Rory Fallon facts for kids
Fallon playing for Plymouth Argyle in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rory Michael Fallon | ||
| Date of birth | 20 March 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Gisborne, New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.91 m | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Upper Hutt City (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Mount Albert Grammar | |||
| Barnsley | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2003 | Barnsley | 52 | (11) |
| 2001–2002 | → Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Swindon Town | 77 | (22) |
| 2005 | → Yeovil Town (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Swansea City | 44 | (13) |
| 2007–2011 | Plymouth Argyle | 149 | (22) |
| 2010–2011 | → Ipswich Town (loan) | 6 | (1) |
| 2011 | Yeovil Town | 5 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Aberdeen | 37 | (3) |
| 2013–2014 | St Johnstone | 8 | (1) |
| 2014 | Crawley Town | 8 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | Scunthorpe United | 4 | (3) |
| 2016 | Bristol Rovers | 3 | (0) |
| 2016 | Truro City | 12 | (0) |
| 2017 | Torquay United | 5 | (0) |
| 2017 | Dorchester Town | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 428 | (77) | |
| National team | |||
| 2009–2017 | New Zealand | 24 | (6) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2019–2022 | New Zealand (assistant) | ||
| 2023–2024 | Waterside Karori | ||
| 2024– | Upper Hutt City | ||
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Rory Michael Fallon (born March 20, 1982) is a former professional football player from New Zealand. He mostly played as a forward, which means he was an attacker trying to score goals.
Rory Fallon is currently the head of youth development at Wellington Phoenix. He used to play for many different clubs, including Barnsley, Swindon Town, Swansea City, and Plymouth Argyle. He also played for the New Zealand team 24 times, scoring 6 goals. He even represented his country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Rory was born and grew up in Gisborne, New Zealand. His father, Kevin, was also a football manager for New Zealand in the 1980s. Rory stopped playing professional football in November 2017.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Club Journey
Rory Fallon started his football journey at Barnsley in 1999. He became a professional player after training there. Just as he was becoming a regular player, he got a foot injury. This made it hard for him to get back his spot in the team.
In November 2003, Rory joined Swindon Town. He had played very well against them, which caught the manager's eye. He scored important goals for Swindon, like an amazing overhead kick. This goal helped his team get a draw against Bristol City.
Later, Rory was loaned to Yeovil Town. He scored a goal in his very first game for them. After a teammate was sold, Rory got more chances to play for Swindon. He scored a goal in his first game back against Nottingham Forest.
In January 2006, Rory moved to League One team Swansea City. He had a great year there, scoring 13 goals in 48 games. This made a bigger team, Plymouth Argyle, interested in him. They signed him in January 2007.
At Plymouth Argyle, Rory didn't start many games at first. He scored his first goal at their home stadium exactly one year after joining the club. Even though he was often on the bench, he stayed positive. He even turned down a move to another team because he wanted to succeed at Plymouth.
In September 2009, Rory scored a winning goal for Plymouth against Peterborough United. This was their first win of the season after many losses. He also scored in their next game, which they also won.
In November 2010, he joined Ipswich Town for a short time on loan. He returned to Plymouth in January. In August 2011, Rory signed a short contract with Yeovil Town and played in all five of their games during that time.
In September 2011, Rory signed a two-year deal with Scottish Premier League club Aberdeen. He played very well in the 2011–12 Scottish Cup. He scored two goals in a quarter-final match, which made him the "Player of the Round." One of his goals was even voted the "PFA Goal of the Season." He left Aberdeen in May 2013.
Rory then joined St Johnstone in July 2013. He also played for Crawley Town and Scunthorpe United, scoring on his debut for Scunthorpe.
In January 2016, Rory joined Bristol Rovers. He later became a player-coach for Truro City in the summer of 2016. In 2017, he played for Torquay United and Dorchester Town.
Playing for New Zealand
Even though Rory was born in New Zealand, he first played for England's youth teams. He played for England at many different age levels. However, he was able to switch to play for New Zealand when the rules about player eligibility changed.
In August 2009, Rory was called up to the New Zealand team. He played in a friendly game and important World Cup play-off matches. Rory scored a goal in his first game for New Zealand, helping them win 3–1 against Jordan.
On November 14, 2009, Rory scored the only goal in a big game against Bahrain. This goal sent New Zealand to the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. It was their first time in the World Cup in 28 years! Rory played in all three of New Zealand's games at the World Cup. He announced his retirement from international football in November 2017.
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing, Rory Fallon started working with young players at Plymouth Argyle. In October 2019, he became an assistant manager for the New Zealand national football team.
In November 2021, Rory became the head of youth development at Wellington Phoenix. He also coached their under-19s team. In December 2023, he became the manager for Waterside Karori. In February 2024, Upper Hutt City announced Rory Fallon as their head coach.
Career Statistics
These tables show how many games Rory Fallon played and how many goals he scored for different clubs and for his national team.
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Barnsley | 1999–2000 | First Division | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000–01 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2001–02 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03 | Second Division | 26 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 7 | |
| 2003–04 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 4 | ||
| Total | 52 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 58 | 11 | ||
| Shrewsbury Town (loan) | 2001–02 | Third Division | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Swindon Town | 2003–04 | Second Division | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 7 |
| 2004–05 | League One | 31 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 39 | 4 | |
| 2005–06 | 25 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 14 | ||
| Total | 77 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 91 | 26 | ||
| Yeovil Town (loan) | 2004–05 | League Two | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Swansea City | 2005–06 | League One | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 20 | 5 |
| 2006–07 | 24 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 8 | ||
| Total | 41 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 48 | 13 | ||
| Plymouth Argyle | 2006–07 | Championship | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | 29 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 7 | ||
| 2008–09 | 44 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 5 | ||
| 2009–10 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 5 | ||
| 2010–11 | League One | 28 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 4 | |
| Total | 149 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 160 | 22 | ||
| Ipswich Town (loan) | 2010–11 | Championship | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Yeovil Town | 2011–12 | League One | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Aberdeen | 2011–12 | Scottish Premier League | 21 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 7 |
| 2012–13 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 | ||
| Total | 35 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 9 | ||
| St Johnstone | 2013–14 | Scottish Premiership | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| Crawley Town | 2013–14 | League One | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Scunthorpe United | 2014–15 | League One | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Bristol Rovers | 2015–16 | League Two | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Truro City | 2016–17 | National League South | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| Torquay United | 2017–18 | National League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Dorchester Town | 2017–18 | Southern League Premier Division | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Career total | 423 | 76 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 19 | 4 | 478 | 87 | ||
International Goals
This table shows the goals Rory Fallon scored for the New Zealand national team. The "Score" column shows the score after Rory's goal, and "Result" shows the final score of the game.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 September 2009 | King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan | 1 |  Jordan |
2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 14 November 2009 | Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand | 3 |  Bahrain |
1–0 | 1–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 3 | 4 June 2010 | Ljudski vrt, Maribor, Slovenia | 7 |  Slovenia |
1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 4 | 19 November 2013 | Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand | 17 |  Mexico |
2–3 | 2–4 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 28 May 2016 | Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 19 |  Fiji |
2–0 | 3–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 6 | 31 May 2016 | Sir John Guise Stadium, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | 20 |  Vanuatu |
4–0 | 5–0 | 2016 OFC Nations Cup |
Honours
- IFFHS Oceania Men's Team of All Time: 2021
Personal Life
Rory Fallon's mother, Mere, is from the Māori community. He has a brother named Sean and a sister named Bianca.
Rory also owns a business that sells ice cream for different events and businesses in Yorkshire and Devon.
See also
In Spanish: Rory Fallon para niños
