George Bennet

For other people named George Bennett, see George Bennett (disambiguation).
George Bennet(t)
Personal information
Full name George Bennet(t)
Born 8 July 1913(1913-07-08)
Wales
Died 31 August 1970(1970-08-31) (aged 57)
Playing information
Position Centre, Stand-off/Five-eighth, Scrum-half/Halfback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1930–1937 Wigan 230 101 5 313
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1935–1936 Wales 3 2 0 0 6
Source: rugbyleagueproject.org

George Bennet(t) (8 July 1913 — 31 August 1970) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1930s who at representative level played rugby league for Wales, and at club level for Wigan, playing Centre, Stand-off/Five-eighth, or Scrum-half/Halfback, i.e. number 3 or 4, 6, or 7.[1]

Contents

Historical precedent

George Bennet(t) had left Wales because the racism of the Welsh Rugby Union acted as a bar to his selection to their national team, no black person played for Wales (RU) before the 1980s.[2]

In 1935, George Bennet(t) became the first black man to represent a British national team at rugby league by playing for Wales (RL).

In 1906 James Peters played for Devon against South Africa, however the tourists belatedly noticed Peters' colour and they refused to play but eventually the South African High Commissioner, who feared a riot if the game was cancelled, persuaded the team to play. Six weeks later Peters was selected for England's match against South Africa, there was disquiet by South Africa about his selection on the basis of his race, he was deselected before the match. Peters subsequently won caps for England in 1907 against France and Scotland, but he was later expelled from rugby union for accepting payment from Devon Rugby Club, that at the time was illegal according to the codes of rugby union, he then pursued a rugby league career with Barrow, and St. Helens.

International honours

George Bennet(t) won caps for Wales while at Wigan 1935…1936 3-caps.[3]

Note

George Bennet(t)'s surname is variously spelt with two T's as Bennett, or with a single T as Bennet.

References

  1. ^ Graham Williams, Peter Lush, David Farrar (November 2009). "The British Rugby League Records Book [Page-108…114]". London League Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-1-903659-49-6
  2. ^ "The struggle and the scrum". International Socialism. 2009-12-31. http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=318&issue=114. Retrieved 2010-01-01. 
  3. ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 2008-12-31. http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/George_Bennett/summary.html. Retrieved 2009-01-01. 

External links