Barney Armit

Alexander McNaughton "Barney" Armit (27 March 1874 – 12 November 1899) was a New Zealand rugby union player. He represented New Zealand on their 1897 tour of Australia, however he is best remembered for having died from injuries sustained while playing a match in 1899. He represented Otago from 1893 until his death, and played for the South Island in the Inter-Island match of 1897.

Early life Born in the town of Inverkeithing in Fife, Scotland, on 27 March 1874, Armit was the son of John Armit and Ann McNaughton.

Career After playing for the Kaikorai Rugby Football Club from 1892, Armit was selected to represent Otago in 1893, with his first match against Canterbury. He continued to play for Kaikorai and Otago throughout the following six years, and in 1897 was selected for the South Island in the first ever Inter-Island match.

In 1897 Armit, along with Kaikorai and Otago teammate Jimmy Duncan, was selected for the New Zealand team to tour Australia. Two previous tours had been conducted by New Zealand representative sides to Australia; the first in 1884 was conducted without the oversight of a national body, and in 1893, after the formation of the New Zealand Football Rugby Union a second tour was conducted. Armit's province, Otago, had initially refused to join the NZRFU (and so the 1893 side included no Otago players), but they joined in 1895, making Otago-based players eligible for selection for the 1897 tour. Armit played nine matches on the ten-match tour and in the process scored seven tries, including one try each in the two matches he played against New South Wales. This was followed by in an incident in the last match against New South Wales where an Armit bump broke the rib of opponent Stan Wickham.