Henry Toft
| Full name | Herbert Toft | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 2 October 1909 | ||
| Place of birth | Salford | ||
| Date of death | 7 July 1987 | ||
| Place of death | (registered in) Chichester (aged 77 years 278 days) | ||
| School | Manchester Grammar School | ||
| University | Manchester University[1] | ||
| Occupation(s) | [Headmaster and Captain of England's Rugby Team] | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Hooker | ||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1936-1939 |  England |
10 | Pts:0; Tries:0; Conv:0; Pens:0; Drop:0 |
Herbert Toft, (1909–1987) known as H B Toft, Henry Toft or Bert Toft, was a rugby union international who represented England from 1936 to 1939.[2] He also captained his country.[2]
Early life
Hebert Toft was born on 2 October 1909 in Salford.[2] He attended Manchester Grammar School and then Manchester University,[1] returning to his school to become a teacher and later headmaster.[1] Born Herbert Toft, he was known by a number of variations on this. Although named Herbert, by the time he was at university he was known as Henry. One explanation of why he then became known as H B Toft was that when it became apparent that of the founders of the Manchester XXI Club he was the only one with one forename, they rechristened him Henry "Bloody" Toft.[3] However, he had also been known as Bert due to a foreshortening of his birth name. This was combined with his nickname Henry such that he became known as Henry Bert Toft, and thence H B Toft. So ubiquitous was the use of Henry Bert Toft as his name that some commentators on the sport cite Henry Bert as his forenames.[1]
Rugby union career
Toft made his international debut on 21 March 1936 at Twickenham in the England vs Scotland match.[2] Of the 10 matches he played for his national side he was on the winning side on 7 occasions.[2] He played his final match for England on 18 March 1939 at Murrayfield in the Scotland vs England match.[2] His rugby career was interrupted by World War II when he left to serve in the Royal Air Force.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Steve Lewis, One Among Equals, pages 141, 2008 (Vertical Editions:London) Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "One" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Herbert Toft Profile on scrum.com
- ↑ University of Manchester XXI Club - Club History: The First 25 Years - written by Allister Cranna (Cross Country 1944)
