Lieutenant colonel Joseph Brunton (21 August 1888 – 18 September 1971) was an English international rugby union player, referee and administrator.
| Full name | Joseph Brunton | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 21 August 1888 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Tynemouth, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 18 September 1971 (aged 83) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Hammersmith, England | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Born in Tynemouth, Brunton was a solidly-built forward with North Durham and earned his first representative honours as a member of the Northumberland county side in 1912. He featured in the second row for England in the three of their four matches of the 1914 Five Nations Championship, to help secure the grand slam.[1]
Brunton was an officer with the Northumberland Fusiliers during World War I, receiving a Military Cross (and bar), as well as the Distinguished Service Order, for gallantry shown on the Western Front. In 1919, Brunton featured on the "Mother Country" (British Army) team which played a series of Inter-Service matches.[2]
Retiring as a player in 1920, Brunton subsequently became a referee and oversaw a 1924 match between the All Blacks and Wales at Swansea. He served a term as president of the Rugby Football Union in 1953–54.[3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 25 September 1971.
- ^ "Joe Brunton – a great rugby stalwart of the north". World Rugby Museum. 7 August 2023.
- ^ "New Rugby Union President". The Scotsman. 4 July 1953.
External links
edit- Joe Brunton at ESPNscrum