Roger Cornforth

Roger Cornforth was an all-round sportsman in the tradition of fellow Australian, Reg “Snowy” Baker. On the athletics track he won a New South Wales junior high hurdles title in 1937 and two years later was the Australian national 200m breaststroke title in the swimming pool. Cornforth joined the Australian army in 1940 but was captured by the Japanese and spent a number of years in a prison camp.

After the war he concentrated on rugby and his performances with North Sydney earned a call to play for Australian against the New Zealand All-Blacks in 1947 where he scored a try. He was not chosen for the 1947-48 Australian tour to Europe and instead focussed on water polo. His performances brought him an invitation to join the Australian team for the 1948 Olympics and he played in the 12-3 defeat against Yugoslavia. A hard-tackling second row forward on the rugby field, he played once more for Australia in 1950. After his retirement from playing, Cornforth was a school teacher, rugby coach and administrator in his native Mosman, New South Wales. He was also an excellent surfer. His elder brother, John Cornforth, won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1975.