David Treasure (born ) is an English-born former 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1970s. He played at representative level for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, and at club level for Featherstone Rovers (Under-17s), The Junction (Open-Age, 11-A-Side, Sunday Morning, Leeds League),

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pre ...

and

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 ...

, as a , or , i.e. number 3 or 4, 6, or 7.

Background

David Treasure is the son of Wilfred Treasure, and Catherine ( née Hopton); he was born in

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins th ...

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 ...

; he is the younger brother of Anthony Treasure (birth registered during second ¼ in Tadcaster district); Treasure was a pupil at Castleford Grammar School from 1962 to 1967, where he was 3-years below

Roger Millward Roger Millward (16 September 1947 – 2 May 2016) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. A goal-kicking , he gained a high level of prominence in the sport in England by p ...

; Treasure worked at Yorkshire Copper Works, Stourton, Leeds; where aged-18 he was the captain of the works'

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

team (despite a ban on anyone playing rugby union if they had previously played rugby league); he studied

Ordinary National Certificate An Ordinary National Certificate (ONC) is a further education qualification in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off ...

(ONC) Metallurgy at Kitson College,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, then Higher National Certificate (HNC) Metallurgy at

Bradford College Bradford College is a further and higher education college in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, with approximately 25,000 students. The college offers a range of full and part-time courses from introductory level through to postgraduate l ...

, he qualified to play for

through his grandmother Gwladys Shuttleworth from Llantrisant (birth registered during third ¼ 1889 in

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

district, marriage to Frederick Treasure registered during fourth ¼ 1910 in Tadcaster district); and as of 2018 he resides in Edinburgh, and he works as a Risk-based inspection (RBI) Engineer.

Playing career

International honours

David Treasure won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

while at Oldham 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 ...

; he played , and scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in the 12-7 victory over England at Lang Park,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

on Tuesday 10 June 1975, played in the 8-18 defeat by Australia at Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney on Saturday 14 June 1975, played in the 8-13 defeat by New Zealand at

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 1 ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

on Saturday 28 June 1975, and played in the 16-22 defeat by England 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 20 September 1975, and in the

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

European Championship; he played left-, i.e. number 4, in the 2-13 defeat by France at Stade des Minimes,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

on Sunday 20 February 1977.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

David Treasure played as an interchange/ substitute (replacing

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

"Mike" Blacker) in

's 14-33 defeat by

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England, who play in the Championship. Featherstone is a former coal mining town with a population of around 16,000 and Rovers are one of the last "smal ...

in the

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

Challenge Cup Final during the 1972–73 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on Saturday 12 May 1973, in front of a crowd of 72,395.

Club career

David Treasure secured his signing by scoring 5 tries in the

A-Team match against

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentar ...

; at that time Bradford Northern's A-Team

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

was

Stan Kielty Stanley "Stan" Kielty (20 July 1925 – 31 December 2008) was an English rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, and Coach (sport), coached in the 1960s. He played at representative level for England national rugby league team, ...

. Treasure made his début for Bradford Northern at

Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. T ...

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 ...

. He was transferred from Bradford Northern to

. During Oldham's match against Bradford Northern, and following a tackle that Treasure had made on a Bradford Northern , the prop sat on Treasure's knee, the physio and specialists were unable to determine the extent of the injury, as the technology of the era did not allow for scans, and although damaged cartilage was removed via

arthroscopy Arthroscopy (also called arthroscopic or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure on a joint in which an examination and sometimes treatment of damage is performed using an arthroscope, an endoscope that is inserted into the ...

, Treasure retired from rugby league. It was subsequently discovered that he had snapped his

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

(ACL).

References

External links

Statistics at orl-heritagetrust.org.ukPhotograph "Treasure bursts down the middle - Dave Treasure bursts down the middle to beat all Keighley opposition and touch down between the posts for the first of two tries at Odsal. - 20/08/1972" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Young starlet - Young starlet, David Treasure, races away with Bernard Watson in support during the game against Swinton at Odsal won by 16 points to 10. - 13/02/1971" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "David Treasure, Star Sub. - The sub, who was star of the match, David Treasure who came on for the injured Rudi Francis. Here he is scoring his second try. - 25/02/1973" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "The team ready to leave - The players give the thumbs up as they prepare to board the coach for Wembley. - 11/05/1973" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Roy Castle meets the players - The players meet Roy Castle prior to the Final. - 11/05/1973" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "The teams take to the field - Harry Womersley proudly leads the Northern team on to the field. - 12/05/1973" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Offload - Phil Jackson gets the ball out of the tackle to the supporting Treasure - 07/09/1973" at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph "Hogan looks to pass - Brian Hogan looks for support as Treasure backs up. - 14/10/1973" at rlhp.co.ukSearch for "David Treasure" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treasure, David 1950 births Living people Bradford Bulls players English people of Welsh descent English rugby league players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Castleford Wales national rugby league team players