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Alf Larard

English rugby union and rugby league footballer (1870-1936)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 2, 2025
Entity authorityQ27862192
Source-derived summary

Arthur Larard (30 December 1870 – 15 August 1936), also known by the nickname of "Alf", was a South African international rugby union and rugby league footballer. He primarily played as a half back, but also played many games at centre during his rugby league career.

Rugby union career

In 1888, aged 17, Larard moved to South Africa, where he played rugby union throughout the 1890s. In 1896, he was selected to play for South Africa against the touring British Lions. He débuted in the second Test on 22 August 1896 in Johannesburg, and were defeated by the Lions 7–18. His second appearance came in the final game of the series on 5 September 1896 in Cape Town, with Larard scoring the only try in a 5–0 win for South Africa – the country's first ever victory in international rugby.

Rugby league career

In 1901, Larard returned to England. He went on to play four seasons in the Northern Union with Huddersfield, appearing 99 times and scoring 14 tries. He was also capped twice by Yorkshire.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Alf Larard” is english rugby union and rugby league footballer (1870-1936). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Larard, English and rugby, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1870, 1936, 1888, 1896—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1870-12-30. For this dossier, Larard, English and rugby is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “english rugby union and rugby league footballer (1870-1936)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q27862192. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1870, 1936, 1888 and 1896.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Alf Larard”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Alf Larard primary sources, Alf Larard archive and Larard research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Alf Larard”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Alf Larard” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.