William Davies (rugby)

William Davies
Full name William Davies
Date of birth 27 December 1890 (1890-12-27) (age 121)
Place of birth Aberavon, Wales
Date of death 18 September 1967(1967-09-18) (aged 76)
Place of death Exeter, England
School Aberavon Council School
Port Talbot County School
University Exeter University
Occupation(s) Schoolteacher
Rugby league career
Position Wing
Professional clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1913-1921 Leeds R.L.
National teams
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1914-1921
1914
1921
Wales
Great Britain
Other Mationalities
2
2
1
(0)
(6)
(0)
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Centre
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
 ?-1912
1912-1913
?
?
1912
Aberavon RFC
Swansea RFC
Plymouth Albion
Devon
Glamorgan County RFC
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1912 Wales 2 (3)

William "Avon" Davies (27 December 1890 - 18 September 1967)[1] was a Welsh dual-code international rugby union and rugby league footballer of the 1910s and '20s who at representative level played for Wales under the union code and later represented Great Britain and Wales as a professional league player. At club level he played for both Aberavon and Swansea as an amateur and for Leeds as a league player. He played mainly at centre in union, but favoured the Wing, i.e. number 2 or 5, as a league player.

Contents

Rugby union career

Davies began playing rugby union as a schoolboy playing for both Aberavon Council School and Port Talbot County School.[2] The first notable club that Davies represented was Aberavon, and it was from Aberavon that Davies was first selected to represent the Wales national team. Davies played two international games for Wales, both as part of the 1912 Five Nations Championship. Davies' first cap was against Scotland played at St Helen's, which Wales won 21-6. Davies was reslected for the very next Wales match of the tournament, an away encounter to Ireland. The game started well for Wales, with Davies scoring his only international points, a try in the first half which was converted by Jack Bancroft. Despite Wales leading 5-0, the more experienced Irish team came back in the second half winning 12-5.

By the end of 1912, Davies had switched clubs from Aberavon to Swansea, and in October he was selected to play for county team Glamorgan when they faced the second touring South African team. Davies was not originally a first choice for the team, with Cardiff's Billy Spiller chosen not only as centre but also team captain. Three of the backs selected for the encounter, Spiller, Swansea centre Alf Thomas and fullback Jack Bancroft were all withdrawn injured after the teams met in a club clash the previous Saturday.[3] Davies was called in to replace Spiller and was also given the captaincy. The match was a one-sided competition with the South Africans running out winners by 35 points to 3.

Davies played in his rugby in two parts of the United Kingdom, in Wales it was for Swansea, Glamoragn and his country, while in the South of England he played for Exeter University, Plymouth Albion and county rugby for Devon. In 1913 he was suspended by both Wales and Devon for alleged professionalism, and in March he decided to sever links with the union game by 'Going North' and joining Leeds R.L.F.C.

Rugby league honours

Davies won two caps for Wales while at Leeds in 1914 and 1921, and won caps for Great Britain in 1914 against Australia, and New Zealand.[4]

References

  1. ^ William Davies rugby union player profile Scrum.com
  2. ^ Jenkins, John M.; et al. (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Rugby Players. Wrexham: Bridge Books. p. 44. ISBN 1872424104. 
  3. ^ Billot, John (1974). Springboks in Wales. Ferndale: Ron Jones Publications. p. 81. 
  4. ^ "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 2008-12-31. http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/William_Davies/summary.html. Retrieved 2009-01-01. 

External links