Gerald Dunn (31 October 1946 – 2 August 2021) was an English

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 ...

, and 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, 1970s and 1980s. He

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 ...

ed rugby league in the 1980s and 1990s. Dunn played rugby union for

Redcar RUFC Redcar Rugby Union Football Club known as Redcar Rugby Club or RRUFC, is an English rugby union club for the local town of Redcar, North Yorkshire, who currently play in Durham/Northumberland 2 following the club's promotion, as champions, from ...

, and representative level rugby league for

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 ...

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 ...

, and at club level for

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challeng ...

, as a , or and coached rugby league for Hull Kingston Rovers.

Playing career

1969 - Yorkshire RU Representative 1975 - Yorkshire RL Representative 1975 - England World Cup Squad 1975 - 1977 - England International 1974/75 - Yorkshire Cup Winner 1974/75 - Rugby League 'Top Try Scorer' 1974/75 to 1984/85 - Hull KR 'Most tries in a season record' (42 in 1974/75) 1975/76 - Yorkshire Cup Runner Up 1977/78 - BBC2 Floodlight Trophy Winner 1978/79 - Rugby League Championship Winner

Heritage No: 749 Born in Redcar, he was educated at Sir William Turners Grammar School and Ponteland College. Dunn was signed by Hull Kingston Rovers from Redcar RUFC in 1971. He made his debut for Hull Kingston Rovers in 1971 playing centre, but was moved to the wing to utilise his pace. A prolific try scorer he gained county honours, and broke Hull Kingston Rovers tries in a season record in 1974 with 42. He was the joint record holder for tries in one match for Hull KR scoring six in 1974, and was top of rugby league try scorers in 1974–75. Dunn 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 Hull Kingston Rovers in 1975 against Wales, 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 Australia, France, New Zealand, Australia, and Australia, in 1975 against

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

, and in 1977 against France. Dunn 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 Hull Kingston Rovers' 16-13 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the c ...

in the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

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 1974–75 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

Rugby Stadium,

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 populati ...

on Saturday 26 October 1974, and played in the 15-11 defeat by

in the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Final during the 1975–76 season at

Rugby Stadium,

on 15 November 1975. Dunn played , i.e. number 2, and scored two tries in Hull Kingston Rovers' 26-11 victory over St. Helens 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 Democratic R ...

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy The BBC 2 Floodlit Trophy (also known as the BBC 2 Television Trophy) was a competition for British rugby league clubs held between 1965 and 1980. It was designed specifically for television, and the then director of BBC2, broadcaster David Att ...

Final during the 1977-78 season at Craven Park,

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

on Tuesday 13 December 1977. The record for the most tries in a

Final is two, and is jointly held by Dunn, Roy Mathias,

Peter Glynn Peter Glynn (born 7 January 1954) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played at representative level for England, and at club level for St. Helens and Salford, as a , or , i.e. number ...

, and Stuart Wright. Dunn's

testimonial match A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, particularly in association football in the United Kingdom and South America, where a club has a match to honour a player for servic ...

at Hull Kingston Rovers took place in 1983.

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

coached by

Allan Agar Allan Agar (born 11 June 1949) is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at club level for Featherstone Rovers ( Heritage № 483) (two spells), De ...

, and holders of

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

after beating

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

were opposition. In Roger Pugh's official

club history, 'The Robins' it was recorded that, "...Ged Dunn had been at Craven Park since 1971 and in his 11 playing seasons established himself as one of the club's best wingmen. In his 296 appearances for the Robins, Dunn scored 160 tries to put him in fifth place in the clubs' all time list...Dunn was a loyal and dedicated clubman, popular with the players and a part of the fabric of the club for many years'

Later life

After retiring as a rugby league footballer at Hull Kingston Rovers, he joined the coaching staff, promoted in 1986 to assistant coach to

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 ...

– then George Fairbairn – Dunn was a PE teacher at

Bransholme High School Winifred Holtby Academy (previously Bransholme High School, Winifred Holtby School, Winifred Holtby Technology College) is a coeducational secondary school located in the Bransholme area of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, E ...

(later

Winifred Holtby Academy Winifred Holtby Academy (previously Bransholme High School, Winifred Holtby School, Winifred Holtby Technology College) is a coeducational secondary school located in the Bransholme area of Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire, E ...

) in Kingston upon Hull for over 30 years. He influenced players such as

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 ...

internationals and Hull F.C. players Lee Jackson,

Richard Horne Richard Horne (born 16 July 1982) is the head coach at Doncaster in Betfred League 1, and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, Scotland an ...

Kirk Yeaman Kirk Yeaman (born 15 September 1983) is a former English professional rugby league footballer who played all of his senior career for Hull F.C. in the Super League. An England national rugby league team, England international , he also previous ...

and

Danny Houghton Danny Houghton (born 25 September 1988) is an English rugby league footballer who plays as a for Hull F.C. in the Super League. He has played his entire career for his hometown club Hull FC. He is an England Knights international. Background ...

. Dunn also taught and influenced

Graeme Horne Graeme Horne (born 22 March 1985) is a former English rugby league footballer who last played as a forward for the Doncaster R.L.F.C. in Betfred Championship.; he retired at the end of the 2020 season. He previously played for Hull FC, Hudders ...

(Hull F.C.) and Ryan Esders (Hull Kingston Rovers). Dunn had a hip replacement in 1998, and retired in 2005. Dunn died on 2 August 2021, at the age of 74.

References

External links

Redcar Rugby Union Football Club – A Brief History 1921–1996
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Gerald 1946 births 2021 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players English rugby union players Schoolteachers from Yorkshire Hull Kingston Rovers coaches Hull Kingston Rovers players People from Redcar Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Yorkshire Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Redcar Yorkshire rugby league team players