Denis Donoghue (rugby player)

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Denis Donoghue was a rugby league footballer who played for South Sydney during the years of 1948-1957.

South Sydney (1948-1957) 171 games

New South Wales (1950-1954) 10 games

Australia (1951) 2 Tests

One of the toughest players to ever play the game, Donoghue was also one of the best front rowers in the code. A rock solid defender and strong runner of the ball, his speciality was scrummaging. He is regarded as Australia's greatest ever scrummager. He was also peerless in rugby league fights.

Great Britain legendary forward Ken Gee said of Donoghue, 'I've played against some madmen before, but I packed down against this bloke and he headbutted me, whacked me in the mouth, kicked the skin off my shins and stole the ball from our feed, and to top it off he ran over me to score a try.'

He debuted for Australia in 1951 against the touring French side, and was selected for the Kangaroo Tour in 1952. Unfortunatley he broke his leg on the first trial and miss all 6 Test matches. He stood down from representative duties following it.

After his career, he coached and later became president of the South Sydney club during 1962-1972. He was also accreddited for making John Sattler a 'front rower' during one-on-one training sessions.

Donoghue died in 1994 in a battle against chirrosis of the liver.