Rupert Mudge
Encyclopedia
John "Rupert" Mudge is an Australian rugby league player. He played both rugby
codes in Sydney
, New South Wales
as well as well as playing rugby league
in England
.
Rupert John Mudge played for the Randwick rugby union
club in his junior years before being recruited by English rugby league club, Workington Town
, where he was joined by fellow Australia
n recruit Tony Paskins
.
Mudge was coached by former Great Britain
rugby league test captain, Gus Risman
. A back-rower, or Mudge was a try
scorer for Workington Town in the 1952 Challenge Cup
final victory over Featherstone Rovers
.
The Challenge Cup was played on 20 April 1952 at Wembley Stadium. [The original Wembley Stadium, known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007.]
Three Australian footballers were in the Workington Town side, including Rupert. They played the match in front of Anthony Eden, who was Foreign Minister in the Government and Rupert John Mudge scored the longest ever running try at Wembley, which was the turning point in the match. It was then added to when Aussie team mates Tony Paskins and Bevan Wilson together scored another try in the final minutes of the game and Workington Town team beat Featherstone and won. The Sydney Morning Herald - Apr 21, 1952http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kacUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5rADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7206,6511911
In 1955 both Mudge and Paskins returned to Australia where they joined the Eastern Suburbs
rugby league team, Paskins was appointed captain. Mudge who played 45 matches for the Eastern Suburbs club in the years (1955–58) is recognised as that clubs 448th player.
After his retirement from football Rupert spent many years as a panelist on the Channel Seven Rugby League panel discussion program "Controversy Corner" hosted by Rex (the Moose) Mossop.
In his professional life in Australia, besides football, he worked for P.Rowe Pty. Ltd.
He married his Australian sweetheart, Yvonne Rita Trenerry, who had followed him to England in Workington Town where they lived until 1955 when they returned to Australia to live at Coogee Beach. They had two children, Barbara and John.
In the late 1990s Rupert John Mudge was invited to England for a special celebration at Wembley Stadium, because he still held the record for the longest running try. Returning home happy he succumbed to the cancer which claimed his life in six short weeks.
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
codes in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
as well as well as playing rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Rupert John Mudge played for the Randwick 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...
club in his junior years before being recruited by English rugby league club, Workington Town
Workington Town
Workington Town is a professional rugby league club playing in Workington in West Cumbria. They play in the Championship 1. Their stadium is called Derwent Park, which they share with Workington Comets, a speedway team....
, where he was joined by fellow Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n recruit Tony Paskins
Tony Paskins
Tony Paskins was a rugby league footballer who played in the New South Wales Rugby League and English Rugby Football League competition as well as playing rugby union for the Randwick club in Sydney....
.
Mudge was coached by former Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
rugby league test captain, Gus Risman
Gus Risman
Augustus "Gus" John F. Risman was a Welsh rugby league footballer of the 1920s through to the 1950s.A devastating three-quarter who also played at , and /, Risman was born in Cardiff, brought up in Barry where he went to Barry County School, and played rugby union in South Wales as a schoolboy...
. A back-rower, or Mudge was a try
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...
scorer for Workington Town in the 1952 Challenge Cup
Challenge Cup
The Challenge Cup is a knockout cup competition for rugby league clubs organised by the Rugby Football League. Originally it was contested only by British teams but in recent years has been expanded to allow teams from France and Russia to take part....
final victory over Featherstone Rovers
Featherstone Rovers
Featherstone Rovers are a semi-professional rugby league club, based in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. They currently play in the Championship. The Rovers are one of the last vestiges of "small town teams" that were once common in rugby league during the early twentieth century...
.
The Challenge Cup was played on 20 April 1952 at Wembley Stadium. [The original Wembley Stadium, known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007.]
Three Australian footballers were in the Workington Town side, including Rupert. They played the match in front of Anthony Eden, who was Foreign Minister in the Government and Rupert John Mudge scored the longest ever running try at Wembley, which was the turning point in the match. It was then added to when Aussie team mates Tony Paskins and Bevan Wilson together scored another try in the final minutes of the game and Workington Town team beat Featherstone and won. The Sydney Morning Herald - Apr 21, 1952http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kacUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5rADAAAAIBAJ&pg=7206,6511911
In 1955 both Mudge and Paskins returned to Australia where they joined the Eastern Suburbs
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
rugby league team, Paskins was appointed captain. Mudge who played 45 matches for the Eastern Suburbs club in the years (1955–58) is recognised as that clubs 448th player.
After his retirement from football Rupert spent many years as a panelist on the Channel Seven Rugby League panel discussion program "Controversy Corner" hosted by Rex (the Moose) Mossop.
In his professional life in Australia, besides football, he worked for P.Rowe Pty. Ltd.
He married his Australian sweetheart, Yvonne Rita Trenerry, who had followed him to England in Workington Town where they lived until 1955 when they returned to Australia to live at Coogee Beach. They had two children, Barbara and John.
In the late 1990s Rupert John Mudge was invited to England for a special celebration at Wembley Stadium, because he still held the record for the longest running try. Returning home happy he succumbed to the cancer which claimed his life in six short weeks.