Eric Tweedale (5 May 1921 – 16 October 2023) was an English-born Australian international

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 its m ...

player. He played club rugby for

Parramatta Two Blues Western Sydney Two Blues Rugby, formerly Parramatta Two Blues Rugby, is a rugby union club based in Parramatta, the second CBD of Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1879 and competes in the Shute Shield run by the New South Wales Rugby ...

, provincial rugby for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and internationally for the

Australia national rugby union team The Australia national rugby union team, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of Australia. The team first played at Sydney in 1899, winning their first test match against the ...

as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

. Between 5 May 2021 and his death, he was the oldest living Australian rugby international.

Early life

Eric Tweedale was born in

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

, England. His family emigrated with him to Australia in 1924 and settled in

Merrylands Merrylands is a suburb in Western Sydney, Australia. Merrylands is located 25 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is in the local government area of the Cumberland City Council. History Merrylands was named after the for ...

, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. He was educated at Metropolitan Business College. When he was 15, he joined

after a suggestion from Bill Cerutti. He started as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

but then became a

. 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 opposin ...

, Tweedale joined the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

and played in Navy representative matches. After returning to Australia, he made his Australian provincial rugby debut for

in 1946.

International career

In 1946, Tweedale was selected for the Wallabies for the

1946 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand The 1946 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand was a series of rugby union games undertaken by the Australia team in New Zealand against invitational and national teams of New Zealand. It was the first rugby union international tour after t ...

. He was also a part of the

1947–48 Australia rugby union tour of Britain, Ireland, France and North America Between July 1947 and March 1948 the Australia national rugby union team – the Wallabies – conducted a world tour encompassing Ceylon, Britain, Ireland, France and the United States on which they played five Tests and thirty-six minor tour m ...

. He played his last match for the Wallabies against the New Zealand Māori in 1949 after earning ten international caps. He moved to

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

working for

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

but still played for New South Wales Country against the British Lions. In 1957, he moved back to Sydney to play for Parramatta Two Blues as a player/coach and saved them from relegation from Division 1 of the

Shute Shield The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

but retired from playing that year.

Later life

After retiring, Tweedale acted as the president of Parramatta. He was married twice, firstly to Isobel, who died in 1964 and with whom he fathered a daughter, and secondly to Phyllis, who died in 2006. In the late 2000s, Eric reunited with Enid Bradshaw, a lady to whom he had been betrothed in 1942, but the engagement was called off following his time in the Navy. He would become the patron for Parramatta Two Blues (later renamed Western Sydney Two Blues). In 2000, he was awarded the

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

. For his 100th birthday,

Cumberland City Council Cumberland Council, trading as Cumberland City Council, is a local government area located in the western suburbs of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Council was formed on 12 May 2016 from the merger of parts of the Cit ...

agreed to rename Western Sydney Two Blues' Granville Park stadium as the "Eric Tweedale Stadium". Tweedale died on 16 October 2023, with his death announced by

Rugby Australia Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tweedale, Eric 1921 births 2023 deaths Australia international rugby union players Australian centenarians Australian rugby union coaches English emigrants to Australia Men centenarians New South Wales Waratahs players Parramatta Two Blues players Royal Australian Navy personnel of World War II Shell plc people Rugby union players from Rochdale Rugby union players from Sydney Rugby union props Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Naturalised citizens of Australia