Robin Henderson Thompson (5 May 1931 – 14 August 2003) was a

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 ...

international for Ireland, a former British Lions captain and

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 ...

player. Robin Thompson won two

Ulster Schools Senior Cup The Ulster Schools' Challenge Cup is an annual competition involving schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The Schools' Cup has the distinction of being the world's second-oldest rugby competition, having be ...

medals with RBAI (

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

) and played for Ulster Schools. He made the

Queen's University RFC Queen's University Belfast Rugby Football Club is the rugby union team of Queen's University Belfast, currently playing in Division 2A of the All-Ireland League. Founded in 1869, it is the most successful and oldest continuous rugby union clu ...

senior side in his first year in the university and while still only 18, he made his

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

début. He won his first international cap in the second row as a 20-year-old against France in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in December 1951. He was also on the team that defeated France in Paris in January 1952. He played throughout the championship and against New Zealand in 1953-54 and the following season captained Ireland against both France and Wales. He was capped 11 times. He won the Ulster Senior League with Queen's University, the

Ulster Senior Cup The Ulster Senior Cup is a knock-out competition for senior rugby union teams in the province of Ulster. It is administered by Ulster Rugby. The most successful club is Queen's University with 23 wins. The current holders are City of Armagh RF ...

with

Instonians Instonians is a sports club based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that incorporates rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey and cricket sections. There is also a golf society that plays under the Instonians name. Instonians Rugby Football, Cricke ...

, and also played for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

, and the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be les ...

. He was made captain of the 1955 British Lions tour to South Africa. He played in three of the four tests on that tour. Following the tour he turned professional and played

for

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 ...

( Heritage No. 567). But an injury and subsequent medical advice brought an end to his playing career while still only 25. After returning to Ireland, he subsequently became a media analyst.

External links

Lions skipper Thompson dies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Robin 1931 births 2003 deaths Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Expatriate rugby league players in England Footballers who switched code Instonians rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Irish expatriate rugby league players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Irish rugby league players Irish rugby union players London Irish players Middlesex County RFU players Queen's University RFC players Rugby league players from County Down Rugby union locks Ulster Rugby players Warrington Wolves players