Paddy Reid

Patrick "Paddy" Joseph Reid (17 March 1924 – 8 January 2016) was an Irish dual-code rugby centre.[1] Reid played club rugby under the rugby union code for Garryowen, and played international rugby for Ireland, and was part of the Grand Slam winning team of 1948. The following season, he switched codes, joining professional rugby league club Huddersfield, before ending his league career with Halifax (Heritage № 601).

Paddy Reid

Birth name	Patrick Joseph Reid
Date of birth	17 March 1924
Place of birth	Limerick, Ireland
Date of death	8 January 2016 (aged 91)
Place of death	Limerick, Ireland
Rugby league career
Position(s) Centre Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) Huddersfield () – Halifax ()
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) Garryowen FC () – Munster () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1947–1948 Ireland 4 (3)

Rugby union

Reid came to note as a rugby player when he represented Garryowen in the 1940s; playing his first game against University College, Galway.[2] In 1947 he won his first international cap, when he was selected to face Australia on their 1947–48 tour. The Irish team started the match with eight new caps, and Reid was partnered with Kevin Joseph Quinn at centre, the only player with any past international experience in the three-quarter positions. Australia were far too strong for Ireland, beating them 16–3.

Despite the loss, the Irish selectors kept faith with Reid and he returned into the Ireland team for the opening game of the 1948 Five Nations Championship. After the defeat by Australia there was little to suggest the Irish would have a successful season, though the campaign started well with a victory over France in Paris. It was a good game for Reid, as he also scored his first and only international points, running the ball under the posts after a tactical line-out.[2] The following game saw Karl Mullen appointed Ireland team captain, and the tactical changes he brought to the team turned the squad into a far superior unit. Although Ireland did not possess the talent of other teams, as a unit they began to play a more defensive and tight game, taking their chances wisely. The new tactical play gave Ireland victory over England in a close game at Twickenham. The last two games of the Championship were both played at home, the first a victory over Scotland at Lansdowne Road, for which Reid was omitted.[2] The Scottish victory gave Ireland the Championship title, but the team had not won a Triple Crown title since 1899. A victory over Wales would give Ireland the Triple Crown. Reid was reinstated back into the team for the Wales encounter, this time played at Ravenhill. The Irish pressured Wales in the first half, and a late try by prop John "Jack" Daly gave Ireland a famous Triple Crown and Grand Slam win;[3] a feat the national team would not repeat until 2009.[4]

The Irish team were carried from the ground by their supporters, and after a celebration dinner the team members went their own way. Reid, Daly and Des O'Brien went to a dance after the game, and spent the night in police custody after some "high jinks" with an Orange flute band.[5]

Rugby league

At the end of the 1947/48 season, Reid made an economic decision to switch codes to professional rugby league.[6] He originally joined English team Huddersfield, along with Triple Crown winning team mate John "Jack" Daly, but after a few months, Reid switched clubs to Halifax.[7] In 1949 he was part of the Halifax team that reached the Challenge Cup final, losing at Wembley to Bradford.[8][9] Although Reid returned to Ireland just three years after leaving, any switch to league ended in lifetime bans from the union game. Despite this Reid continued to coach in Ireland behind the scenes.[6]

Honoured by Rugby League Ireland

On 25 March 2004 six footballers were inducted into Rugby League Ireland's inaugural Hall of Fame at the Rugby League Heritage Centre in Huddersfield, they were; John "Jack" Daly (Huddersfield/Featherstone Rovers), Robert "Bob" Kelly (Keighley/Wakefield Trinity/Batley), Seamus McCallion (Halifax/Leeds/Bramley), Thomas "Tom" McKinney, (Salford/Warrington/St. Helens), Terry O'Connor (Salford/Wigan Warriors/Widnes Vikings), Patrick "Paddy" Reid (Huddersfield/Halifax).[10] He died on 8 January 2016 in Limerick.[11]

Notes

1. Paddy Reid player profile Scrum.com
2. "Reeling in the Glory Years". The Independent. 21 March 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
3. It Was 60 Years Ago Today Archived 24 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine IRFU website 13 March 2008
4. O'Driscoll, O'Gara, Oh, Ireland have only gone and done it guardian.co.uk, 21 March 2009
5. Why we still feel compelled to worship these glorious rugby amateurs of 1948 Independent, Eoghan Corry; 15 March 2008
6. Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll's date with destiny against Wales Telegraph.co.uk, Keith Wood; 20 March 2009
7. Bruff RFC
8. Rugby League: Reid: Magic of the Cup is still alive Evening Courier, 13 August 2009
9. "Wembley hero Reid has a Challenge Cup tale to tell". TotalRL. 11 August 2009. Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
10. "Coach gets a double". Evening Chronicle. 25 March 2004. Retrieved 1 January 2009.
11. "Death occurs of rugby legend Paddy Reid". Limerick Leader. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.

References

• Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883–1983. London: Willow Books. ISBN 0-00-218060-X.
• Griffiths, John (1987). The Phoenix Book of International Rugby Records. London: Phoenix House. ISBN 0-460-07003-7.