Arthur Esmonde Martelli (16 June 1878 – 1926) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 ...

fullback back who played club rugby for

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

. Martelli played international rugby for the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

team on its 1899 tour of Australia. He was described by British Isles tour manager,

Matthew Mullineux Matthew Mullineux MC (8 August 1867 – 13 February 1945) was an English rugby union scrum-half who, although not capped for England, was selected for two British Lions tours. He gained one cap during the 1896 tour to South Africa and cap ...

, as having 'an excellent drop, punt and place kick'.

Rugby career

Martelli is one of several players, who undertook the 1899 British Isles tour, of which little is known. He is classed as playing for Dublin University, though the university rugby club does not have him recorded as being on the role of Trinity players. There is some evidence that Martelli was not actually a Trinity player as recorded in most books and may have actually played for Dublin Wanderers. Martelli did play 2nd XI cricket for DUCC on several occasions. Despite the confusion of his club background, he is known to have toured with the British Isles and played in 12 of the 21 arranged matches.Esmond Martelli Lions profile
lionsrugby.com Martelli was the first choice fullback for the opening games of the tour, and in the second invitational game, against

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 ...

, he scored all the British points, with a dropped goal in a narrow 4–3 victory. After missing the game against Metropolitan, Martelli was chosen to be the fullback for the First Test against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The game ended in a 13–3 victory for the Australians, and Martelli was replaced for the final three Tests by Charles Thompson. Although Martelli played in no further test matches, he still played in another nine games in the tour, scoring a penalty goal in the encounter with New England at

Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. It ...

. Despite never playing for the Ireland national team, Martelli continued his involvement with Irish rugby, and refereed the Scotland vs. Wales match in the

1903 Home Nations Championship The 1903 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-first series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 10 January and 21 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martelli, Esmond 1878 births 1926 deaths Irish rugby union players Rugby union players from Dublin (city) British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Rugby union fullbacks Irish rugby union referees IRFU referees Six Nations Championship referees Dublin University Football Club players Wanderers F.C. (rugby union) players