Viv Thicknesse (1910–1986) was an Australian dual-code rugby half-back, a

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

representative in both

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 ...

and

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 ...

. His rugby league career was spent with the champion Eastern Suburbs sides of the 1930s and he represented

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in that code in seven Tests.

Playing career

Following his schooling at Sydney Boys High School in the 1920s, Thicknesse was a half-back with Sydney's Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Club. He switched to the professional code in 1931 and joined Eastern Suburbs' rugby league side. He was a member of the Tricolours' champion teams of the 1930s and won consecutive premierships with the club in the NSWRL seasons of

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

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

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 ...

. He captained the 1937 side. He represented

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

on eleven occasions between 1933 and 1936 and made his international debut for

on the

1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1933–34 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the fifth Kangaroo tour, and took the Australia national rugby league team around the north of England, to London and Paris. The tour also featured the 11th Ashes series which comprised three Te ...

where he appeared in two Tests and in sixteen minor matches. He played in further Test series against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1935 and against Great Britain in 1936 for a total of seven career Test appearances. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 181. He formed a formidable representative halves pairing with Wests great

Vic Hey Victor John Hey (18 November 1912 in Liverpool, New South Wales – 11 April 1995), also known by the nickname of "The Human Bullet", was an Australian rugby league national and state representative and later a successful first-grade and natio ...

and with his Easts clubmate Ernie Norman.

Accolades

A halfback, Thicknesse was renowned for his passing game and was selected in Eastern Suburbs 'Team of the Century'.

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger, (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player. One of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, he is recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in eit ...

once said of Viv Thicknesse that "he rated him the equal of any half he had seen play the game". In February 2008, Thicknesse was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.

Legacy

Viv Thicknesse maintained scrapbooks throughout his playing career, and a diary of the

. In 2012, the

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...

acquired Viv Thicknesse's scrapbooks and diaries. 1933 Thicknesse w480

Sources

* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney * Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thicknesse, Viv 1910 births 1986 deaths Australian rugby league players Australian rugby union players Eastern Suburbs RUFC players Sydney Roosters players New South Wales rugby league team players New South Wales rugby union team players Australia national rugby league team players Rugby league players from Temora, New South Wales People educated at Sydney Boys High School Footballers who switched code Rugby league halfbacks 20th-century Australian sportsmen