# Stephen Finney

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{{Short description|England international rugby union player}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2012}}
{{distinguish|text=[Stephen Finney Mason](/source/Stephen_Finney_Mason), British chemist and historian, or [Steve Finney](/source/Steve_Finney), English footballer}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| image         =
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1852|9|8|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [Marylebone](/source/Marylebone), London, England
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1924|3|1|1852|9|8|df=y}}
| death_place   = (registered in) Kensington
| height        = 
| weight        = 
| position      = Halfback
| repteam1      = {{nrut|England}}
| repcaps1      = 2
| reppoints1    = 
| ru_ntupdate   = 
| repyears1     = 1872–1873
| years1        = 
| ru_clubupdate = 
| apps1         = 
| points1       = 
| clubs1        = [RIE College RFC](/source/RIE_College_RFC)
| clubs2        = Calcutta
| school        = [Clifton College](/source/Clifton_College)
| university    = [Royal Indian Engineering College](/source/Royal_Indian_Engineering_College) 
}}

Sir '''Stephen Finney''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|CIE}} (8 September 1852 – 1 March 1924) was a [rugby union](/source/rugby_union) international who represented [England](/source/England_national_rugby_union_team) from 1872 to 1873.<ref name="Scrum">{{Cite web |url=http://www.espnscrum.com/australia-tour-2010/rugby/player/280.html |title=Stephen Finney Profile |website=scrum.com |access-date=15 March 2011 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022063407/http://www.espnscrum.com/australia-tour-2010/rugby/player/280.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Early life==
Stephen Finney was born on 8 September 1852 in Marylebone.<ref name="Scrum"/> He was educated at [Clifton College](/source/Clifton_College)<ref>"Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. p19: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948</ref> and the [Royal Indian Engineering College, Cooper's Hill](/source/Royal_Indian_Engineering_College).<ref name="Burke"/> As well as rugby, Finney also played cricket at Clifton and was said to have been one of the school's finest players.<ref name="Baily">Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, p237, Volume 121, 1924</ref>

==Rugby union career==
Finney played his rugby in the 1870s in a newly found club close to his working area Crewe Britannia which was short lived, closing in the 1880s. Currently in that area from 1922 is the present Crewe & Nantwich RUFC. Before his days at Crewe Finney made his international debut on 5 February 1872 at [The Oval](/source/The_Oval) in the [England](/source/England_national_rugby_union_team) vs [Scotland](/source/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team) match.<ref name="Scrum"/> Of the two matches he played for his national side he was on the winning side on one occasions.<ref name="Scrum"/> He played his final match for England on 3 March 1873 at [Hamilton Crescent](/source/Hamilton_Crescent), Glasgow in the [Scotland](/source/Scotland_national_rugby_union_team) vs [England](/source/England_national_rugby_union_team) match.<ref name="Scrum"/> Of his prowess on the rugby field it was written after his death that ''"among those qualified to judge he is considered to have had no superior as a fearless and determined halfback"''.<ref name="Baily"/> He also appeared with [Calcutta FC](/source/Calcutta_Cricket_and_Football_Club), oldest rugby and football club in Asia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Calcutta Cup: the legacy of a club that died |url=http://srustaging.realise.com/sites/default/files/editor/docs/the-calcutta-cup.pdf |access-date=25 March 2015 |website=Scottish Rugby Union |location=London |archive-date=22 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922070100/http://srustaging.realise.com/sites/default/files/editor/docs/the-calcutta-cup.pdf }}</ref>

==Career==
Finney entered the service of the Indian Public Works Department in 1874 and served as assistant and district engineer for four years. He then joined the administrative branch of the Railway Department and stayed there until 1891.<ref name="Burke">Edmund Burke, ''The Annual register of world events: a review of the year, Volume 166'', p119, Longmans, Green, 1925</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Stephen}}
Category:1852 births
Category:1924 deaths
Category:Alumni of the Royal Indian Engineering College
Category:Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire
Category:England international rugby union players
Category:English rugby union players
Category:People educated at Clifton College
Category:RIE College RFC players
Category:Rugby union halfbacks
Category:Rugby union players from the City of Westminster
Category:People from Marylebone

{{England-rugbyunion-bio-1850s-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Stephen Finney](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Finney) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Finney?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.