Desmond James Case (20 June 1918 – 2 February 1997) was a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

, and 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 ...

footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Cross Keys RFC Cross Keys RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pont-y-Cymer) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Crosskeys. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union, and is a feeder club for the Dragons regional team. History The club achieved first ...

and

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) 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 ...

, and at club level for

Bradford Northern The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is pr ...

and

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centr ...

( Heritage № 224 as a wartime guest), as a , or , i.e. number 2 or 5, or 3 or 4. Case was a

Sergeant Major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in t ...

in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gur ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Case died in

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders the unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly to the west and Powys to the north. Its main towns are Abertillery, Brynmawr, E ...

on 2 February 1997, at the age of 78.CASE, Desmond James
''ProbateSearch''

Playing career

International honours

Case won 4 caps for

in 1938–1947 while at Bradford Northern.

Championship final appearances

Case played in

's 5–15 defeat by

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

Final during the 1947–48 season at Maine Road, Manchester on Saturday 8 May 1948.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Case played right-, i.e. number 3, in

's 3–8 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

in the 1947–48

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 a ...

Final during the 1947–48 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, London on Saturday 1 May 1948.

Other notable matches

Case played for

Northern Command XIII Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

against a

Rugby League XIII The Rugby League XIII was an invitation team run along the same lines as the Rugby Union Barbarians team. Particularly in the Second World War, when international fixtures were restricted to England V Wales. The Rugby League would play representa ...

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 ...

Halifax Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Halifax, West Yorkshire, England *Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook *Halifax ...

on Saturday 21 March 1942.

References

External links

Photograph 'Des Case' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph 'Team to visit Barrow in the Cup 1946' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph '1948 Championship Semi-final' at rlhp.co.ukPhotograph '1948 Challenge Cup Final' at rlhp.co.ukPlayers Statistics 'C' at blackandambers.co.ukStatistics at blackandambers.co.ukPlayers Statistics 'C' at crosskeysrfc.comStatistics at crosskeysrfc.com
1918 births 1997 deaths Bradford Bulls players British Army personnel of World War II British Army soldiers Castleford Tigers players Cross Keys RFC players Newport RFC players Northern Command XIII rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Newport, Wales Rugby league wingers Rugby union wings Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players {{Wales-rugbyleague-bio-stub