John Rosewell | Rabbitohs Coach #1
Full Name: John Solomon Hargraves Rosewell
Born: 1/7/1880 at Sydney, NSW
Died: 20/11/1931 at Maroubra (Sydney), NSW [aged 51]
Club Playing Career: South Sydney rugby union 1903-07 (premiers in 1905); South Sydney Rabbitohs 1908-10 (premiers in 1908-09); Annandale 1911-12
Representative Playing Career: Metropolis Seconds rugby union 1904; City Seconds rugby union 1906; City Firsts rugby union 1907; NSW rugby union 1907 (six games); Australia rugby union 1907 (two Tests); Metropolis 1908-09, NSW 1908 (two games); Australia 1908 (two Tests)
Club Coaching Career: South Sydney Rabbitohs 1913 (first grade) and 1915-24 (lower grades)
Awards and Accolades: South Sydney rugby union premiership winner 1905; Rabbitohs premiership winner 1908-09; Kangaroo Tour 1908-09
Rosewell, the Cleveland rugby union junior, started playing first grade with Souths in the fifteen-man code in 1903, and in his five seasons at the club he played in 50 first grade games, scoring five tries. He also represented the City sides, his state and country before defecting to the new code in late 1907. He spent three seasons at the Rabbitohs, playing in 29 matches, scoring four tries and six goals. He won premierships at the club in 1908-09, and was a member of the Rabbitohs 1910 side that drew four-all in the final against Newtown and then lost the premiership to the Bluebags on countback. When he made his Test debut for the Australian Kangaroos against New Zealand in 1908, he became one of five inaugural Australian dual code internationals – with ‘Dally’ Messenger, Denis Lutge, Doug McLean and Micky Dore.
He was selected to tour Great Britain with the 1908 Australian Kangaroos but ended up playing in only one tour game. For the 1911 and 1912 seasons he saw out his playing career with the Annandale club. In 1913 he became the first official coach of the Rabbitohs first grade side, also married Sara Matthews (1890-1937) in the same year at Sydney. He later worked at the RAS Showground and died in 1931, aged 51.
John’s nephew, Fred Rosewell, played lower grades with the Rabbitohs during the 1940s. His brother and John’s father, Tom Rosewell, was associated with Souths as an official in the early years, and later became one of the founders of the Canterbury-Bankstown club, as well as vice-president of the NSWRL.
