Bernard Turnbull

Last updated

Bernard Turnbull
Birth nameBernard Ruel Turnbull
Date of birth(1904-10-16)16 October 1904
Place of birth Cardiff, Wales
Date of death7 April 1984(1984-04-07) (aged 79)
Place of death Lymington, England
School Downside School
Notable relative(s) Maurice Turnbull, brother. Philip Turnbull, father. Bertrand Turnbull, cousin.
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
St. Peters RFC ()
1924-25 Cambridge University R.U.F.C. ()
1924-1933 Cardiff RFC ()
1925-1926 Barbarian F.C. ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1925–1930 Wales [1] 6 (3)

Bernard Turnbull (16 October 1904 – 7 April 1984) was a Welsh international centre who played club rugby for Cardiff and was capped six times for Wales. Turnbull has been described as a dogged and unimaginative centre, but with the ability to finish off the work of others. [2] Turnbull captained Wales on one occasion in 1927.

Contents

Rugby career

Turnbull played rugby as a boy for St. Peters RFC, one of the smaller teams based in Cardiff, along with his brothers, Maurice and Kevin. Maurice would later play for Cardiff and like his brother would also represent Wales, though he is better known for representing England at cricket.

Bernard Turnbull was first selected to play for Wales against Ireland in the 1925 Five Nations Championship under the captaincy of Idris Jones. Wales were humiliated in the match, losing 19-3, in the biggest victory Ireland had achieved against Wales. Turnbull scored the only points for Wales with a try, his only international points. Turnbull missed the 1926 Championship, but was re-selected for the 1927 tournament and in the opening match against England was given the captaincy. In a tight game played at Twickenham, Wales lost narrowly 11-9, and even scored more tries than their opponents; a good feat considering they played three quarters of the match with 14 men after Dai Jones was injured in the first half. Turnbull played in the next game of the championship against Scotland, but for the third time found himself on a losing Welsh team.

Turnbull's next game was against England in the 1928 Five Nations Championship, in a game Wales should have won but for a slip by the normally reliable Rowe Harding. Turnbull was now on a match losing streak for Wales but his next game was against France, who had failed to beat Wales in the first 13 Championship encounters. Like the 1927 match against England, France was a 14-man team for the majority of the game after an early injury; therefore when Wales lost the game the result was an even bigger embarrassment. Turnbull was not selected for the 1929 Welsh season but was back in 1930 for his final game against Scotland at Murrayfield. Wales lost 12-9 and Turnbull ended his international career without experiencing a Welsh victory.

In 1931, Turnbull faced the touring South African team as part of the Cardiff team. Turnbull turned out with his brother Maurice and fellow Welsh internationals Ronnie Boon, Archie Skym and captain Harry Bowcott. Although Cardiff lost, sports journalist 'Old Stager' said: "B. R. Turnbull was the best centre on the field, ubiquitous in defence and valiant in attack." [3]

International matches played

Wales [4]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

Henry Thomas Phillips was a Welsh international rugby union lock who played club rugby for Cross Keys and Newport and international rugby for Wales. Phillips was a collier by profession before becoming a police officer, and was the nephew of former international Wales player Harry Day.

Thomas Cooper Graham was an England-born Welsh rugby union international forward who played club rugby for Newport. He won 12 caps for Wales and was seen as intelligent, mobile forward player. Graham is most notable within rugby for his captaincy of Newport, which saw the team through one of their most successful periods, including the 1891–92 "invincible" season.

Ossie Male was a Welsh international full back who played club rugby for Cardiff and was capped 11 times for Wales and captained his country on three occasions. In 1924, Male was at the centre of an embarrassing decision made by the Welsh Rugby Union that prevented him facing the French rugby team. Male was one of six siblings and was the youngest boy.

William Davies, known more commonly as "Sgili", was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for Swansea. He won four caps for Wales and was part of the Welsh side that faced the touring South Africans in 1931.

Ronald Winston Boon was an international rugby union wing for Wales who played club rugby for Cardiff. Boon possessed a tremendous self-confidence in his own ability and this was reflected in his nickname Cocky. Boon was a quick runner, representing Wales at the 220-yard sprint, and was an excellent drop kicker. He is best known in Welsh rugby as the man who scored all seven points in 1933 against England to end the 'Twickenham bogey', and along with Jack Morley is seen as one of the greatest Welsh wings since the country's first Golden Era of rugby.

Jim Lang was a Welsh international rugby union number 8 who played club rugby for Llanelli and Swansea. Whilst with Llanelli he faced two touring Southern Hemisphere teams, the South Africans in 1931 and New Zealand in 1935.

Eddie Watkins was a Welsh dual-code international rugby player who played club rugby under the union code for Cardiff, and later professional league rugby with Wigan. As a union player Watkins was part of the 1939 team which won the Home Nations Championship, and was more famously a member of the Welsh side that beat the touring All Blacks in 1935. In 1939 he joined Wigan and played in three internationals during the war years for Wales league side against England.

John Henry Gore was a Welsh international rugby flanker who played rugby union for Blaina and rugby league for Salford. His son, Billy Gore, played international rugby for Wales national rugby union team the same as his father.

Glyn Prosser was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played club rugby for Neath, and was capped four times for Wales. An aggressive wing forward, Prosser is best known for being a member of the Wales team that beat the touring New Zealanders in 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rex Willis</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer

William Rex Willis was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Cardiff and invitational rugby for the Barbarians. He won 21 caps for Wales and was selected to play in the British Lions on the 1950 tour of Australia and New Zealand.

Rees Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union back row player who was utilised usually as a flanker or Number 8. Thomas played club rugby for Pontypool and county rugby for Monmouthshire. He won eight caps for Wales and played between 1909 and 1913, representing Wales during two Triple Crown winning seasons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Hill (rugby union)</span> Rugby player

Frank Hill was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff. Hill won 15 caps for Wales over a period of ten years and was given the team captaincy on four occasions.

Howell Lewis was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club and was capped for Wales on four occasions. Lewis was also part of the Swansea team that beat the touring South Africa team in 1912.

Walter Vickery was an international rugby union back row who represented Wales and played club rugby for Aberavon. His father, George Vickery, also played for Aberavon and was also an international player, but he was capped for England.

Charles Henry Pugh was a Welsh international rugby union player who played rugby for three notable Welsh clubs, Aberavon, Maesteg and Neath. He was capped seven times for Wales and was part of the Welsh team that faced the touring 1924 New Zealand team.

Richard Garrett was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Penarth and international rugby for Wales. Garrett was a collier by trade and in 1908 was killed when he was crushed by a coal truck.

Sydney Herbert Nicholls was an English-born dual code rugby forward who played club rugby under the union code for Cardiff, and in his later years league rugby with Hull F.C. Nicholls won four caps for Wales, and was part of the Welsh team that beat the first touring Southern Hemisphere team the New Zealand Natives. He was the elder brother of Wales rugby legend Gwyn Nicholls, and his son Jack Nicholls was a Welsh international footballer.

Alexander Frederick Bland was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff. Bland won nine caps for Wales over a period of four years.

Clifford 'Cliff' William Jones OBE was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for many teams but is most associated with Cardiff and Cambridge University. Jones was known as a quick and elusive runner, but was also noted for his numerous injuries which limited his international and club appearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Alf Brown</span> Welsh rugby union player

John "Jack" Alf Brown, colloquially known as John Alf or "Big John", was a Welsh international rugby union forward player who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Brown was capped seven times for Wales and although he missed facing the first touring South African team in 1906 with Wales, he faced the tourist with both Cardiff and Glamorgan.

References

  1. ↑ Welsh Rugby Union player profiles [ permanent dead link ]
  2. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 252.
  3. ↑ Billot (1974), pg 155.
  4. ↑ Smith (1980), pg 472.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.