Elton Rasmussen (1936–1978) was an Australian 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 1950s and 1960s. He was a with the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons are an Australian rugby league, rugby league football club from the St George, Sydney, St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales Rugby League, New South Wales competition ...

during the second half of their 11-year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was a representative in the Australian national team from 1959 to 1962 and from 1967 to 1968.

Career

Rasmussen was playing for Toowoomba when first selected for Queensland in 1959. That year he played in the Queensland victory over New South Wales that attracted 35,261 spectators, smashing Brisbane's previous record for an interstate match of 22,817. He was then picked on the 1959-60

Kangaroo tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australia national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours too ...

and made his Test debut in that Ashes series against

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. He played in two Tests and fifteen minor matches on tour. Later in 1960 he played in all three Tests of the domestic series against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Rasmussen relocated to New South Wales and joined St George in 1962. He played 122 games for St George till 1968 and played in five successive winning

Grand finals Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

from 1962 to 1966, the first at lock and the rest in the second-row. He represented again for Australia in 1962 against Great Britain, made a second

in 1967 playing in all six Tests and twelve minor touring matches. His final national appearances were in the 1968

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where he appeared in one pool match and in Australia's victory in the final over France. Rasmussen captain-coached Brisbane Souths in 1969 and again earned Queensland representative honours in that year.

Death

Rasmussen died suddenly in 1978 from a heart attack at Greenmount near

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

, Queensland aged 42.

Accolades

In 2008,

rugby league in Australia In Australia, rugby league is a popular spectator and participation sport which has been played since 1908. It is the dominant winter football code in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. According to Ausplay in 2024, there were 174, ...

's centenary year, Rasmussen was named at lock forward in the Toowoomba and South West Team of the Century.

References

External links

* Writer, Larry (1995) ''Never Before, Never Again'', Pan MacMillan, Sydney * Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
Queensland Representatives at qrl.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmussen, Elton 1937 births 1978 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players New South Wales rugby league team players Queensland rugby league team players Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Maryborough, Queensland Souths Logan Magpies players St. George Dragons players 20th-century Australian sportsmen