Sam Doble

Sam Doble

Wolverhampton school teacher and Rugby Union full-back Sam Doble may have only won three caps for his country, but he was one of the game's most popular characters and his tragically early death in 1977 at the age of 33 was mourned throughout English rugby. Sam first came to public attention when he scored an astonishing 581 points for Moseley in the 1971/72 domestic season, an achievement that earned him an England call up. His debut was one to remember, an 18-9 victory over South Africa in Johannesburg, against a side that were considered to be the unofficial World Champions. England were on the back foot early on when they lost prop Brian 'Stack' Stevens to injury and had to contest seven man scrums for twenty minutes. However, the visiting side's makeshift front row did not lose one strike against the head and England gradually took control of the game when Stevens returned. With the forwards keeping the Springboks at bay, Doble scored four penalties and converted Alan Morley's second half try from the touchline to help England to a most unlikely victory. Despite his heroics in South Africa, Sam was destined to play in just two more matches, a 10-0 loss to New Zealand early in 1973 and a 25-9 loss to Wales in the following Five Nations campaign. England were outscored by five tries to nil, but Sam did manage to sign off his international account with two penalties to augment a drop goal by Dick Cowman. Then, just four years later, at around 4.30pm when referees around the country were blowing their whistles, Sam died of a rare form of lymphatic cancer. His life was honoured with a special match between the Rugby Writers International XV and Moseley later in the year, and he is still fondly remembered by all those who knew him. Thirty years on, the victorious England side of Ellis Park '72 met up at Twickenham to watch Clive Woodward's England beat South Africa 53-3. Only one player was sadly missing.

Moseley v International Rugby Writers XVSunday 27th November 1977

Moseley 19 points International Rugby Writers XV 43 points Moseley

15 C A Meanwell; 14 A Thomas, 13 M K Swain, 12 B J Corless, 11 P Beddoes; 10 M J Cooper, 9 C J Gifford; 1 T F Corless, 2 G N Cox, 3 W H Greaves, 4 R Field, 5 B Ayre, 6 J C White, 8 N Jeavons, 7 D G Warren

Scorers Tries: P Beddoes, B J Corless, C A Meanwell Conversons: M Cooper (2) Penalties: C A Meanwell

International Rugby Writers XV

15 J P R Williams (Bridgend/Wales);14 P J Squires (Harrogate/England), 13 S P Fenwick (Bridgend/Wales), 12 T G R Davies (Cardiff/Wales),11 A R Irvine (Heriot's FP/Scotland);10 P Bennett (Llanelli/Wales), 9 G O Edwards (Cardiff/Wales);1 F E Cotton (Sale/England),2 P J Wheeler (Leicester/England),3 G Price (Pontypool/Wales),4 W B Beaumont (Fylde/England),5 A J Martin (Aberavon/Wales),6 T J Cobner (Pontypool/Wales),8 D L Quinnell (Llanelli/Wales),7 A Neary (Broughton Park/England) Replacements
Jan Webster (Moseley/England),
A Ripley (Rosslyn Park/England),
A G Faulkner (Pontypool/Wales),
R W Windsor (Pontypool/Wales),
A Old (Sheffield/England)

Scorers Tries: T G R Davies, T J Cobner, A R Irvine, A Neary, P J Squires (2), P Bennett (2) Conversions: P Bennett (4) Penalties: P Bennett (1) Touch Judges: G Bannister, D Jones

Referee: N R Samson.

External links

* [http://uk.geocities.com/moseleyfan/historic.html Links about Moseley]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Doble — may refer to: People named Doble Abner Doble, proprietor of the Doble Steam Motor Corporation Georgia Doble, wife of Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 6th Baronet Rev. Gilbert Hunter Doble, hagiographer of Cornish Saints Sam Doble, rugby union full back… …   Wikipedia

  • Sam Young — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Sam Young Datos personales Samuel David Young Sam Nacimiento Washington, D.C …   Wikipedia Español

  • Sam Harris — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Sam Harris Nombre Sam Harris Nacimiento 1967 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Campeones del Abierto de Estados Unidos (doble masculino) — Anexo:Campeones del Abierto de Estados Unidos (doble masculino) Saltar a navegación, búsqueda El torneo de dobles masculinos del Abierto de los Estados Unidos se disputa desde 1881. Año Vencedores Finalistas Marcador 1881 …   Wikipedia Español

  • Moseley Rugby Football Club — Moseley Full name Moseley Rugby Football Club Nickname(s) Mose Billesley Boys Founded 1873 Location …   Wikipedia

  • Liste des sélectionnés en équipe d'Angleterre de rugby à XV — Voici la liste des joueurs sélectionnés en équipe d Angleterre de rugby à XV. Le nombre total de sélectionnés de 1871 au 28 août 2011 est égal à 1 331. Le premier Anglais John Bentley a été désigné dans l ordre alphabétique du premier… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of sportspeople who died during their careers — This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. This is a list of sports people who have died either during their respective careers …   Wikipedia

  • Moseley — For other uses, see Moseley (disambiguation). Coordinates: 52°26′48″N 1°53′17″W / 52.44671°N 1.88814°W / 52.44671; 1.88814 …   Wikipedia

  • Estados Unidos en los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín 2008 — Anexo:Estados Unidos en los Juegos Olímpicos de Pekín 2008 Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Estados Unidos en los Juegos Olímpicos …   Wikipedia Español

  • Serie Mundial de béisbol de 2010 — Serie Mundial de 2010 Equipo (Victorias) Entrenador Temporada regular San Francisco Giants (4) Bruce Bochy 92 70, .568 Texas Rangers (1) …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”