Denys Dobson
Encyclopedia
Denys Douglas Dobson was an English
international rugby union
forward who played club rugby for Oxford University
and Newton Abbot. Dobson played international rugby for England
and the British Isles
team on its 1904 tour of Australia
. Dobson was the first player from a British touring rugby team to be dismissed from the playing field, when he was sent off in a match against the Northern District in Newcastle, New South Wales
.
from 1899 through to 1901. While still playing for Oxford University, Dobson was selected to represent England at international level. Dobson played in two full Home Nations Championships
, 1902 and 1903. His first match was a narrow loss to Wales
, a game which saw all 8 English points coming from the forward positions, one try
came from Dobson himself, scoring on his debut. Despite winning both games against Scotland
and Ireland
, England came second in the Championship to a Wales Triple Crown
winning team. Before the end of the 1902/03 season, Dobson played for his third notable team when he was selected to play for invitational touring side the Barbarians
.
In 1903 Dobson played his second and final Championship campaign when he was selected for all three games of the 1903 tournament
. English selection was very fickle during this Championship, with Dobson being only one of five members of the team to play throughout the season. It was a terrible campaign for England, finishing bottom of the table after losing all three matches, made all the worse by the low scoring achieved by the team. Dobson scored two tries in the 1903 Campaign, one against Wales and one against Scotland, his six points were more than the rest of the team could muster between them over the three encounters. Dobson did not play for England again, but his three tries in six games remains a notable tally for a forward player.
In 1904, Dobson was selected for the British Isles
team to tour Australia and New Zealand
. Led by Scottish international and fellow Barbarian David Bedell-Sivright
, Dobson played in all four Test matches, three wins over Australia
and a loss to New Zealand. Despite a successful tour, Dobson is notable as being the first representative of a British Isles team to be sent off in an overseas tour. As well as the Test matches, the British Isles team played regional and invitational teams. The sixth invitational encounter was the Northern Districts, played at Newcastle in New South Wales
on 6 July, just four days after the first Australia Test. During the second-half of the game, Harry Dolan, the referee, awarded the Northern District team a free-kick at a scrum. Dobson supposedly resented the decision and swore at Dolan. The referee then ordered Dobson from the field. The British captain ordered his entire team off the field. Twenty minutes later Bedell-Sivright and the team emerged from the pavilion and resumed the game, without Dobson.
Bedell-Sivright later described Dobson as "one of the quietest and most gentlemanly of members of the team"
The New South Wales Rugby Union had an inquiry into the matter.5 Northern District players supported the referee's statement that the language was used, three British players; Swannell
, Bush
and Dobson himself, claimed it was not. A controversial ruling one month later exonerated Dobson,ruling that..."the indecent expression reported by the referee was not used by Mr Dobson" downgrading his infringement from using "indecent language" to using "an improper expression".
With his rugby career behind him, Dobson, a civil servant, was posted as a Colonial Officer in Nyasaland
. In 1916, while serving in Ngama he was fatally gored by a charging rhinoceros
. When news of his death reached England, a former Oxford lecturer remarked that Dobson "...always had a weak hand off
."
British Isles
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
forward who played club rugby for Oxford University
Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...
and Newton Abbot. Dobson played international rugby for England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
and the British Isles
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
team on its 1904 tour of Australia
1904 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand
The 1904 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was the sixth tour by a British Isles team and the fourth to New Zealand and Australia...
. Dobson was the first player from a British touring rugby team to be dismissed from the playing field, when he was sent off in a match against the Northern District in Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
.
Rugby career
Dobson first came to note as a rugby player when he was selected to represent Oxford University. He won three sporting Blues, all in rugby union, playing in The Varsity MatchThe Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
from 1899 through to 1901. While still playing for Oxford University, Dobson was selected to represent England at international level. Dobson played in two full Home Nations Championships
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
, 1902 and 1903. His first match was a narrow loss to Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
, a game which saw all 8 English points coming from the forward positions, one try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
came from Dobson himself, scoring on his debut. Despite winning both games against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, England came second in the Championship to a Wales Triple Crown
Triple Crown (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...
winning team. Before the end of the 1902/03 season, Dobson played for his third notable team when he was selected to play for invitational touring side the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
.
In 1903 Dobson played his second and final Championship campaign when he was selected for all three games of the 1903 tournament
1903 Home Nations Championship
The 1903 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-first series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 10 January and 21 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...
. English selection was very fickle during this Championship, with Dobson being only one of five members of the team to play throughout the season. It was a terrible campaign for England, finishing bottom of the table after losing all three matches, made all the worse by the low scoring achieved by the team. Dobson scored two tries in the 1903 Campaign, one against Wales and one against Scotland, his six points were more than the rest of the team could muster between them over the three encounters. Dobson did not play for England again, but his three tries in six games remains a notable tally for a forward player.
In 1904, Dobson was selected for the British Isles
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
team to tour Australia and New Zealand
1904 British Lions tour to Australia and New Zealand
The 1904 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was the sixth tour by a British Isles team and the fourth to New Zealand and Australia...
. Led by Scottish international and fellow Barbarian David Bedell-Sivright
David Bedell-Sivright
David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities. Bedell-Sivright was one of the true characters of the sport of rugby and was chosen to lead a British Isles team on a tour of Australia...
, Dobson played in all four Test matches, three wins over Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and a loss to New Zealand. Despite a successful tour, Dobson is notable as being the first representative of a British Isles team to be sent off in an overseas tour. As well as the Test matches, the British Isles team played regional and invitational teams. The sixth invitational encounter was the Northern Districts, played at Newcastle in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
on 6 July, just four days after the first Australia Test. During the second-half of the game, Harry Dolan, the referee, awarded the Northern District team a free-kick at a scrum. Dobson supposedly resented the decision and swore at Dolan. The referee then ordered Dobson from the field. The British captain ordered his entire team off the field. Twenty minutes later Bedell-Sivright and the team emerged from the pavilion and resumed the game, without Dobson.
Bedell-Sivright later described Dobson as "one of the quietest and most gentlemanly of members of the team"
The New South Wales Rugby Union had an inquiry into the matter.5 Northern District players supported the referee's statement that the language was used, three British players; Swannell
Blair Swannell
Major Blair Inskip Swannell was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Northampton...
, Bush
Percy Bush
Percy Frank Bush was a Welsh rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales on eight occasions. Playing at fly-half, Bush is regarded as one of the most talented Welsh players before the first World War.-Rugby career:...
and Dobson himself, claimed it was not. A controversial ruling one month later exonerated Dobson,ruling that..."the indecent expression reported by the referee was not used by Mr Dobson" downgrading his infringement from using "indecent language" to using "an improper expression".
With his rugby career behind him, Dobson, a civil servant, was posted as a Colonial Officer in Nyasaland
Nyasaland
Nyasaland or the Nyasaland Protectorate, was a British protectorate located in Africa, which was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Since 1964, it has been known as Malawi....
. In 1916, while serving in Ngama he was fatally gored by a charging rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
. When news of his death reached England, a former Oxford lecturer remarked that Dobson "...always had a weak hand off
Stiff-arm fend
The stiff-arm fend is a tactic employed by the ball-carrier in many forms of contact football....
."
International caps
England- IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
1902, 1903 - ScotlandScotland national rugby union teamThe Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
1902, 1903 - WalesWales national rugby union teamThe Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
1902, 1903
British Isles
- AustraliaAustralia national rugby union teamThe Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
1904 (1st Test), 1904 (2nd Test), 1904 (3rd Test) - New Zealand 1904