| James Allan | |
| Birth Date: | 1860 9, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Taieri, Otago, New Zealand |
| Death Place: | Hāwera, Taranaki, New Zealand |
| Weight: | 90 kg |
| Ru Position: | Forward |
| Amatteam1: | Taieri |
| Repteam1: | New Zealand |
| Repyears1: | 1884 |
| Repcaps1: | 8 (0 Tests) |
| Reppoints1: | 6 |
| Ru Province1: | Otago |
| Ru Provinceyears1: | 1881–86 |
| School: | Otago Boys' High |
James Allan (11 September 1860, in East Taieri, New Zealand - 2 September 1934, in Hāwera, New Zealand[1] [2]) was a New Zealand rugby union player who played eight games for the All Blacks, the New Zealand national rugby union team, and was nicknamed the Taieri Giant.[1] Allan played in the first match contested by the New Zealand team, and the New Zealand Rugby Union regard him as the first ever All Black.[3]
Allan played as a forward and played six seasons for his province Otago, from 1881 to 1886.[1] Allan's eight All Black appearances came on the 1884 New Zealand rugby union tour of New South Wales on which he scored three tries.[1] He was one of New Zealand's most valuable players. on the tour, where he played eight of the All Blacks' nine games – all played over 23 days.[1]
Allan was highly regarded as a forward with contemporary reports saying he was "consistently in the vanguard".[1] Allan was also reported to be never far away from the ball along with being as "hard as nails".[1] During his playing career at Otago, Allan became a distinguished player for the province. He had three other brothers who represented Otago.[1]
Allan was a pupil of Otago Boys' High School.[1] [4]