Career
He primarily played in the centres and is considered one of the Australia"s finest football players of the 20th century Playing career As a youth, Farnsworth played for Petersham Rugby Club in inner-western Sydney but he switched to the new professional code in 1909 and played for Newtown from 1910. In the same year, the brothers made their international debut against the touring British Lions and were both selected for the "Australasian" Kangaroo tour of Britain in 1911–1912. They were the first set of brothers to play representative rugby league for Australia.
Viv Farnsworth made his Test debut in the first Test against England on 8 November 1911 and scored two tries.
He scored a total of 19 tries on tour (from 29 matches), one less than Herb Gilbert. The combination of Gilbert and Farnsworth was a feature of the successful tour.
After touring New Zealand with New South Wales in 1912, Farnsworth headed back to England and joined the Oldham club He was still in England at the out-break of the Great War and he subsequently enlisted with a Lancashire regiment.
After the war, Farnsworth re-joined Sydney club Newtown in 1919 but by 1920 he had moved to Wests where he played for two seasons.
Farnsworth participated in the Ashes-winning series of 1920, again proving a formidable combination with Herb Gilbert in the second Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Although the score was even at 8–all at half-time, tries to Australia"s three-quarter line of Dick Vest, Farnsworth, Gilbert and Harold Horder secured the Ashes. An injury in the third Test of the series eventually ended Farnsworth"s playing career.
Viv Farnsworth died in 1953.
Accolades.
