Robert Malcolm Rutherford (4 October 1886 – 17 August 1960) was a New Zealand lawyer and sportsman. He played nine first-class cricket matches for Otago between the 1908–09 and 1913–14 seasons and captained the Otago field hockey team.
Rutherford was born at Dunedin in 1886.McCarron, Tony (2010). New Zealand Cricketers 1863/64–2010, p. 116. Cardiff: The Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. (Available online at the Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 5 June 2023.) He studied law at the University of Otago in the city and played both cricket and hockey for the university club.University hockey club, Otago Daily Times, issue 14826, 6 May 1910, p. 10. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 29 December 2023.) Described as a "well-known" cricketer,Personal items, Otago Witness, issue 3513, 12 July 1921, p. 45. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 29 December 2023.) he made his senior representative debut for the representative cricket team in a December 1908 Plunket Shield match against Auckland, making scores of 11 and 14 and taking one wicket in the match. He played twice more in top-class matches for the side during the season before making three appearances in 1909–10. His final three first-class matches came between the 1910–11 season and 1913–14. In total Rutherford scored 251 first-class runs and took 10 wickets for Otago.Robert Rutherford, CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
He was a member of the Otago Hockey Association committee and played regularly for the province's representative side.Otago Hockey Association, Evening Star, issue 14830, 21 March 1912, p. 3. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 29 December 2023.)Otago Hockey Association, Evening Star, issue 14381, 1 June 1910, p. 8. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 29 December 2023.) Described as a "brilliant forward", he captained the provincial side against Southland during the 1911 season.Association football, Southland Times, issue 16792, 22 July 1911, p. 9. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 29 December 2023.)
Rutherford qualified as a solicitor and left Dunedin in 1912 to work as the managing clerk for ER Bowler at Gore in Southland in 1912. He was admitted to the bar later in the year.Personal items, The Dominion, volume 5, issue 1509, 3 August 1912, p. 4. (Available online at Papers Past. Retrieved 29 December 2023.) By 1921 he was working at Milton to the south of Dunedin. He died at Dunedin in 1960 at the age of 73.
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