Robert Lionel "Bob" Seddon (birth registered October→December 1860 in

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

district – 15 August 1888) 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 ...

international

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 it ...

forward who played club rugby for

Broughton Rangers Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Manchester ...

and Swinton and county rugby for

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 ...

. Seddon was capped at international level for both

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 the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. Seddon played three matches for England in 1887, and in 1888 was one of only four capped players to represent Britain in the 1888 tour of New Zealand and Australia. Seddon was given the captaincy of the British team, but died in a boating accident halfway through the tour. Seddon and the British team were honoured in 2013 with induction into the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

Rugby career

Seddon started his career at

, and was one original members of the club when it was founded in 1877. He left the club in October 1887 and joined Swinton. Seddon first came to note as a rugby player when he was chosen to represent England during the 1887 Home Nations Championship. Seddon was representing Broughton at the time of his first international,Godwin (1984), p. 15. and was one of five new caps brought into the pack for the opening game of the Championship, played away against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. The game ended in a 0–0 draw, but despite this being the worst result against the Welsh to date, the selectors kept faith in Seddon who was chosen for the next game against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Another poor game for England saw Ireland beat the English team for the first time in their history. Seddon played one final international game for England, a draw against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, which capped off England's worst ever season in the Home Nations Championship, ending bottom of the table. Seddon may have gained reselection in the next season, but after the Rugby Football Union refused to join the International Rugby Board, the other Home Nations refused to play England. In 1888, a private venture by cricketers

Alfred Shaw Alfred Shaw (29 August 1842 – 16 January 1907) was an eminent Victorian cricketer and rugby footballer, who bowled the first ball in Test cricket and was the first to take five wickets in a Test innings (5/35). He made two trips to North Ameri ...

and

Arthur Shrewsbury Arthur Shrewsbury (11 April 1856 – 19 May 1903) was an English cricketer and rugby football administrator. He was widely rated as competing with W. G. Grace for the accolade of best batsman of the 1880s; Grace himself, when asked whom he wo ...

, saw a group of rugby players chosen to tour Australia and New Zealand. The tour was not sanctioned by any of the Home Nations, and no test games were played, but it was the first rugby tour from Britain, and is retrospectively classed as the first British Lions tour. Seddon was given the captaincy of the team, but after 20 games of a 35 match series, Seddon drowned in an accident while sculling on the Hunter RiverSeddon's last hurrah
Lionsrugby.com in West Maitland,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. He had ventured up river alone, and his teammates Jack Anderton and

Andrew Stoddart Andrew Ernest Stoddart (11 March 1863 – 4 April 1915) was an English sportsman who played international cricket for England, and rugby union for England and the British Isles. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1893. He has the unique ...

found him dead some time later. He was buried in Church of England cemetery in West Maitland. A movement to raise funds for a monument to honour him was initiated by the Newcastle and Sydney Rugby Unions. The memorial plaque was unveiled in 1889. It reads:

THIS TABLET is erected by sympathising friends and comrades in memory of ROBERT L. SEDDON, (Captain of the English Footballers), drowned in the River Hunter at West Maitland 15 August 1888, AGED 28 YEARS.

The captaincy of the team, following Seddon's death, passed onto

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seddon, Robert 1860 births 1888 deaths Accidental deaths in New South Wales Boating accident deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Broughton Rangers players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Lancashire County RFU players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Salford Swinton Lions captains Swinton Lions players World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees