With the Six Nations two rounds in, and after England’s dramatic late win against France at Twickenham, Ireland lead the way after to two strong performances.
Merseyside’s involvement in the competition is limited to Sale Sharks winger Tom Roebuck.
Though born in Inverness in Scotland, Roebuck was educated at Christleton High School in Chester before moving to Wirral Grammar School.
He was selected in England head coach Steve Borthwick’s 36-man training squad for this year’s tournament, but has yet to make it onto the field.
The county has provided several notable rugby internationals over the years, including World Cup winners Matt Dawson and Ben Kay.
But delving deeper into history, Merseyside produced two internationals who would pay the ultimate sacrifice during the First World War.
Percy Dale ‘Toggie’ Kendall was born in Prescot in 1878.
He played for Birkenhead Park as a scrum half, before gaining his first England cap following impressive performances in the first-class game. His third and final cap saw him captain the side against Scotland.
Prior to his international career, Kendall had joined the 8th (Volunteer) Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment, known as the Liverpool Scottish.
When war broke out in August 1914, he presented himself for service and was sent to join the 1/10th Battalion, arriving in France in November 1914.
Along with his unit, he was posted near to the village of Kemmel, just outside Ypres.
Ypres became the scene of much vicious fighting, witnessing five separate battles for the city.
Though it became increasingly difficult to hold onto the salient that bulged into the German lines, and would have made more sense militarily to withdraw, politically Britain could not pull its troops out of Belgian territory.
Having officially entered the war to defend Belgium, based as it was on a treaty signed between the two countries in 1839, any land that remained under Entente control needed to be held onto.
Having entered the frontline trenches, Kendall died on 25th January 1915, in what was described as a ‘terrible piece of bad fortune’ by fellow Liverpool Scottish officer Noel Chavasse.
Chavasse’s father was the Bishop of Liverpool, while Noel would be awarded the Victoria Cross twice for heroic actions during the First World War.
He would also lose his life when trying to rescue wounded men under heavy enemy fire.
According to Chavasse, Kendall was in a relatively safe section of the trench when a bullet struck a tree branch above the trench and glanced down onto him, fatally wounding the popular and much loved Lieutenant.
His death was published in The Times on 2nd February 1915.
Although 10 years Kendall’s junior, the life of Fred Turner was remarkably similar.
He too was born on Merseyside and played for Oxford University and Liverpool before being selected to represent Scotland in 1911.
Turner won 15 caps over a three year period before the war interrupted his nascent rugby career. Having enlisted in the same battalion as Kendall, he was soon off to the front.
While conversing with a sergeant about the barbed wire that he had put in front of the trench that morning, a German sniper fired, narrowly missing both men.
Tragically for Turner, he decided to inspect the wire once more, but the sniper had anticipated his movements and shot him through the forehead, killing him instantly.
Fifteen days later, Kendall would also be killed, and both men were laid to rest alongside each other in Kemmel churchyard.
With fighting carrying on for much of the war around Ypres and Kemmel, both graves were lost as the incessant shellfire churned up the ground during subsequent battles.
Sadly, neither Kendall or Turner’s remains have ever been found.
On their headstones is the inscription ‘known to be buried in this cemetery’, while both carry the same personal dedication, ‘their glory shall not be blotted out’.
