Ian Walsh

:"For the Welsh international football player see Ian Walsh (footballer)"Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Ian Walsh
fullname = Ian Walsh
nickname = Abdul


caption =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1933|3|20|df=yes
placeofbirth = Bogan Gate, New South Wales
countryofbirth = Australia
height =
weight =
position = Hooker
club1 = Condobolin
year1start = 1950–51
year1end =
appearances1 =
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 =
club2 = Parkes
year2start = 1952–53
year2end =
appearances2 =
tries2 =
goals2 =
fieldgoals2 =
points2 =
club3 = Forbes
year3start = 1954–55
year3end =
appearances3 =
tries3 =
goals3 =
fieldgoals3 =
points3 =
club4 = Eugowra
year4start = 1956–61
year4end =
appearances4 =
tries4 =
goals4 =
fieldgoals4 =
points4 =
club5 = St George
year5start = 1962–1967
year5end =
appearances5 = 96
tries5 =
goals5 =
fieldgoals5 =
points5 = 96 12
teamA = Western Division
yearAstart = 1951
yearAend =
appearancesA =
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA =
teamB = New South Wales
yearBstart = 1959–1966
yearBend =
appearancesB = 26
triesB =
goalsB =
fieldgoalsB =
pointsB = 26 6
teamC = Australian Kangaroos
yearCstart = 1959–1966
yearCend =
appearancesC = 25
triesC =
goalsC =
fieldgoalsC =
pointsC = 25 0
updated =
source =
new = yes

Ian Walsh is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a Hooker with the St. George Dragons during their 11 year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He was a representative in the Australian national team and captained his country in 10 Test matches from 1963 to 1966.

Born on 20 March 1933 in Bogan Gate near Parkes in Western New South Wales Walsh played in country sides at Parkes, Forbes and Eugowra. It was as a country representative that he was first selected to play for Australia in 1959.

t George career

He joined St George in 1962 and played ninety-six games till 1967, playing in five winning Grand Finals.

After the retirement of Norm Provan in 1965, Walsh took on the task of captain-coach. The Dragons star players were growing old, the young and brutal South Sydney Rabbitohs were looming as title contenders and the inevitable end to the run had to be approaching.Writer, p. 413] Nevertheless Walsh was able to lead the Dragons against the Balmain Tigers to their 11th straight victory and the end of their run.

Representative career

His international representative debut was against New Zealand in 1959 and later that year was selected for the 1959-60 Kangaroo tour. He played in all six Tests and in 17 minor tour matches.

His first Test as captain was on the 1963 Tour of Great Britain which saw the Kangaroos become the first Australian touring team in 50 years to win the Ashes. He was skipper for the "Swinton Massacre" 2nd test of that tour when the Kangaroos registered the biggest win in Anglo-Australian test history, 50-12.

In 1966 he achieved a rare distinction becoming the only player to captain-coach his country to an Ashes series victory and his club to a premiership. He played a total of twenty-five tests for Australia from 1959 to 1966.Writer, p. 415]

Post playing

After retiring as a player Walsh coached the Parramatta Eels to the semi finals in 1971 before becoming a successful columnist with the Daily Telegraph for over 20 years and a Country and State selector. He worked in sales in the printing industry in Sydney.

In February 2008, Walsh was named in the list of Australia's "100 Greatest Players" (1908-2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. [cite news|author=Peter Cassidy |publisher="Macquarie National News"|title=Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players |url=http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23] [cite web|publisher="NRL & ARL"|title=Centenary of Rugby League - The Players |url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23]

References

* Whiticker, Alan (2004) "Captaining the Kangaroos", New Holland, Sydney
* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) "The ABC of Rugby League" Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
* Writer, Larry (1995) "Never Before, Never Again", Pan MacMillan, Sydney

Footnotes