As the BBC readies itself for its coverage of the upcoming internationals - and Eddie Butler grooms the gravitas in his voice for an inspirational montage video - let us hark back to a bygone age.
The hero of the day is Prince Oblensky. From one of the oldest royal houses in Europe, the Rurik Dynasty, and therefore the founders of what eventually became Russia, Oblensky was the royal real deal. That was, however, his family's downfall when Lenin and co.'s arrival forced them to flee in 1917. They settled in North London.
'The Prince' went up to Oxford in 1934 to read PPE and left several years later with a fourth-class degree, two blues, and 4 England caps - a desirable outcome in anyone's eyes.
Whilst still at Oxford he played for Leicester Football Club, now the Tigers. One cannot imagine a Russian prince turning out for Leicester these days, I mean, would he get on with Richard Cockerill? But then again, Leicester have always been that little bit different, so maybe his unusual background would have endeared him to the characteristically unpleasant Welford Road faithful.
His England debut in 1936 against the All Blacks returned two tries which would have undoubtedly pleased the young man no end.
OblenskyTry1936 by Frederic
Oblensky played a further three times for England before joining the Auxiliary Air Force. In March 1940, a day after being selected to play against Wales, Oblensky's training plane crashed into a ravine at the end of the runway after landing in Suffolk, breaking his neck. He was 24.
No comments:
Post a Comment