The Indomitable Frank Whitcombe: How a Genial Giant from Cardiff became a Rugby League Legend in Yorkshire and Australia

Frank Whitcombe, described as 'one of the greatest Welsh rugby league forwards of all time', played for Bradford Northern, Wales, and Great Britain. Adored by Bradford supporters and admired by the rugby league fraternity, such was his prowess that he was named in the Bradford Northern all-time greats team. The Indomitable Frank Whitcombe, lovingly tells the incredible story of a rugby league legend who was born and raised, as one of ten children in Grangetown, the heart of working-class Cardiff. Frank’s rugby career, after a brief and successful spell as a boxer, began in rugby union, when he played for Cardiff, London Welsh and the British Army, as a deceptively nimble and skilful 18 stone forward. His talents were quickly spotted by rugby league scouts, and Frank was persuaded to `go north’ for £100 and two new suits, although the cost of buying himself out of the Army left him just £10, and the suits! Frank was made for rugby league and he enjoyed a glittering career in professional rugby, winning the RL Challenge Cup three times, the RL Championship three times and was capped 14 times by Wales. He quickly created a big impression on the Great Britain selectors and he was chosen for the famous 1946 `Indomitables’ tour of Australia. Frank excelled as the tourists made history and won plaudits from antipodean fans and media alike as the team became the first, and to date only GB tourists, to win a rugby league Test Series, undefeated, `down under’. After 331 games, Frank bowed-out of rugby with Bradford Northern, four days after playing in a Challenge Cup final at Wembley, in his last match at Odsal; a game which attracted 19,000 fans. He then turned to life as an RL administrator and publican before his life was tragically cut short by pneumonia at the age of only 44. Frank was a true giant of rugby league and this is the first book to tell his remarkable story.

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Jim Mills Preface by Fran Cotton 1. A Family at Play 2. Army Games 3. A Broughton Ranger 4. Wearing the Three Feathers 5. Enter Harry Hornby 6. Odsal Here we Come' 7. War-time Glory and Gloom 8. Building the Dream 9. Rising to the Challenge 10. Winning the Peace 11. The Indomitables Depart 12. Across Australia 13. Let the Action Commence 14. The First Test 15. The Ashes Retained 16. Mud-baths in New Zealand 17. Back to Bradford 18. Hard Men 19. The Road to Wembley 20. The Lance Todd Hero 21. Bowing out 22. Goodbye to a Rugby Giant 23. The Dynasty Goes on… Appendix 1: The Rugby Career of Frank Whitcombe Appendix 2: The Official Rugby League Report of the 1946 Great Britain tour of Australia & New Zealand

About the Author :
Martin Whitcombe is Frank’s grandson, who also enjoyed a successful rugby (union) career with Leicester Tigers, and England B. Today he lives in West Yorkshire and is a keen follower of both rugby union & rugby league. Bill Bridge is a retired journalist who was Sports Editor of the Yorkshire Post for almost 30 years and wrote about rugby union for 25 years. He met the Whitcombe family whilst working for the Keighley News and remains a family friend.

Review :
`Frank Whitcombe was a rugby league cult hero in the days before there were cult heroes. An eighteen-stone battle tank of a prop forward, he graduated from Welsh rugby union to become a pillar of the great Bradford pack of the 1940s. In the process, he became the first forward to win the Lance Todd Trophy, a member of the 1946 `Indomitable’ Lions touring team to Australasia and had even driven the team bus to Wembley when Bradford won the 1947 Challenge Cup Final. This book is his story - it is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of rugby and the amazing men who made the game.’ Prof. Tony Collins, De Montfort University, author of 'The Oval World'; `We both played for Cardiff RFC and for Bradford Northern RLFC; we both played at Wembley in Challenge Cup finals; and we both played for Wales and Great Britain. I am so proud to have walked the same path as this wonderful man did.’ Jim Mills, from the Foreword; `Frank Whitcombe became a Welsh international and a Great Britain tourist. He is widely regarded as an all-time great of rugby league.’ Fran Cotton, Sale, England and British Lions, from the Preface