Richard Thomas Dutton Budworth (17 October 1867 – 7 December 1937) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

forward who played club rugby for

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

and international rugby 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 ...

. In 1890 Budworth became one of the original members of the Barbarians Football Club.

Personal history

Budworth was born in 1867 in

Greensted Greensted is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Ongar, Essex, England, strung out along the Greensted Road approximately one mile to the west of Chipping Ongar. In 1961 the parish had a population of 711. Toponymy Greenste ...

, Essex, to Philip John Budworth and Annie Emily Thomas. He was educated at

Christ College, Brecon Christ College, Brecon, is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school, located in the cathedral and market town of Brecon in mid-Wales. It currently caters for pupils aged 7–18 years. History Christ College was founded by Roya ...

, before matriculating to

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. Upon leaving university he taught at

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

in West Sussex and then between 1898 and 1907 at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

. He eventually settled in the North of England becoming headmaster of

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils a ...

(1907 to 1932). During his teaching profession Budworth entered the priesthood and was ordained in 1902, before becoming a canon at

Durham Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England. It is the seat of t ...

Rugby career

Budworth first came to note as a rugby player when he represented

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

while studying at Magdalen College. He played in three Varsity Matches, from 1887 to 1889 winning his sporting 'Blues'. During the 1889/90 season and now playing for Blackheath, Budworth was first selected for the England national team, playing in the first English game of the

1890 Home Nations Championship The 1890 Home Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 1 February and 15 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. The English team, although talented, was fairly inexperienced after they missed the previous two Championships. In windy and snowy conditions, England lost to

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 ...

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 ...

in Dewsbury.Griffiths (1981), pg 1:7. Budworth then missed the two remaining games of the Championship, but was reselected for the 1891 Championship for the encounters with Wales and

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 ...

. After away victories over Wales and then Ireland, the later of which Budworth missed, the England team faced the Scottish in the tournament decider. Despite great early performances from the pack, against Scotland the forwards were routed and the Scottish won in a convincing manner.Griffiths (1981), pg 1:8. Budworth never represented his country again. As well as his international career, Budworth was also of note in the field of rugby football as he was one of the original members of the invitational touring team, the Barbarians. He played in their inaugural match at

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

in 1890 and went on to represent the side on five occasions, competing in his last match in 1892 against the Corinthians. Barbarians-Football-Club-Originals

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Budworth, Richard 1867 births 1937 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union forwards Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players London Welsh RFC players People from Epping Forest District Oxford University RFC players People educated at Christ College, Brecon Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford 20th-century English Anglican priests Schoolteachers from Essex Heads of schools in England Rugby union players from Essex