Robert Wanbon (16 November 1943 – 8 November 2022) was a Welsh dual-code international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and at club level for

Aberavon RFC Aberavon Rugby Club () is a rugby union club located in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, though the club's name refers to the older settlement of Aberavon which lies on the western side of the town. The club was founded in 1876 as Afan Football ...

, as a number eight, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

, and at club level for St. Helens and

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

, as a or .

Background

Wanbon was born in

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community (Wales), community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which d ...

, Wales.

Playing career

Club career

Wanbon signed for St. Helens (RL) from Aberavon (RU) nine-days after appearing for Wales (RU) against England (RU), for a signing-on fee of £4500 (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £124,400 in 2013). Wanbon played at in

's 24-9 victory over

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

in the

1974 Challenge Cup Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom ...

Final during the 1973–74 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 11 May 1974, in front of a crowd of 77,400, and played at in the 7-14 defeat by

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

in the

1975 Challenge Cup It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

Final during the 1974–75 season at

on Saturday 10 May 1975, in front of a crowd of 85,998. Wanbon did not play ( Dave Wright or Gilly Wright played at ) in

's 0-0 draw with

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

in the

1974 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of President of the United States, United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom ...

Final during the 1974–75 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, City of Salford, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named ...

on Tuesday 17 December 1974, and played at in the 5-10 defeat by

in the

Final replay during the 1974–75 season at

Wilderspool Stadium Wilderspool Stadium was a rugby league stadium in Warrington, England. The ground was Warrington RLFC's old ground before moving to the Halliwell Jones Stadium. History In 1898, Warrington RLFC moved to the Wilderspool Stadium. A 10-year l ...

on Tuesday 28 January 1975. Wanbon played at in

's 27-16 victory over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

in the

1973–74 Player's No.6 Trophy This was the third season of rugby league's League Cup competition, which for sponsorship reasons was known as the Players No.6 Trophy. Warrington won the final, beating Rochdale Hornets by the score of 27–16 in the match played at Central Par ...

Final during the 1973–74 season at

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Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

on Saturday 9 February 1974. Wanbon played at in

's 4-0 victory over

in the 1973–74 Captain Morgan Trophy Final during the 1973–74 season at The Willows,

on Saturday 26 January 1974, in front of a crowd of 5,259. Wanbon was inducted into the Warrington Hall of Fame in 2012.

International honours

Wanbon won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

for

(RU) while at Aberavon in 1968 against England on Saturday 20 January 1968, scoring a try. He was one of four Aberavon RFC players in the Welsh team that day, the others were

Billy Mainwaring William Thomas Mainwaring (born Gwilym Thomas Mainwaring; 24 January 1941 – 1 April 2019) was a Welsh international second row rugby union player who played for Aberavon RFC. Rugby career Nurtured in his village team of Taibach RFC, Mainwar ...

, Maxwell Lloyd Wiltshire and

Paul James Wheeler James Paul Wheeler (born 5 February 1947)
ESPN Scrum.com was a

. He won

s for

(RL) while at Warrington in the

1975 Rugby League World Cup The 1975 Rugby League World Cup (officially known as the 1975 Rugby League World Championship) was the seventh Rugby League World Cup, World Cup for men’s rugby league national teams and ran from 2 March to 12 November. Australia were the w ...

against England, Australia, and New Zealand.

Death

Bobby Wanbon died on 8 November 2022 in

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

, Spain.

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.uk
*(archived by web.archive.org
Beryl's Swinging SixtiesWarrington's World Cup heroes – Bobby WanbonStatistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wanbon, Bobby 1943 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Aberavon RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Rugby league players from Port Talbot Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Port Talbot St Helens R.F.C. players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Warrington Wolves players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players