Frank O'Brien (rugby union)
| Full name | Frank William Hall O'Brien | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 July 1910 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lindfield, Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 23 December 1984 (aged 74) | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Frank William Hall O'Brien (19 July 1910 — 23 December 1984) was an Australian rugby union international.
Born in Sydney, O'Brien was gifted in several sports in his youth. While attending North Sydney Boys High School, he had three years in the 1st XV rugby and 1st XI cricket teams, before transferring to Sydney Grammar School for his final year.[1]
O'Brien was a five-time New South Wales state pentathlon champion and in 1932 won a national title for the 440 yard sprint, beating 1930 British Empire Games bronze medallist George Golding.[1][2]
A winger, O'Brien won a first-grade rugby premiership with Northern Suburbs in 1935 and the following year joined Gordon for the club's debut Shute Shield season. After scoring two tries for New South Wales against the touring Springboks in 1937, he earned a Wallabies call up for the 2nd Test and scored a try on debut, becoming Gordon's first international representative. He was capped a second time in a Test against the All Blacks at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1938.[1][3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Frank William Hall O'Brien". classicwallabies.com.au.
- ^ "Sound Quarter". The Sporting Globe. 27 January 1932. p. 11 (Edition 2) – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Test Match Scenes Disgrace To Union". Truth. 18 July 1937. p. 6 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
[edit]- Frank O'Brien at ESPNscrum
- 1910 births
- 1984 deaths
- Australian rugby union players
- Australia international rugby union players
- Rugby union players from Sydney
- Rugby union wings
- Northern Suburbs Rugby Club players
- Gordonians RFC players
- Australian male sprinters
- Australian Athletics Championships winners
- People educated at North Sydney Boys High School
- People educated at Sydney Grammar School
- New South Wales rugby union team players
- 20th-century Australian sportsmen