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

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.
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.
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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.
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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.