Robert Michael Wilkinson (25 July 1951 – 1 February 2021) was an English rugby union player who played as a lock. Born in Luton, he attended St Albans School and the University of Cambridge, where he earned three

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

between 1971 and 1973. He played his club rugby for Bedford RFC, for whom he made more than 311 appearances in a 16-year career; he made his debut as a 17-year-old in 1969, and made his final appearance in 1985. He captained Bedford from 1976 to 1979. He also made 19 appearances for the Barbarians between 1972 and 1984, including the famous victory over New Zealand in Cardiff in 1973, scoring three tries; he served as captain for the Barbarians for matches against

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

and

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on t ...

on their Easter tour to South Wales in 1979. He earned six caps for England between May 1975 and March 1976. Wilkinson died on 1 February 2021 after a short illness. He was survived by his wife Sally and their four sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Bob 1951 births 2021 deaths Rugby union players from Luton English rugby union players Rugby union locks Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Bedford Blues players Barbarian F.C. players England international rugby union players People educated at St Albans School, Hertfordshire Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge