Herb Gilbert
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Herb Gilbert | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Herbert Gilbert | ||
| Date of birth | 18 September, 1888 | ||
| Place of birth | Gulgong, New South Wales | ||
| Date of death | 3 January, 1972 | ||
| Occupation(s) | Railways | ||
| Rugby league career | |||
| Position | Centre three-quarter | ||
| Professional clubs | Caps | (points) | |
| 1911-12 & 1915 1912-15 1916 1917-20 1921 |
South Sydney Rabbitohs Hull Eastern Suburbs Western Suburbs St. George Dragons |
23 14 50 8 |
(24) (18) (69) (3) |
| State Representation | |||
| 1911-1920 | New South Wales | 8 | (9) |
| National teams | |||
| 1911-1920 | Australia | 7 | (8) |
| Teams coached | |||
| 1921-1924 | St. George Dragons | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Wing /Centre three-quarter | ||
| Clubs | |||
| South Sydney RU Club | |||
| Provincial/State sides | |||
| 1910 | New South Wales | ||
| National team(s) | Caps | (points) | |
| 1910 | Australia | 3 | |
Herb Gilbert 1888 - 1972 was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player - a dual code rugby international. He represented the Wallabies in 3 Tests in 1910 and the Kangaroos in 7 Tests from 1911 to 1920, his last two as Captain.
Contents |
[edit] Rugby union career
He was born in Gulgong, New South Wales and moved to Sydney, playing rugby union in the South Sydney district.
Gilbert was selected for New South Wales in 1910 against Queensland then the New Zealand Maoris. That same year he made his Wallaby Test debut playing in all three Tests against the All Blacks in 1910 in which the Wallabies were undefeated.
[edit] Rugby league career
Gilbert later crossed over to the professional code, joining the South Sydney Club in 1910. He represented New South Wales in 1911 and was chosen for the 1911-1912 Kangaroos tour of England. Gilbert made his International league debut 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.
From 1912 to 1915 he played in England for the Hull Club, captaining the Humbersiders to Challenge Cup victory in 1914.
After the outbreak of the Great War, 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 transfer them from a struggling side to a competitive outfit.
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 2nd and final occasion.
In 1921, at age 33, Gilbert signed on as foundation captain-coach of the newly-formed St George Dragons club. He retired as player at the end of that season but coached the club until 1924. Three of Gilbert's sons all played for St George with Herb Junior and Jack playing in the Dragons' maiden Grand Final victory in 1941.
[edit] Post playing
Herb Gilbert 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. Herb died in 1972 - aged 84.
In 2004 he was named by Souths in their South Sydney Dream Team,[1], consisting of 17 players and a coach representing the club from 1908 through to 2004.
In February 2008, Gilbert was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. [2]
[edit] Playing record
- Club: Souths(1911-12 & 1915) 23 games, 6 tries, 3 goals; Hull, England 1912-1915; Easts (1916) 14 games, 6 tries; Wests (1917-1920) 50 games, 23 tries; St George (1921) 8 games, 1 try.
- Representative: Australia (1911-12 & 1919-1920) 7 Tests, and New South Wales (1911-20) 8 appearances.
[edit] Sources
- Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
[edit] References
- ^ South Sydney Dream Team from the official South Sydney website.
- ^ Centenary of Rugby League - The Players. NRL & ARL (2008-02-23). Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
