Captain Robert Alexander (24 September 1910 – 19 July 1943) was an Irish

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

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

player who represented Ireland at both sports during the 1930s. He also played rugby for both the British Lions and the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

. Alexander, an RUC officer, was killed in action 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 ...

while serving with the

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th (Ma ...

. www.rugbyrelics.com
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Rugby international

Ireland

Between

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

Alexander made 11 appearances and scored 1 try for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He made his debut in a 6–3 win against

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 ...

on 8 February 1936 at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

. On 27 February

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

, again at Lansdowne, he scored his one try for Ireland in an 11–4 win 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 ...

. He made his last appearance for Ireland on 11 March 1939 in a 7–0 defeat against

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 ...

at Ravenhill.

British Lions

In 1938 Alexander, together with fellow Ireland international

Paddy Mayne Lieutenant Colonel (United Kingdom), Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne, (11 January 1915 – 14 December 1955), best known as Paddy Mayne or familiarly as Blair, was a British Army Commissioned officer, officer from Newtownards. He was an ...

, was also a member of the British Lions squad that went on a

tour of South Africa The Tour of South Africa was a stage cycling race in South Africa that was only held once, in 2011. It was part of UCI Africa Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by ...

Cricket international

As a cricketer, Alexander was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast-medium bowler. He played once for

in a first-class match against

on 18 June 1932Cricinfo profile
/ref>

References

1910 births 1943 deaths Burials in Sicily Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland British Army personnel killed in World War II Irish rugby union players North of Ireland F.C. players Cricketers from Belfast Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers officers Royal Ulster Constabulary officers Ulster Rugby players Ulster Scots people Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union players from Belfast Military personnel from Belfast Police officers from Belfast Rugby union flankers Irish cricketers {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub

Rugby international

Ireland

British Lions

Cricket international

See also

References