[1] Allan's eight All Black appearances came on the 1884 New Zealand rugby union tour of New South Wales on which he scored three tries.

[1] Allan was highly regarded as a forward with contemporary reports saying he was "consistently in the vanguard".

[1] Allan was also reported to be never far away from the ball along with being as "hard as nails".

[1] During his playing career at Otago, Allan became a distinguished player for the province.

[1][2] Allan was a pupil of Otago Boys' High School.