Robert "Bertie" Campbell (born 25 April 1971) is a former Russia international rugby league footballer. A utility player, he was a

hooker Hooker may refer to: People * Hooker (surname) Places Antarctica * Mount Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (Antarctica) * Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands) New Zealand * Hooker River * Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps * Hoo ...

at school, but played professionally 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 ...

. Campbell played for Brisbane's

Western Suburbs Panthers The Western Suburbs Panthers, often simply referred to as Wests for short, are a rugby league club based in the western suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The club is the oldest in the QRL and despite absences from the top grade in rec ...

before signing for Sydney's Western Suburbs Magpies. He later played for Illawarra Steelers and the Gold Coast Chargers.

Background

Campbell was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is of Russian descent from part of his grandfather, Joseph, who left the USSR at least after World War II

Playing career

Campbell was also selected from the Redcliffe Dolphins to play for the Russian national side during the 2000 World Cup, qualifying for the Bears via the

grandparent rule The grandfather rule, in sports which usually only permit participants to play for the team of their country of birth, is an exception which gives participants the option to play for the country of any of their ancestors up to the grandparents. ...

. Campbell grubber-kicked for Russia's only try, scored by Matt Donovan, in their Test match against Australia, a game that ended in a record 110–4 defeat for the Russians. According to commentator Andrew Voss, author of ''Stuff You May Have Missed'', the

Russian mafia Russian organized crime or Russian mafia (, ), otherwise known as Bratva (), is a collective of various organized crime elements originating in the former Soviet Union. The initialism OPG is Organized Criminal (''prestupnaya'' in Russian) Gr ...

allegedly offered Campbell and Donovan huge sums of money in exchange for agreeing to play for the Russian national team in the tournament.

Post playing

Today, Campbell teaches at Roachedale Primary School.

References

External links

Robert Campbell player profileWidnes History Website - Player Profile
1971 births Living people Australian people of Russian descent Australian rugby league players Gold Coast Chargers players Redcliffe Dolphins players Rugby articles needing expert attention Rugby league players from Brisbane Russia national rugby league team players Western Suburbs Magpies NSW Cup players Wests Panthers players {{Russia-rugbyleague-bio-stub