Herb Gilbert

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Herb Gilbert
Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
South Sydney RU Club
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1910[1] Wallabies 3 9
1910 New South Wales
Rugby league
PositionCentre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1911–12 South Sydney 23 0 0 0 24
1912–15
Hull FC
 0 0 0 0 0
1915 South Sydney 0 0 0 0 0
1916 Eastern Suburbs 14 0 0 0 18
1917–20 Western Suburbs 50 0 0 0 69
1921
St George
 8 1 0 0 3
Total 95 1 0 0 114
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1911–20 New South Wales 8 9
1911–20 Australia 7 8
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1921–24
St George
 48 12 2 34 25
As of 10 April 2021

Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian

Herb Gilbert, Jr and Jack Gilbert
were also notable rugby league footballers.

Rugby union career

Gilbert was born in

Gulgong, New South Wales and moved to Sydney, playing rugby union in the South Sydney district.[3] Tall and powerful for his era, Gilbert stood at 6 ft (182 cm), weighed 13 st 7 lb (86 kg), and reputedly played his best football in the biggest games. Gilbert learnt his rugby in the South Sydney district and went into the NSW and Australian teams in 1910 after Dally Messenger defected to league. The pro-rugby union press boasted that Gilbert was a greater asset to the union than Dally Messenger had ever been.[3]

He was first selected for

All Blacks by two games to one. Gilbert scored two tries in the second Test and another in the third.[3]

Devereux & Darmody
in Hull 1914

Rugby league career

Gilbert (c) of inaugural St. George side of 1921

Later in the same year he'd made his rugby union representative debut, he crossed over to the professional code, joining the South Sydney Club in 1910 as their first grade player number 42.[4] He represented for New South Wales in 1911 and was chosen for the 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain. Gilbert made his international league début in the first Test at Newcastle in November 1911, becoming the 16th ever Australian dual code international. He played in all three Tests on tour, heading the tour's try-scoring list with 20 tries.[3]

From 1912 to 1915 he played in England, he played left-

1914 Challenge Cup Final during the 1913–14 season at Thrum Hall, Halifax, played in front of a crowd of 19,000.[3]

After the outbreak of World War I, the three-quarter returned to Australia, where he rejoined South Sydney. In 1916, Gilbert joined Eastern Suburbs. He was a member of that club's City Cup winning side before joining the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1917. He played with them until 1920, helping to mould them from a struggling side to a competitive outfit.[3]

Gilbert returned to the Australian Test team as captain in the 2nd Test of the Lions' 1920 tour of Australia. All four of Australia's illustrious three-quarter line of Dick Vest, Harold Horder, Viv Farnsworth and Gilbert scored tries in Australia's 21–8 victory. With the Ashes already won, Australia lost to Great Britain in the 3rd Test of the series with Gilbert captaining his country for his second and final time.[3]

In 1921 aged 33, Gilbert signed on as foundation captain-coach of the newly formed

St. George club. He retired as a player at the end of that season but coached the club until 1924.[3]

St.George foundation captain-coach 1921

Post playing and accolades

Gilbert was awarded Life Membership of the St. George Dragons club in 1938. He was a state and national selector from 1925 to 1937; his working career was with the New South Wales Railways; in his later years he was doorman at the Sydney Cricket Ground.[3]Herb died in 1972 – aged 83.

In 2004 he was named by Souths in their South Sydney Dream Team,

ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.[6]

Progeny

Three of Gilbert's sons all played for St. George with

Wollongong Hawks
.

Playing record

  • Club:
    St George
    (1921) 8 games, 1 try.
  • Representative: Australia (1911–12 & 1919–1920) 7 Tests, and New South Wales (1911–20) 8 appearances.

Sources

  • Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Scrum.com player profile of Herb Gilbert". Scrum.com. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  2. ^ Century's Top 100 Players Archived 25 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Whiticker pp31-32
  4. ^ "South Sydney Rabbitohs Rugby League Player Report - Herb Gilbert".
  5. ^ "Dream Team".
  6. ARL. 23 February 2008. Archived from the original
    on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Club founded
 Coach
St George
1921–1924 		Succeeded by
Frank Burge
1927–1930
Preceded by Captain
Australia
Australia
1920 		Succeeded by


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