Matt Dunning

Matt Dunning (born 19 December 1978) is a former Australian rugby union footballer. He played as a prop for the Waratahs and Western Force in Super Rugby, and represented Australia. He is the current coach of the Balmain rugby club in Sydney.

Early life

Dunning was born in Calgary, Canada, but grew up in Sydney and was educated at Northholm Grammar School. In 1996, he was selected to represent New South Wales at the Australian Schools Rugby Championships. He went on to play for Australian Schools, U19s and U21s. His brother is Canadian prop Casey Dunning.

Rugby career

Dunning made his debut for the New South Wales Waratahs in a Ricoh Championship match against Queensland in 2000, and played his first Super 14 match against the Chiefs in 2001. He made his international test debut on 25 October 2003 during the 2003 Rugby World Cup at the age of 24. The match against Namibia was won 142-0 and is the largest winning margin for an Australian side. The only other match he played in during the tournament was the 17-20 loss against England in the final. He is also well known for his drop goal in the 2003 Super 12 season. His team, the NSW Waratahs, needed a bonus point to make the finals. Since the Waratahs were playing with advantage, and still needed two more tries to gain the bonus point, Dunning decided to kick a drop goal, which he assumed would miss. This would result in the penalty being awarded, which would allow the ball to be kicked into touch and possibly a line-out drive that could lead to a try. Unfortunately, the kick hit its mark and sailed through the posts, much to his and his teammates' dismay.

Dunning

Dunning is a small village in Perth and Kinross in Scotland with a population of about 1,000. The village is built around the 12th-13th century former parish church of St. Serf, where the Dupplin Cross is displayed (Historic Scotland; open in summer without entrance charge). The building was used in the filming of the Scottish film Complicity. It is in Strathearn, the valley of the River Earn, north of the Ochil Hills. It is just south of the A9, between Auchterarder and Perth.

Dunning is steeped in history from the earliest days. There was an Iron Age fort on Dun Knock (no visible remains) and a 1st-century Roman camp at Kincladie (part of the rampart and ditch survive in Kincladie Wood). The former is the probable origin of the name Dunning, ex Old Irish dúnán 'little fort'. Legend tells that Saint Serf (fl. 8th century?) killed a dragon here, and there is a thorn tree planted in Jacobite times as well as a monument to Maggie Wall, burnt as a witch in 1657.

The Dunning Parish Historical Society web site (see below) includes St. Serf's Church graveyard survey and Dunning parish census records, both useful for genealogy research. The village (except the church) was burned during the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion. The oldest surviving house (recently restored) dates from the 1730s.

Dunning (disambiguation)

Dunning is a small village in Perth and Kinross in Scotland with a population of about 1000.

Dunning may also refer to:

See also

Dunning (surname)

Dunning is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: