Will Osborne (rugby)
Birth name | William Thomas Osborne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 11 June 1875 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Oakengates, Shropshire , England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 82.5 kg (13 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation(s) | collier policeman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby league career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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William Thomas Osborne (11 June 1875 – 24 March 1942)[1] was a Welsh international rugby forward who played rugby union for Mountain Ash and Glamorgan Police. Osborne played in six international matches, becoming a Triple Crown winner when he played for Wales in all three matches of the 1902 Home Nations Championship. At the height of his international career he 'Went North', switching to professional rugby league, and represented both Huddersfield and Hull F.C.
Rugby career
Osborne played his amateur rugby for valley club Mountain Ash. He was a collier by profession before becoming a police officer, and at 5 foot 11½ inches and weighing over 13 stone,[2] typified the 'Rhondda forward' physique favoured by the Welsh selectors around the turn of the century.
Osborne was first selected to play for the Welsh national team when he was selected to face England in the opening match of the 1902 Home Nations Championship. Osborne was one of seven new caps, four of whom joined Osborne in a much changed pack. Although lacking international experience many of the players winning their first caps that day went on to form the nucleus of the Wales team that beat
Osborne was reselected for the
It is unknown if Osborne would have won any further international caps as in September 1903 he signed professional terms with Huddersfield Rugby League Club, as a forward (prior to the specialist positions of; prop, hooker, second-row, loose forward), during the era of contested scrums. He made his début on 5 September and by October 1906 he had transferred to Hull F.C.[3]
Will Osborne played as a
, on Monday 18 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 11,608.Later life
Osborne gave up his professional playing by 1912, when he moved home to
International matches played
Wales[6]
Bibliography
- Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883–1983. London: Willows Books. ISBN 0-00-218060-X.
- Jenkins, John M.; et al. (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Rugby Players. Wrexham: Bridge Books. ISBN 1-872424-10-4.
- Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.
- Thomas, Wayne (1979). A Century of Welsh Rugby Players. Ansells Ltd.
References
External links
- Photo of the Mountain Ash team during the 1901/02 with Osborne present Rhondda Cynon Taf digital archives