![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Charlie-Mathers-251x300.jpg\")
Just as Bramley\u2019s long history up to 1999 is not littered with trophies won, and Cup Finals contested the club has not often been in the forefront when representative honours are being distributed.\u00a0 No player has yet represented Great Britain in a Test Match while on the Bramley books and only one player has won a place in an England side since the club joined the Northern Union (Rugby League) in 1896-97.<\/p>\n
Curiously enough as a Rugby Union club, Bramley had its share of players honoured at the highest levels and had it not followed its northern brethren into the paid ranks of the Rugby League Bramley may well have been one of today\u2019s foremost Union clubs.\u00a0 The club\u2019s first celebrity and international was a forward as indeed have all the club\u2019s internationals been.\u00a0 This was Charley Mathers who had the distinction of being a member of the First International rugby touring team which went out to Australia and New Zealand in 1888.\u00a0 The tour lasted a mere eight months! No Tests or International matches were played, but Charley remains the only Bramley player to tour Australasia albeit as a Union player.\u00a0 Mathers was also the first player from the club to represent Yorkshire at Union making his debut on February 14th<\/sup>, 1885 as the tykes defeated Cheshire at Wakefield by a goal and three tries to two tries.\u00a0 Charley played six times for the county while with Bramley and a further seven in 1887-88 after joining the Leeds St. John\u2019s club.<\/p>\n Two Bramley players represented England under Rugby Union Laws.\u00a0 The first was Harry Bradshaw, a sterling forward, described by a contemporary critic as \u201ca thorough bulldog in determination, and a glutton for work\u201d.\u00a0 Bradshaw first played for England on March 5th<\/sup>, 1892 when a 5-0 victory was obtained over Scotland in Edinburgh.\u00a0 In all, he received seven caps between 1892 and 1894 scoring tries against Ireland (1893) and Wales (1894).\u00a0 He played in the solitary Rugby Union International to be played at Headingley when Scotland defeated England 8-0 on March 4th<\/sup>, 1893.\u00a0 In addition to his England caps, Bradshaw won 28 for Yorkshire under Union auspices ( 1891-1895 ) in the days when Yorkshire were undisputed champion county.<\/p>\n The other Bramley man to attain England status was policeman W.( Bobby ) Whiteley, another forward who won his cap in 1895-96, Bramley\u2019s last season as a Union club.\u00a0 Whitely was a member of the England side that overwhelmed Wales 25-0 at Blackheath on January 4th<\/sup>\u00a01896.<\/p>\n Just as Bramley\u2019s long history up to 1999 is not littered with trophies won, and Cup Finals contested the club has not often been in the forefront when representative honours are being distributed.\u00a0 No player has yet represented Great Britain in a Test Match while on the Bramley books and only one player has won […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bramleybuffs.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Lou-Marshall-234x300.png\")
Lou Marshall, who joined the Villagers from Leeds in February 1919 in exchange for winger Squire Stockwell ( later a Test player ), holds the unique distinction of winning an international RL cap while with Bramley.\u00a0 Marshall played loose-forward for England when they were defeated 13-2 by Wales at Wigan on February 7th<\/sup>, 1923.\u00a0 Among his team-mates that day were \u201c immortals \u201c such as Harold Wagstaff, Jonty Parkin and Billy Batten.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"