Bernard Gadney
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Bernard Cecil Gadney (16 July 1909 – 15 November 2000BBC Obituary
/ref>) was an English rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for
Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and the British Lions. Gadney won 14 England caps between 1932 and 1938 and was captain on eight occasions. Born in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, he was educated at
Dragon School The Dragon School is a private school across two sites in Oxford, England. The Dragon Pre-Prep (children aged 4–7) and Prep School (children aged 8–13) are both co-educational schools. The Dragon Prep School was founded in 1877 as the Oxfo ...
and Stowe. His brother Cyril Gadney was an international rugby referee and President of the
RFU The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby (WR) in 1886. It prom ...
. He made his Leicester debut in 1929 and went on to make 170 appearances for the club. He made his England debut v Ireland in 1932, and was appointed captain in 1934, becoming Leicester's first England captain, and leading England to the Triple Crown. In 1936 he led England to its first ever win against the
All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...
13–0, a margin record that stood until 2012. The game came to be known as Obolensky's game. Later in the same year, he led a
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
away team to a 10–0 winning series against . After retiring from international rugby he became headmaster of
Malsis School Malsis School located at a mansion known as Malsis Hall in the village of Crosshills, in North Yorkshire, England, was a co-educational independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Ind ...
, a prep school. During the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he served as an officer in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
. From 1946 to 1949 he was President of the Oxfordshire RFU.Oxfordshire RFU
/ref> In 1947, he formed the England Rugby Internationals Club (E.R.I.C.) after he felt it appropriate that a retirement collection be made for outgoing RFU President, Sidney Coopper. His letter requesting donations was sent all over the world and the response was overwhelming.England International Rugby Club
/ref> He was named in the Leicester Tigers' team of the century, and shortly after his death was the first player to be inducted into the
Museum of Rugby The World Rugby Museum is a sports museum in the South Stand of Twickenham Stadium, London, England. Its collection comprises over 37,000 pieces of rugby memorabilia, boots, balls, jerseys, programmes, match-tickets, books and assorted paraph ...
wall of fame in 2000.Wall of Fame


References


External links


Bernard Gadney named in Tigers Team of the CenturyIndependent obituary
*
Malsis School Old Members AssociationMalsis OMA: Old Member Profile – Bernard C Gadney
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gadney, Bernard 1909 births 2000 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players English rugby union players Heads of schools in Yorkshire Leicester Tigers players People educated at Stowe School People educated at The Dragon School Royal Navy personnel of World War II Rugby union players from Oxford Rugby union scrum-halves East Midlands RFU players 20th-century English sportsmen