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William Thomas Osborne (11 June 1875 – 24 March 1942)
Scrum.com was a Welsh international
rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...
forward who played
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 ...
for
Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountai ...
and Glamorgan Police. Osborne played in six international matches, becoming a
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 ...
winner when he played for
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 ...
in all three matches of the 1902 Home Nations Championship. At the height of his international career he 'Went North', switching to 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 112 ...
, and represented both
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
and
Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...


Rugby career

Osborne played his amateur rugby for valley club Mountain Ash. He was a collier by profession before becoming a police officer, and at 5 foot 11½ inches and weighing over 13 stone,Smith (1980), p. 136. typified the 'Rhondda forward' physique favoured by the Welsh selectors around the turn of the century. Osborne was first selected to play for the Welsh national team when he was selected to face England in the opening match of the 1902 Home Nations Championship. Osborne was one of seven new caps, four of whom joined Osborne in a much changed pack. Although lacking international experience many of the players winning their first caps that day went on to form the nucleus of the Wales team that beat
The Original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...
in 1905, including
Arthur Harding Arthur Flowers Harding (8 August 1878 – 15 May 1947) was an English-born international rugby union player who played for and captained the Wales national team. Often called 'Boxer' Harding, he was a member of the Wales team for the famous '' ...
,
Will Joseph Will Joseph (May 10, 1877 – 1959) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks. He played club rugby for Swansea and county rugby for Glamorgan. Joseph was seen ...
, and fellow collier Dai "Tarw" Jones. In a very close encounter, Osbourne scored his one and only international try on his début; Wales then won the game through a late penalty goal from
John Strand-Jones John Strand-Jones (2 December 1877 – 3 April 1958) was a Wales, Welsh rugby union player, who represented the Wales national rugby union team on five occasions in 1902 and 1903. His profession was in the clergy of the Anglican Church. Life ...
. Osborne was then reselected to face Scotland in the second game of the series, played on Welsh home soil at the
Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...
. The
Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...
stated that they would refuse to face Wales if Osborne played, as there were rumours that he had accepted and signed a professional contract with a
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 ...
team. This was illegal under rugby union rules, which was a purely amateur sport. Osborne was forced to make a full statement denying the claim, and the match went ahead with Osborne in the Welsh pack. (1991), p. 121. The only change to the Welsh team from the previous match was Harry Jones coming in for
Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...
's Nathaniel Walters, and the more fluent Welsh play resulted in a victory over a very gifted Scottish team.Godwin (1987), p. 66. The final game of the tournament for Wales saw an unchanged team beat Ireland at
Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...
to win the Championship and the Triple Crown for the third time. Osborne was reselected for the next season's Championship, playing in all three Wales games. After an excellent win over the English at St. Helen's in
Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...
, Wales lost away to Scotland in a game played in difficult weather conditions. This would be Osborne's only international defeat as Wales beat Ireland in his sixth and final Welsh international on 14 March 1903. It is unknown if Osborne would have won any further international caps as in September 1903 he signed professional terms with Huddersfield Rugby League Club, as a
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 ...
(prior to the specialist positions of; ), during the era of contested
scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...
s. He made his début on 5 September and by October 1906 he had transferred to
Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...
Will Osborne played as a
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 ...
, i.e. number 9, in
Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and wer ...
's 7–7 draw with
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
in the 1910
Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
Final during the 1909–10 season at
Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. T ...
,
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
, on Saturday 16 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 19,413, this was the first
Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
Final to be drawn, and played as a
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 ...
, i.e. number 9, in the 12–26 defeat by
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
in the 1910
Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...
Final replay at
Fartown Ground The Fartown Ground or just simply Fartown is a sports ground located in the Huddersfield suburb of Fartown in West Yorkshire, England and is predominantly famous for being the home ground of Huddersfield Rugby League Club from 1878 to 1992. T ...
,
Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...
, on Monday 18 April 1910, in front of a crowd of 11,608.


Later life

Osborne gave up his professional playing by 1912, when he moved home to
Oakengates, Shropshire Oakengates is a constituent town and civil parish in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. The towns parish population was recorded as 8,517 in the 2001 census. Etymology The name is not derived from "oak" or "gates" but is derived from the ...
, where he worked as a miner. He was also trainer at local association football club Wellington St George's. He died at his home, 53 The Nabb, Oakengates, on 24 March 1942, aged sixty-six, and was buried at the parish church of
St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...
's.


International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 470. * 1902, 1903 * 1902, 1903 * 1902, 1903


Bibliography

* * * *


References


External links


Photo of the Mountain Ash team during the 1901/02 with Osborne present
Rhondda Cynon Taf digital archives {{DEFAULTSORT:Osborne, Will 1875 births Glamorgan Police officers 1942 deaths British police officers Glamorgan Police RFC players Huddersfield Giants players Hull F.C. players Mountain Ash RFC players Rugby league forwards Rugby league players from Mountain Ash, Wales Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Mountain Ash, Wales Wales international rugby union players Welsh miners Welsh police officers Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players