Born: c. 1915 Test record: 0 Tests Tours: 1939 tour of Great Britain
Len Brown’s selection for New Zealand’s ill-fated tour of Britain in 1939 completed the first instance of Canterbury brothers earning Kiwi status, after Ray Brown toured Australia the previous year.
Half Len, a former Canterbury rugby union rep, switched codes to play for Sydenham and won South Island selection honours in 1939. A berth in the Kiwis’ squad soon followed and he debuted in the second match, a 22-10 win over Dewsbury – after which the tour was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.
Brown later turned out for South Island again in 1946.
