Russ Kelly
Rugby player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Russell Lindsay Frederick Kelly (25 November 1909 — 25 December 1943) was an Australian rugby union international.
| Full name | Russell Lindsay Frederick Kelly | ||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 25 November 1909 Murwillumbah, NSW, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Died | 25 December 1943 (aged 34) Concord West, NSW, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Born in Murwillumbah, Kelly was educated at Canterbury Boys' High School, where he learnt his rugby.[1]
Kelly, a back-row forward, debuted in Sydney first-grade rugby in 1931 with Northern Suburbs, but spent the majority of his career at Drummoyne. Between 1933 and 1939, Kelly was a regular New South Wales representative, with 28 appearances. He was capped seven times for the Wallabies from 1936 to 1938, debuting on a tour of New Zealand.[2]
Enlisting in 1940, Kelly served in World War II with an anti-tank regiment and attained the rank of sergeant. While trapped with his unit in fighting near Tobruk, he was struck by machine gun fire, which shattered most of his ribs.[3] He was held by Italian forces as a prisoner of war in Benghazi and was later moved to a Naples hospital. In July, 1943, Kelly was repatriated in a prisoner exchange and died five months later while undergoing an operation for his injuries in Sydney.[4][5]