George Hamlet
Irish rugby union player
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George Thomas Hamlet (9 April 1881 – 20 October 1959) was an Irish rugby union international.
| Full name | George Thomas Hamlet | ||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 9 April 1881 Balbriggan, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 20 October 1959 (aged 78) Dún Laoghaire, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Born in Balbriggan, Hamlet was a forward who played for Old Wesley and earned 30 caps for Ireland from 1902 to 1911, which included a stint as captain.[1] His 30 caps remained an Ireland record until the late 1920s and the most by a player from Fingal for over 100 years.[2] He has the distinction of being the first to lead Ireland in a Test against England at Twickenham and was captain of Ireland's 1911 Five Nations campaign, where they lost only to Wales.[3][4]
Hamlet served as president of the Irish Rugby Football Union in 1926 and 1927. He also co-founded and was president of Balbriggan RFC around this period. His son, also named George, was the longest serving member of Sligo RFC.[5]