James Thomas Tilyard (27 August 1889 – 1 November 1966) was a New Zealand rugby union player.

Tilyard, Australian born, represented Wellington and Wanganui provincially. He played his club rugby with Poneke. A brother, Fred, was also an All Black while other brothers competed in club rugby at a high level.^[1]

He played his only Test match for New Zealand when he took the field as a first five-eighth in an 11-point loss to Australia at Christchurch in 1913. It was more of a second string All-Blacks team as the usual players had already started their tour of Canada when this Test, the final of the series, was played.^[2]

Tilyard returned to the national team in 1920 and captained them for a tour of New South Wales. He made nine All Black appearances on the tour, scored four tries and kicked two conversions as well as a drop goal.^[1]

The talented sportsman also appeared in one first-class cricket match for Wellington in 1908, against Hawke's Bay in Napier. In a drawn match, Tilyard contributed scores of 31 and nine.^[3]