James Joseph ‘Jimmy’ Mill {All Black #267}
Born in Tokomaru Bay, Jimmy Mill was educated at Napier BHS and Nelson College where he was in the 1st XV 1916-18, and represented Nelson in a second class fixture. Returning to the East Coast (then a Sub-union of Poverty Bay) he represented that Union for the first time in 1921. That year he also played twice against the first Springboks, for Hawkes Bay-Poverty Bay and for New Zealand Maoris. Jimmy Mill then toured to Australia with Maori sides in both 1922 and 1923, and made his All Blacks debut the latter year against New South Wales in Dunedin. He was now playing for the powerful Hawkes Bay side, holders of the Ranfurly Shield.
Mill was back in Australia in 1924, this time with the All Blacks, and he became the first string halfback on the 1924/5 tour of Great Britain, France and Canada, playing in 3 of the 4 test matches. His final tour was to Australia in 1926 with the New Zealand team where he played in all six matches.
Ineligible for the 1928 tour of South Africa because of his Maori blood, Jimmy Mill continued in representative rugby with East Coast and then Wairarapa until 1930 when he made his final All Black appearance, against the British’ Isles.
Standing 5′ 7″ and weighing 10st 12lb, Mill was a speedy, resourceful and clever half back with a lightening fast break on the blind side of the scrum. He scored 15 tries (and 4 conversions) in his 33 matches for New Zealand.
A sheepfarmer, Jimmy Mill was also a good enough cricketer to be a member of the Poverty Bay team which won the Hawke Cup in the 1918-19 season.
Profile by Bob Luxford
for the New Zealand Rugby Museum.
| FULL NAME | James Joseph Mill |
| BORN | Sunday, 19 November 1899 in Tokomaru Bay, New Zealand |
| DIED | Wednesday, 29 March 1950 in Gisborne |
| PHYSICAL | 1.70m, 70kg |
| POSITION | Halfback |
| LAST SCHOOL | Nelson College |
| RUGBY CLUB (First made All Blacks from) |
Napier Marist |
| PROVINCES | Hawkes Bay, Waiarapa |
| ALL BLACK DEBUT | Saturday, 25 August 1923 v N.S.W. at Dunedin aged 23 years, 279 days |
| INTERNATIONAL DEBUT | Saturday, 29 November 1924 v Wales at Swansea aged 25 years, 10 days |
| LAST TEST | Saturday, 21 June 1930 v British & Irish Lions at Dunedin aged 30 years, 214 days |
| ALL BLACK TESTS | 4 4 |
| ALL BLACK GAMES | 29 29 |
| TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES | 33 33 |
| STARTING POSITIONS | Jersey Number 9 : 4 |
| ALL BLACK TEST POINTS | 0pts |
| ALL BLACK GAME POINTS | 53pts (15t, 4c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) |
| TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS | 53pts (15t, 4c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) |
| ALL BLACK NUMBER | 267 |
ALL BLACK GAMES THAT MILL PLAYED(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced |
| Click on the date below to view the Match Card |
1923 |
| 25 Aug vs N.S.W. at Dunedin 19-9 |
1924 |
| 5 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 16-20 |
| 23 Jul vs Auckland at Auckland 3-14 |
| 18 Sep vs Cornwall at Camborne 29-0 |
| 20 Sep vs Somerset at Weston-super-Mare 6-0 |
| 2 Oct vs Newport at Newport 13-10 |
| 11 Oct vs Cheshire at Birkenhead 18-5 |
| 15 Oct vs Durham at Sunderland 43-7 |
| 25 Oct vs Cumberland at Carlisle 41-0 |
| 5 Nov vs Ulster at Belfast 28-6 |
| 8 Nov vs Northumberland at Gosforth 27-4 |
| 12 Nov vs Cambridge University at Cambridge 5-0 |
| 15 Nov vs London Counties at London 31-6 |
| 22 Nov vs Cardiff at Cardiff 16-8 |
| 29 Nov vs Wales at Swansea 19-0 |
| 6 Dec vs East Midlands at Northampton 31-7 |
| 13 Dec vs Combined Services at London 25-3 |
| 17 Dec vs Hampshire at Portsmouth 22-0 |
| 27 Dec vs London Counties at London 28-3 |
1925 |
| 3 Jan vs England at London 17-11 |
| 18 Jan vs France at Toulouse 30-6 |
| 14 Feb vs Vancouver at Vancouver 49-0 |
| 18 Feb vs Victoria (B.C.) at Vancouver Island 68-4 |
| 19 Sep vs N.S.W. at Auckland 36-10 |
1926 |
| 30 Jun vs Wellington at Wellington 14-21 |
| 10 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 20-26 |
| 14 Jul vs A N.S.W. XV at Sydney 31-14 |
| 17 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 11-6 |
| 20 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 14-0 |
| 24 Jul vs Victoria at Melbourne 58-15 |
| 29 Jul vs A N.S.W. XV at Sydney 28-21 |
1930 |
| 18 Jun vs North Otago at Oamaru 34-6 |
| 21 Jun vs British & Irish Lions at Dunedin 3-6 |
POINTS SCORED FOR THE ALL BLACKS |
t | c | p | dg | pts |
| vs Cornwall, 18 Sep 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Somerset, 20 Sep 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Newport, 2 Oct 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Durham, 15 Oct 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Cumberland, 25 Oct 1924 | 2 | – | – | – | 6 |
| vs Northumberland, 8 Nov 1924 | 2 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| vs Cambridge University, 12 Nov 1924 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Vancouver, 14 Feb 1925 | – | 1 | – | – | 2 |
| vs Victoria (B.C.), 18 Feb 1925 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs N.S.W., 19 Sep 1925 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Victoria, 24 Jul 1926 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs A N.S.W. XV, 29 Jul 1926 | 2 | – | – | – | 6 |
| vs North Otago, 18 Jun 1930 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Totals | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 53 |
 |
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TEST RECORD BY NATION |
P | W | D | L | t | c | p | dg | pts |
| British & Irish Lions | 1 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| England | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| France | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Wales | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
