Alfred "Alf" Moore Bucher (22 March 1874 – 20 August 1939) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

wing who played club rugby for

Edinburgh Academicals Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership (rugby union), Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby ...

. Bucher played international rugby for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and was selected for the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

team on its 1899 tour of Australia.

Personal history

Bucher was born in

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

, in 1874 to Francis Bucher and Grace Webster Smith. Bucher served in the First World War and was a 2nd Lieutenant in the City of Edinburgh Motor Volunteer Corps.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Bucher came to note as a rugby player while representing Scottish club side, Edinburgh Academicals. It was while with the Academicals that he was selected to win his one and only cap for the Scottish national team.

Provincial career

He was capped by Edinburgh District in

1898 Events January * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queen ...

International career

Bucher was chosen for the final game of the

1897 Home Nations Championship The 1897 Home Nations Championship was the fifteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Four matches were played between 9 January and 13 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wales only completed one ...

, an encounter against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

at Fallowfield in Manchester. Bucher was brought in at wing as a replacement for

George Campbell George Campbell may refer to: Sportsmen *George Campbell (rugby union) (1872–1924), Scotland international rugby union player * George Campbell (footballer, born 1957), Scottish footballer * George Campbell (footballer, born 1864) (1864–1898) ...

, and was joined at threequarters with fellow Academical player Alec Robertson, who was also winning his first cap. Scotland lost the game 12–3, and despite scoring a try on his debut, Bucher was never reselected for his country again. In 1899, Bucher was invited to represent the British Isles on the team's first official tour to Australia. Bucher played in 17 of the 20 arranged matches,Alf Bucher player profile
Lionsrugby.com and was part of the British Isles team in the First Test against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, played in Sydney. After the tourists lost the First Test, captain

Matthew Mullineux Matthew Mullineux MC (8 August 1867 – 13 February 1945) was an English rugby union scrum-half who, although not capped for England, was selected for two British Lions tours. He gained one cap during the 1896 tour to South Africa and ca ...

made several team changes, and Bucher was replaced by H.G.S. Gray, a trialist who normally played as a forward. Despite a comprehensive win in the Second Test, Gray was dropped for the Third Test and Bucher was back on the wing, this time partnered opposite Elliot Nicholson. Bucher scored two tries in the game, which proved decisive as the British won by a narrow 11-10 margin. Bucher retained his place for the Final Test, and scored his third international try of the tour in as 13–0 win over the Australians.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bucher, Alf 1874 births 1939 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland Edinburgh Academicals rugby union players Edinburgh District (rugby union) players Rugby union players from Leith Rugby union wings Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players