Martin Whitcombe

Martin Alun Whitcombe (born 14 September 1961 in Keighley, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English former rugby union footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 2000s.

He learnt to play rugby at Keighley RUFC and had a long playing career for Leicester Tigers, Bedford RFC, Sale FC, and Leeds Tykes, at prop i.e. 1 or 3.

At a representative level he played for Yorkshire, The Northern Division, and England at 19 Group, Under 23 and England 'B'.

Martin Whitcombe was one of four children growing up in the family-run business, the Airedale Heifer Inn, a public house in Sandbeds, Keighley, which was run by his rugby-playing father Frank Whitcombe Jr.

He attended Crossflatts Primary School, Ryshworth Middle School, and Bingley Grammar School, where he was capped, four times by England Schools 19 Group in the 1980 Five Nations Tournament.

After leaving school Whitcombe joined the Royal Air Force as a physical training instructor.

This three-part course included PTI training at RAF Cosford, the Basic Parachute Course at No. 1 Parachute Training School and Adventurous training at Llanrwst in North Wales.

After passing out with the rank of corporal, Whitcombe was posted to RAF North Luffenham in Edith Weston and living in the market town of Uppingham.

This enabled Martin to accept an earlier invitation to join Leicester Tigers.

During his seven years of service, Whitcombe was part of the Royal Air Force team which went on to enjoy a golden era in the 1980s winning a hat-trick of Inter Service titles: in 1982 (for only the fourth time since 1945), then in 1985, and 1986.

While in the RAF Whitcombe won the first of his fourteen caps as an Aircraftman while still under training at RAF Cosford, against the Royal Navy on 28 February 1981 in the Inter Services Tournament at Twickenham & his second cap a week later against the Army.

In July 1981 Whitcombe visited the United States with the RAF rugby team, staying at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Texas the Royal Air Force team won the Austin Rugby Tournament defeating Houston in the final.

Here Whitcombe played in the front five with two outstanding Royal Air Force forwards Peter Larter & John Orwin.

He represented the Combined Services rugby team twelve times, including three games against the very competitive Joinville Battalion of the French Armed Forces.On 29 December 1981 he played against Tony Shaw's Australian Wallabies at Aldershot Military Stadium.

Whitcombe joined Leicester Tigers in July 1981.

Tigers' coach Chalkie White who was a unique, outspoken coach who demanded high levels of fitness, discipline and progressive rugby, selected him for his first game for the club against Northampton Saints away, on 16 October, he made his home début the following week against Swansea on 24 October at Welford Road and scored a try.

Martin represented Leicester Tigers against the Australian Wallabies at Welford Road on 25 November 1981; the Australian team was Captained by Mark Loane.

Whitcombe was capped by Leicestershire in the County Championship his first game was against East Midlands in November 1981.

Whitcombe played twice against the Barbarians during his Leicester career and toured Zimbabwe with Tigers in 1982, playing in both games against Zimbabwe in Harare and Bulawayo.

Whitcombe played against Canada at the US Portsmouth RFC on 14 October on their 1983 tour on England.

(The 1984 title was a triple tie.)

In 1984 he played against The Gulf on the Middle East tour to Bahrain & Dubai and in 1985 to France.

During Tigers game against Chambérien Olympique Rugby in an era without the front row replacement system Whitcombe played most of the game with a broken fibula.

On 30 November 1985, Buck Shelford's New Zealand Combined Services team at Devonport Services R.F.C. and he played against Australia at Aldershot Military Stadium on 27 October 1984 against Andrew Slack's Wallabie team.

Whitcombe played for England U23 against England Students at Walsall RUFC on 10 April 1985 after this game he was picked to represent England 'B' for their game against Italy 'B' at Twickenham on 17 April 1985.

Whitcombe left Leicester in 1986 to join Bedford, captained by former Tigers player Andy Key, and played against Kenya in Nairobi as part of the clubs Centenary Season celebrations.

He won his first cap for Yorkshire, against Ulster at Ravenhill in 1986 and scoring a try on his debut.

At the start of the 1987 season he joined Sale, where he captained the club from 1992 to 1993 and was included on the Sale FC Club Honours Board in 1994.

Later that season he played in the 22–11 victory over Middlesex in the 1986–87 Rugby Union County Championship final at Twickenham on 11 April 1987.

He went on to make twenty one appearances for Yorkshire in the County Championship.

After leaving the RAF in 1987, Whitcombe accepted an opportunity to play in South Africa for Durban High School Old Boys, (DHSOB), a club he had represented in 1984.

DHSOB were led by former Natal hooker Don Spiers as chairman the team had some first class players including, the Blakeway brothers, Andrew & Lyle, Peter Edmonds and Greg Hamilton.

As a result of Whitcombe's move to South Africa Ian McIntosh the then Natal, (now ), coach picked him to make his debut for the province along with his fellow prop Gerard Harding of Durban Harlequins and Empangeni number 8 Byron Kankowski to play for the provincial side against the touring Pacific Coast Grizzlys at Kings Park Stadium, Durban on 16 July 1988.

The 1988 Currie Cup was the 50th season in the Currie Cup competition since it started in 1889.

On 23 July Whitcombe made his Currie Cup debut in Round Nine at home against Transvaal (now the Golden Lions) in the winning Natal team 22–18.

In the Transvaal side that day was fellow Yorkshire team mate Peter Winterbottom.

Along with England and Harlequin's No 8 Chris Butcher (Natal) these three players represent only a handful of English players to play in the Currie Cup in the Apartheid era in South Africa.

He played in the winning Courage league 1 team in 1993–1994.

In 1996 he joined Phil Davies at Leeds Tykes for the last three years of his rugby career playing in two promotion winning teams and played against Tonga at Headingley on 26 November 1997.

In an article for the rugby paper in 2012 former Sale lock Dave Baldwin named Whitcombe as loose head prop in his Sale "dream team".