Rory Michael Fallon (born 20 March 1982) is a New Zealand former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played predominantly as a forward. He previously played for

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team, known as the "Robins", currently compete in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded as Swindon A ...

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

Plymouth Argyle Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. The team currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club has played ...

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. The club currently competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn ...

, Yeovil Town,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

St Johnstone St Johnstone Football Club is a professional association football club in Perth, Scotland. The team competes in the , the second division of Scottish football. The club's name is derived from St John's Toun (or Saint Johnstoun)—an old name o ...

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers FC is a men's professional football club in Bristol. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club is affiliated to Bristol Rovers W.F.C., whose team play in the FA Women's National Leag ...

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The club was formed in ...

, Dorchester Town. He was also

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

a total of 24 times, scoring 6 goals. He represented his country at both the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

and

2016 Nations Cup The 2016 Nations Cup was the inaugural edition of the Nations Cup hosted in Malacca City, Malaysia from 3 to 5 June 2016. It was organised by MP & Silva with the under-21 teams of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand Thailand, officially t ...

. He was born and raised in Gisborne. His father

Kevin Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; ; ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicised from , an Irish diminutive form.''A Dictiona ...

managed New Zealand over a four-year period in the 1980s. He retired from professional football in November 2017.

Playing career

Club career

Born in Gisborne, Fallon started his career at

, becoming a professional in 1999 after moving up through their trainee programme. He had just begun to cement his place in the first-team when he suffered a stress fracture of his foot, which saw him struggle to regain his place. Fallon was signed for an undisclosed fee by

in November 2003 after a number of impressive performances against them with Barnsley, which caught the eye of manager Andy King. After breaking into the team he scored a number of important goals in the 2003–04 campaign; including an overhead kick from the edge of the box to secure a point against

Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern League and Western L ...

. Despite the departure of

Tommy Mooney Thomas John Mooney (born 11 August 1971) is an English former professional footballer who played mainly as a striker. He made more than 600 appearances in the Football League and Premier Leaguewith 250 for Watford and more than 100 for Scarbo ...

, Fallon found himself regularly on the bench in the 2004–05 season. He was loaned out to Yeovil Town to increase his confidence and he scored on his debut against

. He failed to score in the remainder of the season, but a red card for kicking

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

defender David Mirfin in the face meant he missed the opening two games of the following season. After Sam Parkin was sold in summer 2005, Fallon was given greater opportunities to play at Swindon, scoring on his return to action against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

. He signed for League One team

in January 2006 for a fee believed to be £300,000, the second highest fee ever paid by the Welsh club. A productive year followed for the striker, scoring 13 goals in all competitions from 48 appearances. This prompted interest from

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

and they paid £300,000 for Fallon on 19 January 2007. Fallon had only started a handful of games for

, and had struggled to get into the team. He went without a competitive goal at

Home Park Home Park is a football stadium in the area of Milehouse, Plymouth, Devon, England. With a capacity of 17,900, the ground has been the home of Plymouth Argyle Football Club since 1903, and was also used between 1900 and 1903 by Argyle Athlet ...

until 19 January 2008, exactly one-year after he signed for the club, when he scored a second half equaliser against

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. It was only his fourth goal for the Pilgrims. The 2007–2008 campaign saw Fallon continue to be a regular bench warmer, but he continued with his optimistic attitude that he can become a first team regular, and even rejected a £250,000 move to League One side

Southend United Southend United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth level of English football. The team are known as "The Shrimpers", a reference ...

, in January 2008. On 29 September 2009, Fallon scored the winning goal for Plymouth against

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

earning the ''Pilgrims'' their first win of the season after seven straight defeats, lifting them off the bottom of the table. Fallon then scored the opening goal in Argyle's next game against Scunthorpe United which they also won 2–1. On the opening day of the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

season, Fallon played the full 90 minutes and was the provider for Luke Summerfield's winning goal in Plymouth's 1–0 win over pre-season promotion favourites Southampton. In November, he joined

on short loan, returning to Plymouth in January. In August 2011, Fallon signed a one-month contract with Yeovil Town after a short trial and featured in all five of Yeovil's games during that period. In September 2011, he signed a two-year deal with

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

club

. Fallon's time at Aberdeen was notable for his performances in the

2011–12 Scottish Cup The 2011–12 Scottish Cup was the 127th season of Scotland's most prestigious football knockout competition. The tournament began on 24 September 2011 and ended on 19 May 2012. It was sponsored by William Hill in the first season of a three-ye ...

. After scoring in Aberdeen's 4–0, 4th round victory over Forfar Athletic, he set up Aberdeen's opener in the 5th round 2–1 win over Queen of the South. Fallon then scored both goals in the 2–1 quarter final win against

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

to become the Player of the Round. Although Aberdeen lost the semi-final at

Hampden Park Hampden Park ( ; Scottish Gaelic: ''Pàirc Hampden'') is a association football, football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland, which is the national stadium of football in Scotland and home of the Scotland national football ...

2–1 against Hibernian, Fallon's second half equaliser went on to be voted the PFA Goal of the Season. On 13 May 2013 Fallon was released by Aberdeen having scored three league goals in 35 appearances. Fallon joined

side

in July 2013 on a free transfer, the deal was completed in time for Fallon to play a part, if called upon, in St Johnstone's

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

second qualifying round tie against Norwegian

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

side Rosenborg. On 31 January 2014, Fallon left St Johnstone by mutual consent. In February 2014, Fallon joined

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

until the end of the 2013–14 season. In September 2014, Fallon joined

on a short-term deal. Fallon scored on his Scunthorpe début in a 3–2 loss to

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

on 27 September 2014. In January 2016, Fallon joined Bristol Rovers on non-contract terms until the end of the season. He made his debut as a 76th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss to

Accrington Stanley F.C. Accrington Stanley Football Club is a professional association football club based in Accrington, Lancashire, England, that compete in the , the fourth level of the English football league system. They have spent their entire history playing a ...

In the summer of 2016, he Joined

National League South The National League South, officially Vanarama National League South, is a professional Association football league in England. National League South is the second division of the National League (English football), National Leagues and step ...

club, Truro City F.C. as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

but had his contract cancelled by mutual consent in December 2016. On 26 July 2017, Fallon joined National League side

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

, on non-contract terms, ahead of the 2017–18 season. He played one match for Dorchester Town.

International career

Despite being born in

and having a

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

who coached New Zealand at the

1982 World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in th ...

, Fallon chose to represent England at junior level. He played international football for England at U16, U17, U18, U19 and U20 levels and switched when FIFA changed the eligibility rules. He did, however, represent New Zealand in an unofficial U-16 World Cup in France in 1998, the Montaigu Tournament, where

Wynton Rufer Wynton Alan Whai Rufer (born 29 December 1962) is a New Zealand retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent more than a decade of his professional career in Switzerland and Germany, achieving his greatest success at Werd ...

was the coach. Shortly after, he departed for England to be an apprentice at

. In January 2006, New Zealand coach

Ricki Herbert Ricki Lloyd Herbert (born 10 April 1961) is a New Zealand former footballer and manager. He is the current director of football at Hamilton Wanderers AFC. Herbert was formerly head coach of the New Zealand national team, stepping down after ...

suggested that Fallon might still get a chance to represent

at senior level. Herbert claimed that the only reason why Fallon wasn't picked was due to lack of correspondence from

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

regarding this matter. Fallon had until he was 21 years old to get clearance from FIFA to change his

association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

. It found, however, that Fallon did not apply in the 2004 window to change allegiance for over-21s players. This year-long window was made available by FIFA upon introduction of a rule which allows players with dual nationality to switch their allegiance before their 21st birthday. Under this criterion Fallon could not be available for New Zealand. On 3 June 2009, FIFA Congress passed a motion removing the age limit for changing associations for players who had already played for a country's national team at youth level under article 18 of the ''Regulations Governing the Application of the FIFA Statutes''. This allowed for the possibility of Fallon again representing New Zealand. In August 2009, Fallon was called up to the New Zealand squad for a friendly against

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

the following month and the crucial two-legged World Cup play-off matches against

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

later in the year. Fallon scored on debut in the match against Jordan, which New Zealand won 3–1. On 14 November 2009, Fallon headed home the only goal just before half-time in the second leg of New Zealand's World Cup qualifier against

, to send

to the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

in South Africa, their first appearance at the finals in 28 years. Fallon played in all three of New Zealand's finals games. He was recalled into the New Zealand camp for their World Cup play-off loss to Peru in November 2017. Following these matches, he announced his international retirement.

Coaching career

After retiring, Fallon worked with

's under-14 players. In mid-October 2019, Fallon was appointed assistant manager for the

New Zealand national football team The New Zealand men's national football team () represents New Zealand in men's international Association football, football competitions. The team is governed by the governing body for football in New Zealand, New Zealand Football (NZF), whic ...

under manager

Danny Hay Daniel John Hay (born 15 May 1975) is a retired New Zealand professional footballer who formerly managed the New Zealand men's national football team, New Zealand U-23, and New Zealand U-20. Hay played as a central defender for Premier Leagu ...

. In November 2021, Fallon was appointed head of youth development at

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...

, also coaching the under-19s team before becoming manager

Waterside Karori Waterside Karori AFC is an association football club in Karori, a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. They currently play in the Capital Football (New Zealand), Capital Football Central League (New Zealand), Central League. History Waterside Kar ...

of the

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

in December 2023. In January 2024, Waterside Karori announced that they had ended Fallon's contract by way of mutual consent before the season started. In February 2024, Upper Hutt City announced Fallon as their head coach for the 2024 season.

Career statistics

Club

Reference

International goals

:''New Zealand score listed first, score column indicates score after each Fallon goal.''

Honours

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

Oceania Men's Team of All Time: 2021

Personal life

Fallon's mother, Mere, is of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

descent. He has a brother called Sean and a sister called Bianca. Fallon owns a business selling ice cream for businesses and events across Yorkshire and Devon.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fallon, Rory 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Gisborne, New Zealand New Zealand men's association footballers New Zealand men's international footballers English men's footballers England men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Ngāti Porou people Barnsley F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Swindon Town F.C. players Yeovil Town F.C. players Swansea City A.F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Aberdeen F.C. players Ipswich Town F.C. players St Johnstone F.C. players Crawley Town F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Bristol Rovers F.C. players Truro City F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players Dorchester Town F.C. players Scottish Professional Football League players English Football League players Scottish Premier League players National League (English football) players Southern Football League players New Zealand expatriate men's association footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2012 OFC Nations Cup players 2016 OFC Nations Cup players OFC Nations Cup–winning players People educated at Mount Albert Grammar School New Zealand Māori sportspeople New Zealand people of English descent New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand Christians English people of New Zealand descent New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen