Bernard Cecil Gadney (16 July 1909
/ref> – 15 November 2000BBC Obituary
/ref>) was an English rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for Leicester Tigers,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and the British Lions. Gadney won 14 England caps between 1932 and 1938 and was captain on eight occasions. Born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, he was educated at

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

and

Stowe Stowe may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Stowe, Buckinghamshire, a civil parish and former village **Stowe House **Stowe School * Stowe, Cornwall, in Kilkhampton parish * Stowe, Herefordshire, in the List of places in Herefordshire * Stowe, Linc ...

. His brother Cyril Gadney was an international rugby referee and President of the

RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It pro ...

. 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 Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

. In 1936 he led England to its first ever win against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

13–0, a margin record that stood until 2012. The game came to be known as Obolensky's game. Later in the same year, he led a

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

away team to a 10–0 winning series against . After retiring from international rugby he became headmaster of Malsis School, a prep school. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he served as an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. From 1946 to 1949 he was President of the Oxfordshire RFU.Oxfordshire RFU
/ref> 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.England International Rugby Club
/ref> He was named in the Leicester Tigers' team of the century, and shortly after his death was the first player to be inducted into the

Museum of Rugby The World Rugby Museum is a sports museum in the South Stand of Twickenham Stadium, London, England. Its collection comprises over 37,000 pieces of rugby memorabilia, boots, balls, jerseys, programmes, match-tickets, books and assorted paraphe ...

wall of fame in 2000.Wall of Fame

References

External links

Bernard Gadney named in Tigers Team of the CenturyIndependent obituary
*
Malsis School Old Members AssociationMalsis OMA: Old Member Profile – Bernard C Gadney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadney, Bernard 1909 births 2000 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players English rugby union players Heads of schools in Yorkshire Leicester Tigers players People educated at Stowe School People educated at The Dragon School Royal Navy personnel of World War II Rugby union players from Oxford Rugby union scrum-halves