Frederick James Dobbin (10 October 1879 – 5 February 1950)
Scrum.com universally known as Uncle Dobbin was a South African

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 ...

player who represented

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

on nine occasions. Dobbin played in two overseas tours and was the vice-captain to Paul Millar's 1912 team. He attended

Kimberley Boys' High School Kimberley Boys' High School is a state secondary school or high school situated adjacent to the Honoured Dead Memorial, in the arc between Dalham and Memorial Roads, Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa – a site it has occupied since January ...

Kimberley, Northern Cape Kimberley is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due to it ...

South Africa.

Rugby career

Dobbin was first selected for the national rugby team in 1903, in the First Test of the 1903 British Isles tour of South Africa. South Africa had a poor international record to date, having played seven matches, all against 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, ...

, and had won only one game. The 1903 tourists had a difficult campaign before meeting the South African national team, having lost seven of the 16 games against the invitational county and regional teams. Dobbin was brought into the South African team for the First Test, partnered at half-back with seasoned international Jackie Powell. The game was very tight, with both teams scoring two converted tries to leave the final score 10-10. Dobbin celebrated his first cap by scoring one of the two South African tries, converted by

Fairy Heatlie Barry "Fairy" Heatlie (25 April 1872 – 19 August 1951)
Scrum.com was a

1879 births 1950 deaths People from Kopanong Local Municipality White South African people South African rugby union players South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union players from the Free State (province) Rugby union halfbacks Griquas (rugby union) players