Career
Turnbull has been described as a dogged and unimaginative centre, but with the ability to finish off the work of others Turnbull captained Wales on one occasion in 1927. Bernard Turnbull was first selected to play for Wales against Ireland in the 1925 Five Nations Championship under the captaincy of Idris Jones.
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. Turnbull played in the next game of the championship against Scotland, but for the third time found himself on a losing Welsh team
Turnbull was now on four 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 were a 14-man team for the majority of the game after an early injury.
And 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
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."
International matches played
Wales
England 1927, 1928
France 1928
Ireland 1925
Scotland 1927, 1930.
