Hugh Campbell Rowley (27 April 1858 – after 1882) was an English

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 ...

footballer who played in the 1870s and 1880s. He played at representative level for

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 ...

from 1879 to 1882, and at club level for Bowdon and Lymm Club, and

Manchester Rugby Club Manchester Rugby Club, founded in 1860 as Manchester Football Club, is one of the oldest rugby union clubs in the world. Home matches are played at Grove Park in Cheadle Hulme, Stockport. The club has a Senior Men's section (1st XV, 2nd XV an ...

, as a forward.

Early life

Rowley was born in

Chorlton-on-Medlock Chorlton-on-Medlock is an inner city area of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, Chorlton-on-Medlock is bordered to the north by the River Medlock, which runs immediately south of Manchester city cen ...

, the son of

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

and first-class cricketer James Campbell Rowley.''1861 England Census'' His uncles Alexander Rowley and Edmund Rowley, and cousin Ernest Rowley, were also first-class cricketers.

Rugby union career

Rowley was originally a member of the Bowdon and Lymm Club, and was selected from this club to represent the county of Cheshire in the first match between Cheshire and Lancashire on 24 February 1877. He had the distinction of scoring the first try in that match, and the first point of importance against Lancashire. Ironically, Rowley then went on to play in and for Lancashire, transferring to the Manchester Football Club, and representing Lancashire in 1879 for whom he played over a number of years. He was also selected to play in several North v. South matches, once the pinnacle of domestic rugby competition. Rowley made his international debut for

on 10 March 1879 in the match against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

match at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. He played eight more times for England, (vs Scotland in 1879-80-81-82; vs Ireland, 1879-80-81-82; and Wales, 1881.) Of the nine matches he played for his national side the team won five times, lost once, and drew three times. He played his final match for England on 4 March 1882 against

Whalley Range, Manchester Whalley Range is an area of Manchester, England, south-west of the Manchester city centre, city centre. The population at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 15,430. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it was o ...

. He was described in a contemporary account as a celebrated player and "one of the best all-round men who ever played the Rugby game." The account went on to say "Campbell Rowley was one of the most useful of football players, very strong and fast, was never done with, could play any position in the field equally well, and had his whole heart in the game."Francis Marshall. ''Football; the Rugby union game'', p403, 1892

Later life

Rowley worked as a solicitor. He emigrated in 1882 and settled in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, Canada, and then moved to Alaska. He married Maud Arrowsmith in 1889.

References

1858 births English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union forwards Year of death missing Lancashire County RFU players Rugby union players from Greater Manchester Manchester Rugby Club players {{England-rugbyunion-bio-1850s-stub