Robert A. Irving (15 February 1948 – 18 April 1999) was an English

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

winning professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. 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 is ...

and

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 ...

international, and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

representative , he played at club level for

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

( Heritage № 672),

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

( Heritage № 705),

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, Barrow,

Blackpool Borough Blackpool Borough was a rugby league club based in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, that played in the Rugby Football League from 1954 until 1993. The club moved to Wigan in 1987 and was renamed Springfield Borough; to Chorley in 1988 and was ...

and Swinton during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

Background

Bob irving was born in Castle Hill,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, England, he was a

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in Blackpool, and studied for a degree, becoming a senior lecturer in business studies at

Blackpool and The Fylde College Blackpool and The Fylde College (B&FC) is a further and higher education college in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. Facilities include four main campuses located across the Fylde Coast, all of which have recently undergone or are currently under ...

. He was active in the Catholic Church, and undertook charity work in his spare time, regularly manning a soup kitchen for homeless and displaced people, and he died aged 51, following a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England.

Playing career

Irving was transferred, aged 16, from St. Joseph's ARLFC (in

) to

, and within a few weeks, he was playing in the

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International honours

Irving won

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s for

while at Wigan in the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Championship (also referred to as the World Series) was the seventh tournament for the Rugby League World Cup. The format differed from that employed in previous competitions; no single country hosted the matches, whi ...

against Wales, France, and Australia, and won

s for

while at Oldham in 1967 against France (2 matches), and Australia (3 matches), in 1970 against Australia (sub), and New Zealand, in 1971 against New Zealand, in 1972 against France (sub), and in the

1972 Rugby League World Cup The sixth Rugby League World Cup was held in France in October and November 1972. Australia started as the favourites to retain the trophy they had won just two years previously. New Zealand had beaten all three of the other nations in 1971 a ...

against New Zealand, and Australia (sub).

County Cup Final appearances

Bob Irving played right-, i.e. number 12, in

's 13–16 defeat by

in the 1966–67

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and player ...

Final during the 1966–67 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 29 October 1966, and played left-, i.e. number 11, in the 2–30 defeat by St. Helens in the 1968–69

Final during the 1968–69 season at

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on Friday 25 October 1968, played left-, i.e. number 11, in

's 19–9 victory over

in the 1973–74

Final during the 1973–74 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year lea ...

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

on Saturday 13 October 1973, and played right-, i.e. number 10, in the 13–16 defeat by

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

in the 1977–78

Final during the 1977–78 season at

on Saturday 29 October 1977.

Honoured at Oldham

Robert Irving is an Oldham Hall of Fame Inductee.

Note

The "Tracking down the heroes of 1972" reference misstates his year of death as 2002, it was 1999. The "Obituary: Bob Irving at independent.co.uk" reference misstates his month of birth as December, it was February.

References

External links

When Great Britain won the World CupStatistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Robert 1948 births 1999 deaths Barrow Raiders players Blackpool Borough players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league players from Huddersfield Rugby league second-rows Salford Red Devils players Swinton Lions players Wigan Warriors players Yorkshire rugby league team players