) and leading try scorer (13). He caused some controversy in the 3rd test of the tour – that against England at Twickenham when he knocked England's Peter Thompson out cold in a tackle that some of the crowd felt was late and cynical. He was booed by the Twickenham crowd as he had been similarly by the crowd in the tour match against Swansea RFC three weeks earlier. In a tour which was not successful for the Wallabies (winning nil from five tests and only winning 22 of the total 41 matches) Lenehan's performances were strong and he returned to Australian with his playing reputation enhanced.
...
Wikipedia