Godfrey Darbishire

engineer civil engineer rugby union player

September 26, 1853 (age 36)

Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester

Darbishire began playing rugby while a schoolboy, playing for the Rugby school team He continued his enjoyment of sport while at Oxford University, playing rugby and joining the boat club, and when he settled in the family"s North Wales home he turned out for Bangor cricket club a few miles down the coast. By 1876, the cricket team had branched out and formed a rugby team, of which Darbishire was one of the first players. With a lack of opposition, the team also played association football. In 1881, Richard Mullock had arranged the first international fixture for a Welsh team, to be played at Blackheath in London, against England. The main problem was the fact that Mullock didn"t have a team In an attempt to gain the support of as many regions of Wales as possible, Mullock began selecting "gentlemen" players based on their geographic location. Darbishire fitted this profile, with a schooling at Rugby and Oxford and a membership of one of the few northern clubs. Even the fact that he had not played a rugby game in over two years was not seen as a drawback. The game against England was a sporting disaster, with the Welsh team meeting without any trials. Few of the team had played together before and several of the players were placed out of position. The English team scored 13 tries, winning the game by eight goals to nil. The Welsh team were humiliated and only four of the fifteen players returned to face Ireland in the country"s second international. lieutenant was Darbishire"s one and only appearance for Wales. International matches played Wales (rugby union) England 1881.

Godfrey Darbishire

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engineer civil engineer rugby union player

Background

Godfrey Darbishire was born in Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester in 1853. After spending 18 months at Oxford, his father removed him from the university to rejoin the family.

Education

He was educated at Rugby School before graduating to Balliol College, Oxford.

Career

Darbishire began playing rugby while a schoolboy, playing for the Rugby school team He continued his enjoyment of sport while at Oxford University, playing rugby and joining the boat club, and when he settled in the family"s North Wales home he turned out for Bangor cricket club a few miles down the coast. By 1876, the cricket team had branched out and formed a rugby team, of which Darbishire was one of the first players.

With a lack of opposition, the team also played association football.

In 1881, Richard Mullock had arranged the first international fixture for a Welsh team, to be played at Blackheath in London, against England. The main problem was the fact that Mullock didn"t have a team

In an attempt to gain the support of as many regions of Wales as possible, Mullock began selecting "gentlemen" players based on their geographic location. Darbishire fitted this profile, with a schooling at Rugby and Oxford and a membership of one of the few northern clubs.

Even the fact that he had not played a rugby game in over two years was not seen as a drawback.

The game against England was a sporting disaster, with the Welsh team meeting without any trials. Few of the team had played together before and several of the players were placed out of position. The English team scored 13 tries, winning the game by eight goals to nil.

The Welsh team were humiliated and only four of the fifteen players returned to face Ireland in the country"s second international.

lieutenant was Darbishire"s one and only appearance for Wales. International matches played

Wales (rugby union)

England 1881.

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