Prince Alexander Sergeevich "Obo" Obolensky (Russian: Александр Сергеевич Оболенский), (February 17 1916 — 29 March 1940) was a Russian prince and an international rugby union footballer who played for England.

Biography

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He was the son of Prince Serge Obolensky, an officer in the Czar's Imperial Horse Guards, and his wife Princess Luba. Their name derived from the Russian town of Obolensk. They fled Russia after the Russian Revolution of 1917, settling in Muswell Hill, London.

Obolensky was educated at Trent College in Derbyshire before going to Oxford University, where he gained two blues for playing rugby at wing three-quarter. He then played for Leicester Tigers between 1934 and 1939. His selection for England caused a stir because he was not a British citizen, but he gained British Citizenship in 1936. On 4 January 1936 he scored two tries on his England debut in a 13-0 victory over the All Blacks, the first time England had beaten New Zealand. He only won a further three caps for England later that year (against Wales on 18 January, Ireland on 8 February and Scotland on 21 March), and scored no further tries, but his name has entered into legend because of newsreel footage of the game.

On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Obolensky joined the Royal Air Force's 54 Squadron. On 29 March 1940 he was killed during training when his Hawker Hurricane crashed on Martlesham Heath, Suffolk. His aircraft, reference number L1946 dropped into a ravine at the end of the runway, breaking his neck. He was 24. He is buried in Ipswich's war cemetery.

Later he would be compared to another Royal Air Force fighter pilot and wing three-quarter back for Leicester and England, Rory Underwood whose family were from the far-east.

External links

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• Commonwealth War Graves database entry

1916 births | 1940 deaths | English rugby union footballers