Bernard Gadney

British Lions & England international rugby union player

Rugby player
Bernard Gadney
Birth nameBernard Cecil Gadney
Date of birth(1909-07-16)16 July 1909
Place of birthOxford, England
Date of death15 November 2000(2000-11-15) (aged 91)
Place of deathIpswich, England
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
SchoolDragon School
Stowe
ChildrenReg Gadney
George Gadney
John Gadney
Occupation(s)Headmaster at Malsis School
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)

1929–1939		 Richmond
Leicester Tigers		 ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1932–1938
1936		 England
Great Britain		 14
0		 (3)
(0)

Bernard Cecil Gadney (16 July 1909[1] – 15 November 2000[2]) was an English rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for Leicester Tigers, England and the British Lions. Gadney won 14 England caps between 1932 and 1938 and was captain on eight occasions.

Born in Oxford, he was educated at Dragon School and Stowe. His brother Cyril Gadney was an international rugby referee and President of the RFU. He made his Leicester debut in 1929 and went on to make 170 appearances for the club. He made his England debut v Ireland in 1932, and was appointed captain in 1934, becoming Leicester's first England captain, and leading England to the Triple Crown. In 1936 he led England to its first ever win against the All Blacks 13–0, a margin record that stood until 2012. The game came to be known as Obolensky's game.[2] Later in the same year, he led a Great Britain away team to a 10–0 winning series against Argentina.

After retiring from international rugby he became headmaster of Malsis School, a prep school. During the Second World War he served as an officer in the Royal Navy.

From 1946 to 1949 he was President of the Oxfordshire RFU.[3]

In 1947, he formed the England Rugby Internationals Club (E.R.I.C.) after he felt it appropriate that a retirement collection be made for outgoing RFU President, Sidney Coopper. His letter requesting donations was sent all over the world and the response was overwhelming.[4]

He was named in the Leicester Tigers' team of the century,[5] and shortly after his death was the first player to be inducted into the Museum of Rugby wall of fame in 2000.[6]

References

  1. ^ "Bernard Gadney". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b BBC Obituary
  3. ^ Oxfordshire RFU
  4. ^ England International Rugby Club
  5. ^ "Tigers' Team of the Century". Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  6. ^ Wall of Fame Archived 22 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine

External links

  • Bernard Gadney named in Tigers Team of the Century
  • Independent obituary
  • Malsis school history at the Wayback Machine (archived 10 June 2008)
  • Independent article[dead link]
  • Malsis School Old Members Association
  • Malsis OMA: Old Member Profile – Bernard C Gadney
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To the First World War
To the Second World War
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To present
Notes
Note 1: Robert Seddon died on tour after a boating accident. Andrew Stoddart became captain for the remainder of the tour.

Note 2: Matthew Mullineux decided that after losing the first test that he should withdraw from further test matches, handing on field captaincy to Frank Stout, but remained tour captain.
Note 3: David Bedell-Sivright was injured during the first test. Teddy Morgan took over captaincy on the field but Bedell-Sivright remained tour captain.
Note 4: The team that John Raphael captained was not selected by the four Home Nations governing body, but had been organised by Oxford University and billed as the English Rugby Union team. However, it was considered the Combined British team by Argentina because it also included three Scots.
Note 5: Jack Jones was captain for the first test, but Tommy Smyth remained the tour captain.
Note 6: Bleddyn Williams captained in the third and fourth tests v New Zealand and the first test v Australia.
Note 7: Cliff Morgan captained in the third test.
Note 8: David Watkins captained in the second and foruth tests v New Zealand.
Note 9: Michael Owen captained the Lions in the first tour game, the test vs. Argentina in Cardiff. Brian O'Driscoll was injured at the beginning of the first test against New Zealand. Gareth Thomas replaced him as tour captain.
Note 10: Sam Warburton was injured in the second test. Alun Wyn Jones replaced him as captain for the third test.
Note 11: Tour captain Sam Warburton was named on the bench for the first test. Peter O'Mahony was the captain on the field.

Note 12: Tour captain Alun Wyn Jones left the squad for 17 days due to an injury in the first warm-up match, and was replaced by Conor Murray temporarily.