Viv Farnsworth (1889–1953) was an Australian professional

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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He played for Newtown, Wests,

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 ...

and Australia, he also represented

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

. He primarily played as and is considered one of the Australia's finest footballers of the 20th century

Biography

Playing career

As a youth, Farnsworth played for Petersham Rugby Club in inner-western Sydney but he switched to the new professional code in 1909 and played for Newtown from 1910. He was regarded as an outstanding centre and, alongside his brother,

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

, was selected for New South Wales in 1910. Farnsworth was a member of the 1910 premiership winning Newtown team in the try-less final against Souths. In the same year, the brothers made their international début against the touring British Lions and were both selected for the 'Australasian' Kangaroo tour of Britain in 1911–1912. They were the first set of brothers to play representative rugby league for Australia. Viv Farnsworth made his Test début in the first Test against

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 8 November 1911 and scored two tries. He scored a total of 19 tries on tour (from 29 matches), one less than

Herb Gilbert Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in three Tests in 1910 and the Kangaroos in seven Tests from 1911 to 19 ...

. The combination of Gilbert and Farnsworth was a feature of the successful tour. After touring New Zealand with New South Wales in 1912, Farnsworth headed back to England and joined the

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham ...

club ( Heritage № 147). He was still in England at the out-break of

the Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and he subsequently enlisted with a

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

regiment. After the war, Farnsworth re-joined Sydney club Newtown in 1919 but by 1920 he had moved to Wests where he played for two seasons. Farnsworth participated in the Ashes-winning series of 1920, again proving a formidable combination with

in the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Although the score was even at 8–all at half-time, tries to Australia's three-quarter line of Dick Vest, Farnsworth, Gilbert and

Harold Horder Harold Norman Horder (23 February 1894 – 21 August 1978) was an Australian rugby league player. He was a national and state representative player whose club career was with South Sydney and North Sydney between 1912 and 1924. Regarded as o ...

secured the Ashes. An injury in the third Test of the series eventually ended Farnsworth's playing career. Viv Farnsworth died in 1953 aged 64.

Accolades

In February 2008, he was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

and the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Viv Farnsworth was the great-uncle of the Parramatta Eels player and CEO, Denis Fitzgerald AM.

References

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Footnotes

Statistics at orl-heritagetrust.org.uk
1880s births 1953 deaths Australasia rugby league team players Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England British Army personnel of World War I Lancashire Fusiliers soldiers New South Wales rugby league team players Newtown Jets players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Sydney Western Suburbs Magpies players Military personnel from New South Wales {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-stub