Hudson, Gordon

Gordon Hudson was a wing forward with pace and footballing skills who, but for World War II intervening, would probably have gained a full England cap. He represented England in Services internationals during and after the war and played for the Barbarians. He scored 64 tries in 296 matches for his club and 11 in 34 matches for Gloucestershire. He captained Gloucester from 1947-50 and Gloucestershire from 1948-50. He appeared in two County Championship Finals (captain in 1948-49). After retirement as a player, he was chairman of Gloucester RFC for ten years.

Arthur Gordon Hudson was born in Gloucester on 29 November 1915. He was the son of England international wing Arthur Hudson who served as Gloucester RFC secretary for 42 years and founded the family retail business Hudsons Sports in Northgate Street, Gloucester. He played for Old Cryptians before making his debut for Gloucester in 1935.

Gordon played for three seasons at three-quarter, but his appearances were limited until he moved to wing forward and gained a regular first team place in 1938-39. He quickly established himself there, playing 31 games, and by January 1939 was described by The Times as the “pick of the Gloucester pack.”

In the first season of wartime rugby Gordon Hudson played in 20 of Gloucester’s 21 games, scoring 9 tries, but, after rejection by the Royal Navy in 1939, he joined the RAF as a PT Instructor. He was stationed at Blackpool, the RAF’s largest training centre during WWII, and was able to play only four more games for Gloucester, although he was available to play for the West of England against the New Zealand Expeditionary Forces at Bristol in December 1940 and appeared in the last game played by the club before fixtures ended in April 1941, scoring a try against RAF Innsworth.

Corporal A G Hudson played much of his best rugby during World War II. In 1942-43 he played in RAF victories over the Army, the Royal Navy and the Combined New Zealand Forces and scored the winning try in a 16-15 victory over South Wales at Swansea. This led to selection for England against Scotland in a Services international at Inverleith. which England won 29-9.  He played in an unchanged team against a very powerful Wales side at Kingsholm losing 34-7 and his season ended with the return match against Scotland at Leicester which was again won 24-19.

The following season Hudson played in an RAF XV that completed the double over the Army and beat a strong Dominions team 8-0 at Richmond. When England ran Wales close at Swansea in November, losing 9-11, he was one of the England pack who nearly pulled off a remarkable victory. The return match against the Army at Richmond in January was billed by the Times as “the most important match of the season in London to date” and the correspondent mourned the fact that Twickenham was not available. The following month Gordon Hudson played in the Services international against Scotland at Murrayfield in front of a crowd limited to 20,000. He scored four of England’s five tries in a 23-13 victory, including a hat trick in the first half. It was a remarkable feat, if not quite equalling his father Arthur’s four tries in a full international against France in Paris in 1906. He played in the return match, a 24-19 victory for England at Leicester, but missed the Wales match at Kingsholm due to a broken thumb.

He was hampered by further injury in autumn 1944 but returned to play for the RAF in newly-liberated Paris in a 26-6 victory over the French Services on 12 November. Two weeks later he played for England in an 11-28 defeat by Wales at Swansea and on Boxing Day for the Barbarians at Leicester, scoring a try. Selected to play for Great Britain in a Services international against the Dominions at Leicester on 31 March and, scoring the opening try, he was “one of the fast and clever forwards there to help the backs in the open” in a 36-13 win. A week later he played in the final Services international as England went down again 9-24 to Wales at Kingsholm.

Club rugby returned to Kingsholm in September 1945. In Gloucester’s second fixture of the new season, a 9-5 win over a combined Richmond and Blackheath XV, The Times noted that “the Gloucester pack, led by G Hudson, the England Services international, played a big part in their success.” When he was selected to play for England in an uncapped international against the New Zealand Army Touring XV (the “Kiwis”) in November, the Times commented on the selection of “G. Hudson (who had) distinguished himself in the war-time Services internationals.” He played again against the Kiwis for the RAF in December but was dropped by England for an uncapped international against Scotland in January, his place being taken by his Gloucester team-mate John Thornton. Back with his club, the Citizen reported that “Hudson played one of his best games, and displayed splendid ball control in one long dribble of 40 yards, finishing with a fast sprint to gain touch for a well-deserved try” in a fine 29-7 win, at home to Pontypool.

Demobbed from the RAF and now in his thirties, Gordon Hudson continued to play regularly for Gloucester in 1946-47. He made his county debut for Gloucestershire against Devon at Exeter and went on to play in every round of the Championship, including the drawn final against Lancashire at Blundellsands and the disappointing replay defeat back home at Kingsholm.

He was elected club captain for the following season and the club had a notable year under his leadership, equalling the record number of wins in a season. In a fine 20-6 home victory over Coventry the Citizen reported that “Hudson’s try near the end came as the result of a magnificent 30 yards dash in which he outstripped all his opponents.” He again played in all the County Championship fixtures, ending in the shock home semi-final defeat to Eastern Counties at Bristol, and represented Western Counties against the touring Australians at Kingsholm.

Gordon Hudson captained his county in 1948-49, when they again reached the final, only to lose narrowly to Lancashire at Blundellsands. Outplayed by Middlesex in the semi-final at Twickenham in which they forced a draw against the run of play, they had tackled their opponents out of the game in the replay at Kingsholm. The club had another good season under his captaincy.

After the captain’s success of previous years, the 1949-50 season was a sad disappointment. Gloucester recorded seventeen losses, equalling the highest in their history, and at the end of March their record was Played 34 Won 12 Lost 17 Drawn 5. A run of nine games undefeated in April, including wins against London Welsh and Headingley and a draw against Llanelli, mitigated the situation a little. Hudson was leading try scorer with just 8 tries. In the County Championship, Gloucestershire fell at the group stage.

No longer burdened by the captaincy, he continued to play as first choice for club and county for two more seasons and represented Western Counties against the Springboks at Bristol in 1951-52.  Although the Western Counties were beaten there was praise for the pack for fine performances. Gordon Hudson went over for Western Counties’ only try to make the Counties one of the few sides to have a first half lead against the South Africans on the tour.

Gordon Hudson played on for two more seasons for Gloucester United or the 1st XV as required, before retiring in 1953-54, having played over 300 games for his club. Nearly 250 of those appearances and all his 34 caps for Gloucestershire were achieved after his 30th birthday, a testament to his fitness and durability.

On retirement, he served first as team secretary and then in Gloucester’s Centenary Year 1972-73 he became Club Chairman, a post he held for ten years, before becoming a Vice President.  During his tenure the club climbed to the top of the English game, winning the John Player Cup in 1978 and sharing it in 1982, a season in which only 3 matches were lost and 41 won.

At the time of his death at Gloucester in December 1993, he was one of three Vice Presidents and continued to maintain an active interest in the club until his final illness.

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