Dick Tooth

Last updated

Dick Tooth
1943Tooth NBHS Athletic Team winnersKerrCupLintottCup(detail).jpg
Schoolboy Tooth, member of the Newcastle Boys High squad, winners of the 1943 CHS Kerr Cup and Lintott Cup
Birth nameRichard Murray Tooth
Date of birth(1929-09-21)21 September 1929
Place of birth Bombala, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death5 August 2020(2020-08-05) (aged 90)
Place of death Sydney
School Newcastle Boys' High School
University University of Sydney [1] MB BS (1955)
Occupation(s)medical practitioner
Rugby union career
Position(s) Versatile back
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1949–56 Sydney Uni ()
1957 Randwick ()
1958 Rosslyn Park (UK) ()
– Middlesex ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1950–57 Australia 10 (21)

Richard Murray Tooth (21 September 1929 – 5 August 2020 [2] ) was an Australian rugby union footballer of the 1950s. He represented the Wallabies in ten Test matches and nineteen total appearances and was Australian captain on two occasions. He resided at St Andrew's College while studying at Sydney University. [3] His club rugby was played with the Sydney University Football Club and later with Randwick in the Shute Shield. He practised as an orthopaedic surgeon [4] and was a sports medicine pioneer. [5] [6] [7]

Contents

Early life and education

Tooth was born in Bombala and his family relocated to Newcastle when he was seven years of age. [8] He attended Newcastle Boys' High School and represented the school in rugby league, swimming (member of the 1943 Farlow Cup winning team) and athletics (member of the 1943 winning teams, CHS Juvenile Shield, Kerr and Lintott Cups). [9] An all-round schoolboy athlete, he swam in the summer with the Cooks Hill Surf Life Saving Club. [10]

While studying science at the University of Sydney and domiciled at St Andrew's College, Tooth played inter-collegiate rugby and grade rugby for the University. In 1949 he switched to medicine and at the same time cemented a spot in Sydney's University's 2nd grade side. From there he was selected in an Australian Universities XV who met a New Zealand Universities side for a three match series in 1949. [8]

Representative career

In 1950 he was a regular first grader at University, was coached by former Wallaby Joe Kraefft and played against a visiting British Isles side. In 1951 he was selected for New South Wales and made his debut for Australia with three Test appearances against the All Blacks at five-eighth marking the experienced All Black fly-half Laurie Haig. [11]

He focussed on his studies for the next couple of years but in 1954 was back in the national side in a series of games against the visiting Fijians playing in one Test at fullback and another at centre. In 1955 he was selected in the Wallaby touring party to New Zealand captained by his University colleague John Solomon. He appeared in twelve of the thirteen tour games at either fullback or fly-half and had a sound tour. [8]

In 1957 he captained the Wallabies on two occasions when the All Blacks toured Australia. It was a surprise when at the end of that season and as the current Australian captain, he was not selected in the 27-man Wallaby side to tour Britain, Ireland and France. Howell reports that his omission defied explanation given his positional versatility but Tooth took it in his stride and travelled himself to the United Kingdom at that time to continue his medical studies. [8] While there he captained the Rosslyn Park club side in England, played for Middlesex and while a resident at a Belfast Hospital was selected in the invitational side the North of Ireland Wolfhounds.

Orthopaedic Surgeon

Tooth helped pioneer arthroscopic surgery in Australia. [7] In 1971, he performed the first full knee reconstruction in Australia; his patient was Johnny Warren, captain of the Socceroos who went on to captain them to the 1974 World Cup. [5] [6]

Family life

In 1956 he married Marianne, the elder daughter of the Consul-General for Sweden, Ivar Stenstrom. [12] [13] Their daughter, [14] Liane Tooth, is a double Olympic gold medallist.

His nephew Tim Walsh was a first grade rugby player with Leeds Carnegie and made a number of representative appearances for Australia at Rugby Sevens. [15] [16]

Preceded by Australian national rugby union captain
1957		Succeeded by

Related Research Articles

John Edward Thornett, MBE was an Australian rugby union player, who played 37 Tests for Australia between 1955 and 1967 and made an additional 77 representative match appearances. He captained Australia in 16 Test matches and on an additional 47 tour matches on the eight international rugby tours he made with Wallaby squads.

Kenneth William Catchpole was an Australian rugby union footballer. A state and national representative half-back, he played twenty-seven matches for Australia, thirteen as captain. Catchpole rose through the ranks at the Randwick club as a young man, before making his debut for New South Wales at only 19 years of age, then captaining Australia at age 21. He is considered one of Australia's greatest rugby scrumhalves.

John Brass is an Australian former rugby union and rugby league footballer – a dual-code international. He made twelve international representative rugby union appearances with the Wallabies from 1966 to 1968 and six representative rugby league appearances for the Kangaroos in 1970 and 1975, as national captain on one occasion.

Trevor Allan was an Australian dual-code rugby international who captained Australia in rugby union before switching to rugby league with English club Leigh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patrick McCue</span> Australia dual-code rugby international footballer & Olympian

Patrick Aloysius McCue was an Australian representative rugby union player and pioneer rugby league footballer. He was a dual-code rugby international and an Olympic gold medallist.

Alan Stewart Cameron was an Australian rugby union footballer of the 1950s and 60s. A State and national representative lock-forward he made twenty Test appearances and over fifty additional tour match appearances for the Wallabies, captaining the national side in four Tests matches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnnie Wallace</span> Rugby player

Arthur Cooper "Johnnie" Wallace was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative three-quarter who captained the Waratahs on 25 occasions in the 1920s as well as representing Scotland early in his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syd Malcolm</span> Rugby player

Syd Malcolm (1902–1987) was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative half-back who captained the Wallabies' on seventeen occasions between 1928 and 1933.

Colin "Col" Windon, was a rugby union player and soldier who captained Australia – the Wallabies – in two Test matches in 1951. By age 18 Windon was playing at flanker for his club Randwick in Sydney's Shute Shield. After serving with the Second Australian Imperial Force in the Pacific Theatre during the Second World War, Windon resumed his rugby career in 1946. He was first selected for Australia for their tour of New Zealand that year. Despite the Wallabies losing both their Tests on tour, Windon impressed with his play.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Solomon (rugby union)</span> Australian rugby union player (1929–2020)

Herbert John Solomon was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative versatile back who captained the Wallabies in eight Tests in the 1950s and led the touring squads to New Zealand and South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbert Moran</span> Australia international rugby union player

Herbert Michael "Paddy" Moran was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative flanker who captained the Wallabies on their first overseas tour in 1908–09, and a medical practitioner and anti-cancer activist.

Peter David Sullivan is an Australian former national representative rugby union player. He represented for New South Wales and Australia, captaining the national side on eleven occasions from 1972 to 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Row</span> Rugby player

Frank Leonard Row was a pioneer Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative centre who was his country's first Test captain in 1899, leading the national side on three occasions.

Edward Joseph Fahey was an Australian rugby union player and World War I artilleryman. He was a state and national representative lock forward who made two international rugby tours and who captained the Wallabies on the 1913 Australia rugby union tour of New Zealand.

John Noel Brian Hipwell was an Australian national representative rugby union player who played and captained the Wallabies. He played the majority of his career at scrum half and his representative career spanned 14 seasons from 1968 to 1981.

The 1912 Australia rugby union tour of Canada and the United States was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the Australia national rugby union team against various invitational teams from Canada and the U.S, and also against the US national team.

Robert Alfred Lewars Davidson (1926–1992) was an Australian rugby union footballer of the 1940s and 50s. A State and national representative prop-forward he made thirteen Test appearances and forty-nine additional tour match appearances for the Wallabies, captaining the national side in six Tests matches from 1957-58.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Hooper (rugby union)</span> Australian rugby union player

Michael Kent Hooper is an Australian former professional rugby union player who is the former captain of the Australia national team, the Wallabies. His primary position is openside flanker.

Charles "Chilla" Roy Wilson was an Australian national representative rugby union flanker and national captain. He was tour manager on a number of Wallaby international tours of the 1980s including the 1984 Wallaby Grand Slam tour of the British Isles.

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

Peter George Johnson was an Australian international rugby union player. He enjoyed a long state and international career throughout the 1960s and made 92 national appearances for his country. He captained the Australian side in five Test matches.

References

  1. ↑ "St Andrew's College Wallabies". Planet Rugby. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  2. ↑ Masters, Roy (6 August 2020). "The most humble man I ever met': Tributes flow for late Dick Tooth". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Welcome to St Andrew's College (Within the University of Sydney)".
  4. ↑ Tucker, Jim (16 April 2004). "'Doc' has medicine to remedy Reds pack". The Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Generic Tabloid). p. 8.
  5. 1 2 Mossop, Brian (27 April 2002). "A game cursed Warren's heartfelt lament". Gold Coast Bulletin. p. 126. Warren, who in 1971 underwent the first full knee reconstruction surgery in Australia – performed, somewhat ironically, by a former Wallaby captain, Dick Tooth ... .
  6. 1 2 Masters, Roy (23 August 1997). "World At Their Feet". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 54. Warren, the first Australian to have a knee re-construction when Dr Dick Tooth operated on him the day of his 28th birthday
  7. 1 2 Bell, Glennys (18 January 1999). "Quick Fix". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 11. Dr Brett Courtenay, a visiting orthopaedic surgeon at St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst, has seen the difference arthroscopic surgery has made to people's lives, since he was among the first orthopaedic surgeons to perform the operation as an assistant in the early 1980s to Dr Dick Tooth, who helped pioneer the operation in Australia.
    As an international rugby union player who captained the Wallabies, Tooth had more than an academic interest in knee damage. Torn ligaments had put an end to the careers of many sports champions.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Howell pp153-4
  9. ↑ Armitage, Audrey (1983). Newcastle High School : the first 75 years. Hamilton, N.S.W.: 75th Anniversary Committee, Newcastle. p. 192. ISBN   0-9592118-0-2.
  10. ↑ Connell, Tim (7 June 2010). "Reeling in ghosts of lifesavers". The Newcastle Herald . Newcastle, New South Wales. p. 62. Rugby league and union greats Clive Churchill and Dick Tooth both pulled on the Cooks Hill Speedos
  11. ↑ "Richard Murray Tooth".
  12. ↑ Index of Births, Deaths and Marriages. Government of New South Wales. Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. 7429/1956: TOOTH, Richard Murray and STENSTROM, Marianne Hedvig M
  13. ↑ "SOCIAL JOTTINGS". The Australian Women's Weekly . National Library of Australia. 25 April 1956. p. 28. Retrieved 23 July 2011. CONSUL-GENERAL FOR SWEDEN, Mr. Ivar Stenstrom, escorts his elder daughter, Marianne, into St. Philip's, Church Hill, for her wedding with Dr. Richard Tooth. The bride's attendants are (from left) Mrs. Ian Curlewis, Maud Stenstrom, and Mrs. Max Elliott.
  14. ↑ Tony Megahey; Peter Kogoy (11 December 1988). "Sport". Sun Herald . Sydney. p. 99.
  15. ↑ http://www.leedscarnegie.co.uk/index_850D96C9F43B43BE932B7874FE616C1C.htm%5B%5D
  16. ↑ Mottram, Ben (27 June 2004). "Rugby Union – Walsh aims to be Bees master". Sunday Mercury . Birmingham, England. p. 67.

Sources

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.