Maurice Joseph Brownlie (10 August 1897 – 21 January 1957) was an international New Zealand

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 ...

player. A loose forward, Brownlie represented at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national team, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, from 1922 until 1928. He played 61 matches for New Zealand—a record for All Black appearances that stood until surpassed by Kevin Skinner in 1956—and scored 21 tries. These matches included eight

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. He captained the All Blacks on 19 occasions, including for the 1928 tour of South Africa. Maurice_Brownlee_passport_application

Brownlie was a member of The Invincibles during their European tour of 1924–25. On that tour, his brother

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became the first man to be sent off in a Test match. Their older brother

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also made an appearance for the All Blacks, in 1921. All three brothers represented Hawke's Bay and played as loose forwards. Brownlie gave service during both world wars. From 1915 to 1919 he served in the

New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade The New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade was a brigade of the New Zealand Army during the First World War. Raised in 1914 as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, it was one of the first New Zealand units to sail for service overseas. T ...

, including two and a half years in the Middle East, and reached the rank of corporal. During the Second World War he served in No. 4 Squadron, Independent Mounted Rifles, part of the

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, from 1940. Brownlie died in Gisborne on 21 January 1957, and was buried at Taruheru Cemetery. He has been inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the hall ...

twice: as a member of The Invincibles, and in his own right.

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* * 1897 births 1957 deaths Rugby union players from Whanganui People educated at St Patrick's College, Wellington New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Rugby union flankers Burials at Taruheru Cemetery {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1890s-stub

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