Herbert R. Gilbert (18 September 1888 – 5 January 1972) was an Australian

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 ...

and

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 it ...

player – a dual-code international. He represented the Wallabies in three Tests in 1910 and the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

in seven Tests from 1911 to 1920, his last two as captain. The captain-coach of the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

club in Sydney in their inaugural season, he is considered one of Australia's finest footballers of the 20th century. His sons, Herb Gilbert, Jr and Jack Gilbert were also notable rugby league footballers.

Rugby union career

Gilbert was born in

Gulgong, New South Wales Gulgong is a 19th-century gold rush town in the Central Tablelands and the wider Central West regions of the Australian state of New South Wales. The town is situated within the Mid-Western Regional Council local government area. It is locate ...

and moved to Sydney, playing rugby union in the South Sydney district.Whiticker pp31-32 Tall and powerful for his era, Gilbert stood at 6 ft (182 cm), weighed (86 kg), and reputedly played his best football in the biggest games. Gilbert learnt his rugby in the South Sydney district and went into the NSW and Australian teams in 1910 after

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...

defected to league. The pro-rugby union press boasted that Gilbert was a greater asset to the union than Dally Messenger had ever been. He was first selected for

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 ...

in 1910 against

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and then the New Zealand Māori. That same year he made his

Wallaby A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

Test début playing in the three Test series against 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, ...

in 1910. The series was played over only eight days at the Sydney Cricket Ground and won by the

by two games to one. Gilbert scored two tries in the second Test and another in the third.

Rugby league career

Later in the same year he'd made his rugby union representative debut, he crossed over to the professional code, joining the South Sydney Club in 1910 as their first grade player number 42. He represented for

in 1911 and was chosen for the

1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1911–12 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the second ever Kangaroo tour and was actually a tour by an " Australasian" squad that included four New Zealand players in addition to 24 Australian representatives. It took place over the British ...

. Gilbert made his international league début in the first Test at Newcastle in November 1911, becoming the 16th ever Australian dual code international. He played in all three Tests on tour, heading the tour's try-scoring list with 20 tries. From 1912 to 1915 he played in England, he played left-, wearing number 4, and was captain 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 were ...

's 6–0 victory over

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

in the

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

Challenge Cup Final during the 1913–14 season at

Thrum Hall Thrum Hall was a rugby league stadium on Hanson Lane in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Halifax for 112 years. The site on which the ground stood is now occupied by a supermarket. History In 1878, Halifax, who had just w ...

, Halifax, played in front of a crowd of 19,000. After the outbreak of

World War I 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 ...

, the three-quarter returned to Australia, where he rejoined South Sydney. In 1916, Gilbert joined Eastern Suburbs. He was a member of that club's

City Cup The City Cup was a rugby league competition involving Australian premiership teams. The post season tournament was a regular feature in the years 1912–1925. City Cups were also played in 1937, 1942 and 1959. The inaugural city cup was contested ...

winning side before joining the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

in 1917. He played with them until 1920, helping to mould them from a struggling side to a competitive outfit. Gilbert returned to the Australian Test team as captain in the 2nd Test of the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

' 1920 tour of Australia. All four of Australia's illustrious three-quarter line of Dick Vest,

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 ...

, Viv Farnsworth and Gilbert scored tries in Australia's 21–8 victory. With

the Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first ...

already won, Australia lost to Great Britain in the 3rd Test of the series with Gilbert captaining his country for his second and final time. In 1921 aged 33, Gilbert signed on as foundation captain-coach of the newly formed St. George club. He retired as a player at the end of that season but coached the club until 1924.

Post playing and accolades

Gilbert was awarded Life Membership of the

club in 1938. He was a state and national selector from 1925 to 1937; his working career was with the New South Wales Railways; in his later years he was doorman at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Herb died in 1972 – aged 83. In 2004 he was named by Souths in their ''South Sydney Dream Team'', consisting of 17 players and a coach representing the club from 1908 through to 2004. In February 2008, Gilbert was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives comp ...

to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.

Progeny

Three of Gilbert's sons all played for St. George with Herb Junior and

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

playing in the Dragons' maiden Grand Final victory in 1941. Another son,

Bob Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places * Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

also played with the

in first grade in 1945. Two great grandsons were professional sportsmen –

Sam Gilbert Samuel Gilbert (born 19 August 1986) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early life Gilbert is a rugby league convert who didn’t start pl ...

played AFL with St Kilda and Larry Davidson, was a basketballer who played in the NBL for the

Wollongong Hawks The Illawarra Hawks (formerly the Wollongong Hawks and The Hawks) is an Australian professional basketball team based in Wollongong, New South Wales. The Illawarra Hawks compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball ...

Playing record

* ''Club:'' Souths(1911–12 & 1915) 23 games, 6 tries, 3 goals;

, England 1912–1915; Easts (1916) 14 games, 6 tries; Wests (1917–1920) 50 games, 23 tries; St George (1921) 8 games, 1 try. * ''Representative:'' Australia (1911–12 & 1919–1920) 7 Tests, and New South Wales (1911–20) 8 appearances.

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan (2004) ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland, Sydney

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Herb 1888 births 1972 deaths Australasia rugby league team players Australia international rugby union players Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Dual-code rugby internationals Hull F.C. captains Hull F.C. players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from New South Wales South Sydney Rabbitohs players St. George Dragons captains St. George Dragons coaches St. George Dragons players Sydney Roosters players Western Suburbs Magpies players Rugby union players from Sydney Rugby union wings