Thomas Kent (19 June 1864 – 2 June 1930) was an English

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 Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

who played club rugby for

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 ...

.Graham Williams, Peter Lush, David Farrar (November 2009). "The British Rugby League Records Book age-178. London League Publications Ltd. Kent represented

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 ...

on six occasions and in 1888 he was chosen to tour New Zealand and Australia as part of the first British Isles team.

Rugby career

Kent played the majority of his first class rugby for Salford, representing the club while chosen for the British Isles in 1888 and four years later when he was selected for England, he was still a Salford player. Kent's most notable period as a rugby player was when he was invited to join the first British overseas touring team in 1888. The tour took in 35 matches against representative teams from New Zealand and Australia, but as the touring party was not recognised by any official rugby union the club they did not face any national sides and no caps were awarded. Kent played in 28 matches, scoring five tries and a single conversion. On his return to Britain, Kent was still unable to break into the England national team. It took until the

1891 Home Nations Championship The 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 1891 Championship was won ...

to be selected to play for England; his first match being against

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 ...

played away at Newport. After a 7-3 win, Kent was reselected for the very next game to Ireland, England winning easily. With two wins in the Championship, the final game for England, against Scotland set up the Championship decider. When Scotland won, a promising England campaign fell apart, and the press reacted angrily, stating the season was the worst since 1871. Despite the disappointing end to the 1891 season, Kent was back in the England squad for the

1892 Home Nations Championship The 1892 Home Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 2 January and 5 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England took the 1892 Champion ...

. The tournament was an incredible success for England, not only winning all three matches, and thus taking the Championship and the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

; but also finished the season without conceding a single point. Seven players kept their places throughout the tournament for England, Kent being one of them. As a Triple crown winner, Kent finished his international career at the highest level.

Change of Code

When Salford converted from the

code to the

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 ...

code on 2 June 1896, Tom Kent would have been approximately 31 years of age. Consequently, he may have been both a rugby union and rugby league footballer for Salford.

Bibliography

References

External links

Search for "Kent" at rugbyleagueproject.orgSearch for "Tomas Kent" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Tom Kent" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Tom 1864 births 1928 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players English rugby union players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Nottingham Salford Red Devils players