Tallent, a Blackheath centre, was a Kent and East Midlands representative player.[2] He gained five England caps and marked his debut with two tries against Scotland at Murrayfield. In 1936, Tallent toured Argentina with the British Lions.[1]
Tallent was a rugby master at Stowe School and also worked as a stockbroker in London.[3]
A long-time rugby administrator, Tallent served as president of his former club Blackheath and had a stint as RFU president in 1959/60, then during the early 1970s was chairman of the Four Nations Unions Committee. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1961 New Year Honours for services to rugby.[4]