George Norton (rugby union)
 Norton in New Zealand in 1950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | George William Norton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 1 April 1920 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 7 October 1999 (aged 79) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Dublin, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | St Mary's College, Dublin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Dave Gannon AJ MacGinty (grandsons) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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George William Norton (1 April 1920 – 7 October 1999) was an Irish rugby union player who played in the fullback position. Norton played club rugby with Bective Rangers, represented Leinster at provincial level, was capped 11 times for Ireland, and was a member of the British Lions team that toured in 1950.
Rugby career
Norton picked up the game of rugby while in school at St Mary's College, Dublin. He joined St Mary's College RFC but struggled to displace his brother Austin from the team for his preferred position of fullback. Switching codes to play for Shamrock Rovers for a year or so, he moved club to Bective Rangers where he spent the remainder of his playing career.[1] A first appearance for the provincial Leinster team came in 1947.[2]
In Ireland's first game of the
Norton returned to play for Ireland in the 1951 Five Nations Championship. He featured in the first three of Ireland's games against France, England and Scotland but suffered an injury in that game against Scotland resulted in him being unable to play in their final game of the tournament against Wales. Ireland again clinched the Championship, but the shoulder injury was serious enough to force Norton to give up playing rugby.[1]
Post-playing career
Following his retirement from playing the game, Norton took up refereeing. He also was president of Bective Rangers. In 1998, he was inducted into the Rugby Writers of Ireland Hall of Fame.[2]
References
- ^ a b c Van Esbeck, Edmund (12 October 1999). "A golden era". The Irish Times.
- ^ a b O'Sullivan, John (5 December 1998). "Former players honoured". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Player: G Norton". ESPN Scrum.
- ^ "Player Archive: GW Norton". Barbarian Football Club.
- ^ "Player: George Norton". LionsRugby.com.