John H. Lawrenson (29 March 1921 – 28 March 2010) was an English 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 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, and coached in the 1960s. He played at representative level for

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 i ...

and

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 at club level for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

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 ...

(

World War II 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 opposing ...

guest), and

Workington Town Workington Town R.L.F.C. is a semi-professional rugby league club playing in Workington in west Cumbria. Their stadium is Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team. They became Rugby League Champions in 1951 and ...

, as a , i.e. number 2 or 5, and coached at club level for

(caretaker).

Playing career

International honours

Johnny Lawrenson 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 Wigan in 1939 against Wales, in 1940 against Wales, in 1941 against Wales, in 1946 against Wales (2 matches), in 1948 against Wales, and France, in 1949 against Wales, and

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, while at Workington in 1950, and for

while at Wigan in 1948 against Australia (3 matches).

Championship final appearances

Johnny Lawrenson played left-, i.e. number 4, and scored a

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

's 13-9 victory over Dewsbury in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final first-leg during the 1943–44 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

on Saturday 13 May 1944, and played left- in the 12-5 victory over Dewsbury in the

Final second-leg during the 1943–44 season at

Crown Flatt Crown Flatt, currently known as the Tetley's Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a rugby league stadium in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, England. It is the home of the Dewsbury Rams, who play in the Championship. The ground occupies the site of t ...

, Dewsbury on Saturday 20 May 1944.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Johnny Lawrenson played , i.e. number 5, in

' 19-2 victory over Halifax in the 1940–41 Challenge Cup Final during the 1940–41 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford, in front of a crowd of 28,500, and played , i.e. number 2, and scored 2- tries in

's 18-10 victory over

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 1951–52 Challenge Cup Final during the 1951–52 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 19 April 1952, in front of a crowd of 72,093.

County Cup Final appearances

Johnny Lawrenson played right-, i.e. number 3, and scored 3-

s in

's 9-3 victory over Belle Vue Rangers in the 1946–47

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

County Cup Final during the 1946–47 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 26 October 1946, and played , i.e. number 5, in the 14-8 victory over

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 ...

in the 1948–49

County Cup Final during the 1948–49 season at Station Road, Swinton on Saturday 13 November 1948.

Career records

Johnny Lawrenson holds Workington Town's "Most Tries In A Season" record, with 49- tries scored in the 1951–52 season.

Honoured at Wigan

Johnny Lawrenson was a life member at Wigan.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
*(archived by web.archive.org

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrenson, John 1921 births 2010 deaths England national rugby league team players English rugby league coaches English rugby league players Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos players Place of birth missing Place of death missing Rugby league wingers Wigan Warriors coaches Wigan Warriors players Workington Town players