Robert Thompson was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 forward who was a member of the British Isles XV

British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

 that toured South Africa in 1891

1891 British Lions tour to South Africa

The 1891 British Isles tour to South Africa was the first British Isles rugby union tour of South Africa and only the second overseas tour conducted by a joint British team. Between 9 July and 7 September, the team played 20 games, including three tests against the South Africa national rugby union...

. Thompson fought for the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 during World War, as a captain in the Royal Irish Regiment

Personal history

Thompson was born at Muckamore Abbey, Muckamore in County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

, to Samuel Thompson, who was originally from Cheltenham. Thompson was educated King William's College

King William's College

King William's College is a leading world International Baccalaureate HMC independent school for ages 3 to 18, situated near Castletown on the Isle of Man...

 on the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

 and later at Cheltenham College

Cheltenham College

Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...

, he was later accepted into Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pembroke College, Cambridge

Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...

 in 1888. Thompson gained his Bachelor of Art in 1891. He married Margaretta Louise Trench on 24 January 1911. During the First World War he became a captain in the 11th Royal Irish Regiment and was Mentioned in Despatches. Thompson became a Justice of the Peace in County Antrim, and died in 1952.

Rugby career

Thompson came to note as a rugby player when he represented Cambridge University

Cambridge University R.U.F.C.

The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest...

, gaining a sporting 'Blue' in The Varsity Match

The Varsity Match

The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...

 of 1890. After completing his university education he was invited to join the British Isles team on its tour of South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. Thompson was a constant member of the British Isles team, missing just a single game of the tour. He played in 16 of the 17 regional teams scoring seven tries

Try

A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...

 in these encounters, his best result being two tries in the victory over Eastern Province

Mighty Elephants

The Eastern Province Kings are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup tournaments and are governed by the Eastern Province Rugby Union...

 on 28 July. Thompson played in all three Tests against the South African team

South Africa national rugby union team

The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...

, all of which the British team won.