Hugh Campbell Rowley (March 1854 – after 1882) 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 ...

footballer who played in the 1870s and 1880s. He played at representative level 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 ...

from 1879 to 1882, and at club level for Bowdon and Lymm Club, and

Manchester Rugby Club Manchester Rugby Club, founded in 1860 as Manchester Football Club, is one of the oldest rugby union clubs in the world. Home matches are played at Grove Park in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport. The club has a Senior Men's section (1st XV, 2nd XV and ...

, as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Early life

Rowley was born in

Chorlton-on-Medlock Chorlton-on-Medlock or Chorlton-upon-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England. Historically in Lancashire, Chorlton-on-Medlock is bordered to the north by the River Medlock, which runs immediately south of Manchester city centre. It ...

Rugby union career

Rowley was originally a member of the Bowdon and Lymm Club, and was selected from this club to represent the county of Cheshire in the first match between Cheshire and Lancashire on 24 February 1877. He had the distinction of scoring the first try in that match, and the first point of importance against Lancashire. Ironically, Rowley then went on to play in and for Lancashire, transferring to the Manchester Football Club, and representing Lancashire in 1879 for whom he played over a number of years. He was also selected to play in several North v. South matches, once the pinnacle of domestic rugby competition. Rowley made his international debut for

on 10 March 1879 in the match against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

match at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He played eight more times for England, (vs Scotland in 1879-80-81-82; vs Ireland, 1879-80-81-82; and Wales, 1881.) Of the nine matches he played for his national side the team won five times, lost once, and drew three times. He played his final match for England on 4 March 1882 against

Whalley Range, Manchester Whalley Range is an area of Manchester, England, about southwest of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 15,430. Historically in Lancashire, it was one of the earliest of the city's suburbs, built by local businessman Samuel ...

. He was described in a contemporary account as a celebrated player and ''"one of the best all-round men who ever played the Rugby game."'' The account went on to say ''"Campbell Rowley was one of the most useful of football players, very strong and fast, was never done with, could play any position in the field equally well, and had his whole heart in the game."''Francis Marshall. ''Football; the Rugby union game'', p403, 1892

Later life

Rowley later moved to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada.

References

1854 births English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union forwards Year of death missing Lancashire County RFU players Rugby union players from Greater Manchester Manchester Rugby Club players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub