Myer Everett Rosenblum

Myer Rosenblum was a try-scoring, always on-the-ball back-row forward who enjoyed a brief international career in the wake of the Waratahs’ momentous tour to the Northern Hemisphere in 1927/28 and prior to the reformation of the Queensland Rugby Union in 1929. Born in South Africa, Rosenblum moved to Australia at an early age where he was educated at Sydney’s Fort Street High School where he showed as a prominent field athlete. After school he enrolled in an Arts / Law degree at the University of Sydney. In 1925 Rosenblum was invited to tour New Zealand with the SURFC first grade side and over the following three years played a prominent role in the club’s successive premiership victories.

Rosenblum’s first taste of representative rugby came with the Metropolitan XV on their 1926 tour of regional New South Wales. A year later he was chosen for the University as they defeated New Zealand Universities 2-1 in a three ‘Test’ series in Sydney. In 1928 Rosenblum won a start for The Rest against the returning Waratahs and from there earned his first state caps when chosen for the two pre-New Zealand tour trials against Victoria. When the squad for New Zealand was announced it included four flankers - Allan Munsie, Eric Bardsley, Bert Abbott and Rosenblum.

On tour he played in seven of the 10 matches, including the first ‘Test’ against New Zealand in Wellington. Although Rosenblum did not know it at the time that match was his official Test debut after an ARU decision in 1994 elevated the remaining 34 New South Wales matches played against international opposition in the 1920-28 period to Test status (the five 1927/28 Waratahs’ internationals were given Test status in 1986). He continued to show for University in 1929 however competition for state back-row positions increased dramatically that season with the return to the fold of Waratahs Jack Ford, Wylie Breckenridge and Jim Tancred.

After a year with St. George, Rosenblum moved to Western Suburbs in 1931 from where he was sensationally suspended for four weeks. According to the protests and appeals committee he had knowingly signed a false declaration to the effect that he lived in St. George’s boundaries when he was residentially qualified for Wests. That same year he became the New South Wales hammer throw champion and in 1933 broke the 20-year state record only to have his claims disallowed after the Amateur Athletic Association found that his 16lb hammer fell short of the required legal weight by 3oz.

In 1935 Rosenblum broke both the state and Australian records with a throw of 144 ft. 1 in. In 1969 his son Rupert debuted against South Africa and as such the Rosenblums became the fifth father/son combination to play Test rugby for Australia. Thirty two years later Rosenblum senior was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for “service to sport, particularly Rugby Union football, hammer throwing and the Maccabi movement, and to the community.” Rosenblum played four Tests in a one-year international career.

Highlights

1928

Rosenblum won his first Test cap at flanker, in a back-row that included Bob Loudon and Eric Bardsley, in the 1st Test, 12-15 loss to New Zealand at Athletic Park. He earned a further three caps, all at flanker, in the final two Tests of the All Blacks’ series and the one-off 8-9 loss to the Maori at Palmerston North.