Anthony Neary (born 25 November 1948) is a former

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 ...

international

rugby union player 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 ...

. He represented England at U18s basketball as well as rugby. He attended De La Salle College in Pendleton,

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 ...

and

Liverpool University , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

before qualifying as a solicitor.

Rugby career

Neary played club rugby for Broughton Park. An open-side wing-forward whose international career ran from 1971 to 1980, his 43 appearances for the England team were a record (subsequently beaten) at the time of his retirement. He captained England in seven international matches between March 1975 and March 1976, played for the Barbarians, and toured twice with the British and Irish Lions - to South Africa in 1974 and New Zealand in 1977, playing one international. He was a member of the famous

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

team which beat the All Blacks at Otley on 17 November 1979. He was one of four Broughton Park players in this side and was joined by teammates Kevin O’Brien at full back, Tony Bond in the centre and Jim Sydall in the second row.NOWIRUL(E) TIMES ISSUE NO. 1
Along with Broughton Park team mate

Mike Leadbetter Michael Maurice Leadbetter (1946–2009) was a rugby union international and rugby league player, who represented England in 1970. Early life Mike Leadbetter was born on 25 July 1946 in Southport. He attended Ladybarn, a local secondary modern ...

, he was also part of a famous North West Counties team which defeated 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 ...

, 16-14, in

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. The town was historically in Cumberland. At the 2011 census it had a population of 25,207. Loca ...

in 1972.

Conviction

Neary was jailed for 5 years for theft in February 1998 after admitting stealing money from a trust fund of millionaire friend John Gorna. After his release, he commented on living in London since his release - recently said: "I don't follow rugby any more, I'm just looking to get on with my life."

References

1948 births Living people North of England Rugby Union team English rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players Rugby union flankers Barbarian F.C. players Lancashire County RFU players Alumni of the University of Liverpool Rugby union players from Manchester {{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub