Tom Lawton Snr (16 January 1899 – 1 July 1978) was an Australian

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 ...

player, a state and national representative five-eighth who made 44 appearances for the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

, played in 14 Test matches and captained the national side on ten occasions. __TOC__

Schoolboy sports star

Born at Waterford, Queensland he entered

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , ci ...

in 1913 where he excelled at sport. He represented the school in the first XI for four years, was captain in 1916 & 1917, adjudged best fielder in 1915 & 1916 and topped the batting average in 1917. He rowed in the first VIII for three years, played tennis, won at athletics and was school swimming champion and school captain in 1917. He played in the school's rugby first XV for three years and was the best back in 1916 and 1917.

The Great War & university

In 1918 he was a gunner in France with the 12th Field Artillery Brigade of the AIF. After the war he commenced a science degree at the University of Queensland. He represented

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

in rugby union in 1919 the final year before the sport massively lost its popularity to

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 ...

prompting the

Queensland Rugby Union The Queensland Rugby Union, or QRU, is the governing body for the sport of rugby union within the state of Queensland in Australia. It is a member and founding union of Rugby Australia. The QRU was founded in Brisbane in 1883 as the ''Northern ...

hiatus that lasted until 1929. In 1920 he transferred to

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

to pursue his medical studies at St. Andrew's College. He played rugby at the Sydney University club. He won a

Rhodes scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

ship to

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 ...

in 1922 residing at New College. He played sixty games in 1922–23 for

Oxford 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 ...

, Blackheath, New College 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 ...

. In 1924 he became the first capped Australian to play for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

, he played one game for the club at home against

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

. He was selected to captain the Oxford side but was challenged for having played rugby league in his career. He represented Oxford in athletics, swimming and water polo.

Representative career

His representative debut was in 1920 when selected for the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the stat ...

to appear against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

. He scored a try and kicked three goals in his representative debut. With no

competition in place at that time the

were the top Australian representative

side of the period and a number of Waratah matches of the 1920s played against full international opponents were in 1986 decreed by the

Australian Rugby Union Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named the Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It ...

as Test matches. After returning to Sydney from Oxford in 1925 he was immediately given the captaincy of New South Wales for the 1925 tour to New Zealand. He played as captain in nine of the eleven games and top scored with 49 points. Lawton spent 1926 in the

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 ...

, Southern

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

district on business and played

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

in the Deniliquin Football Association with the East End Football Club that lost the grand final to the Colts Football Club. Lawton was selected for the 1927–28 Waratahs tour of the British Isles, France and Canada. He played in 27 matches of the tour exceeded only by Wylie Breckenbridge (29), and

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wit ...

(29). He was the top point scorer (124 points) and played in all five Test matches of the tour. In 1929 the All Blacks toured Australia, Lawton captained the first truly national

side fielded since 1914 which was the first national side in history to beat the All Blacks 3–0 in a series whitewash. When the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

toured Australia in 1930 he captained the Wallabies, Queensland and an invitational XV against them. His representative career ended in 1932 aged 33 years after he led Australia and Queensland against the touring All Blacks.

Rugby lineage

In 2007 Lawton was honoured in the third tranche of inductees into the

Hall of Fame. His grandsons Tom Jnr and Rob also both became Wallabies – Rob as a Prop forward made four test appearances from 1988 to 1989, Tom Jnr a Hooker earned 41 caps between 1983 and 1989. In 2007 he was honoured in the third set of inductees into the

Hall of Fame, and in 2013 he was inducted 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 ...

References

Sources

* Collection (1995) ''Gordon Bray presents The Spirit of Rugby'', Harper Collins Publishers Sydney * Howell, Max (2005) ''Born to Lead – Wallaby Test Captains'', Celebrity Books, Auckland NZ * Lawton Family History from original source records.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawton, Snr, Tom 1899 births 1978 deaths Australian rugby union players Australia international rugby union players Australian rugby union captains Barbarian F.C. players Leicester Tigers players World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Oxford University RFC players Alumni of New College, Oxford Rugby union players from Queensland