George Ruddick (third ¼ 1881 – first ¼ 1949) was a Welsh

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 1890s, 1900s and 1910s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Brecon RFC Brecon Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union club from the town of Brecon, Mid Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for Cardiff Rugby. Since 2024, the club has played in the Welsh Premier Division. Origins T ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

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

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and at club level for

Broughton Rangers Broughton Rangers were one of the twenty-one rugby clubs which met at the George Hotel, Huddersfield, in 1895 to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. They were originally based in Broughton, Salford, but in 1933 moved to Gorton, Manchester ...

, as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Personal background

George Ruddick's birth was registered in

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

(Brecknock), he first came to note as a rugby player when he represented local

club

. In an appraisal by former

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

rugby union captain,

Arthur Harding Arthur Flowers Harding (8 August 1878 – 15 May 1947) was an English-born international rugby union player who played for and captained the Welsh national rugby union team, Wales national team. Often called 'Boxer' Harding, he was a member of ...

, Ruddick is described as a 'particularly good dribbler … a good tackler' and '…keen as a terrier.' Ruddick was wounded and badly injured a foot in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

which meant he was unable to play again.Tom Mather (2010). "Best in the Northern Union". Pages 128-142. He died at his home in

New Moston New Moston is an area of north Manchester, England, four and a half miles northeast of Manchester city centre, between Moston, Failsworth and Chadderton. New Moston Primary School was founded in 1901. Nuthurst Park opened in 1915, followin ...

in February 1949.

Playing career

International honours

George Ruddick won

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 ...

s for

(RL) while at

1908…1910 3-caps, and won

s for

(RL) while at

in 1908 against New Zealand (2 matches), and on the

1910 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand Year 191 ( CXCI) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Apronianus and Bradua (or, less frequently, year 944 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 191 for this ye ...

against

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and

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Championship final appearances

George Ruddick played in

' victory 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 sys ...

during the 1901–02 season.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

George Ruddick played as a

' 25-0 victory over

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 1902 Challenge Cup Final during the 1901–02 season at

Athletic Grounds, Rochdale The Athletic Grounds was a stadium in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England. It was the home of Rochdale Hornets Rugby League Football Club for over 90 years until 1988. It has also been used for speedway, BriSCA F1 Stock Cars and greyhound raci ...

, and the 4-0 victory over

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 ...

in the

1911 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 Mom ...

Final during the 1910–11 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 ...

, in front of a crowd of 15,006.

County Cup Final appearances

George Ruddick played as a

, in

' 15-6 victory over

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 ...

in the 1906 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1906–07 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

on Saturday 1 December 1906.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruddick, George 1881 births 1949 deaths 19th-century Welsh sportsmen 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Brecon RFC players Broughton Rangers players Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Lancashire rugby league team players Rugby league forwards Rugby league players from Powys Rugby union players from Brecon Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players