Russell John Robins (21 February 1932 – 27 September 2019) was a Welsh

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 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for British Lions and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and at club level for

Pontypridd RFC Pontypridd Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pontypridd) are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. They compete in the Indigo Group Premiership, which they won for four consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2015, and ...

, as a

Lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, Flanker, or Number eight, i.e. number 4 or 5, 6 or 7, or 8, and club level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

Background

Robins was born in

Pontypridd () (colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng (Trallwn) and Treforest (). The ...

, Wales in 1932. He was educated at Pontypridd Grammar School. Robins worked for the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "v ...

, but after completing his national service he became a lecturer for the Army. On switching codes from rugby union he became a professional

footballer. In the 1960/70s he was a maths teacher at the Army Apprentice College at Chepstow where he coached the rugby team and also played for the staff team.

International honours

Russell Robins 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

(RU) while at Pontypridd RFC in 1953 against Scotland, in 1954 against France, and Scotland, in 1955 against England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, in 1956 against England, and France, and in 1957 against England, Scotland, Ireland, and France, and won

s for British Lions (RU) while at Pontypridd RFC on the

1955 British Lions tour to South Africa In 1955 the British Lions rugby union team toured Southern and Eastern Africa. The Lions drew the test series against , each team winning two of the four matches. They won the first test by a single point and the third by three points and lost ...

against South Africa (4 matches).

References

External links

Search for "Robins" at rugbyleagueproject.org

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Statistics at wru.co.ukClub Focus, PontypriddRussell Robbins Player ProfileImage of Russell Robins with former referee, Cenydd ThomasRussell Robins was an ever-present during the Lions' four-match Test series in South Africa 53 years agoClub Focus - Pontypridd - Ex-Players
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robins, Russell 1932 births 2019 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Footballers who switched code Leeds Rhinos players Rugby league players from Pontypridd Pontypridd RFC players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union flankers Rugby union locks Rugby union number eights Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union players from Pontypridd