Teddy Morgan

Teddy Morgan

Dr. Morgan in Wales jersey (c 1895)
Full name	Edward T. Morgan
Date of birth	(1880-05-22)22 May 1880
Place of birth	Aberdare, Wales
Date of death	1 September 1949(1949-09-01) (aged 69)
Place of death	North Walsham[1] England
Height	171 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	70 kg (11 st 0 lb)
School	Christ College, Brecon[2]
University	Guy's Hospital
Notable relative(s)	William Llewellyn Morgan, brother Guy Morgan, nephew
Occupation(s)	doctor
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Wing
Amateur clubs
Years	Club / team
1901-03 ? 1900-? ? 1906	Newport RFC Guy's Hospital London Welsh RFC Swansea RFC Glamorgan County RFC
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1902–1908 1904	Wales Great Britain	16 4	(42) (3)

Edward "Teddy" Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949)^[3] was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks and is remembered for scoring the winning try. He played club rugby for London Welsh and Swansea.

Career

Morgan became a General Practitioner in Sketty, Swansea before moving to a new practice in East Anglia. While at Sketty, another international rugby player joined his practice in the early 1920s, D Bertram, who would go on to be capped 11 times for Scotland.^[4] Morgan died on 1 September 1949 in North Walsham. In 2008, Morgan was celebrated by the local council when it was decided to raise a blue plaque at his birthplace to commemorate his life.^[5]

Rugby career

Wales

1905 Wales squad, Morgan, front row, left

Morgan had moved to London from Newport in 1902 to take up a post at Guy's Hospital in London, where he took up playing with the Welsh exiles, London Welsh. It was while playing in London that Morgan earned his first international call up, against England. Morgan's career with Wales saw him score 14 tries from the wing, but his most well remembered was the try he scored against the Original All Blacks in 1905. In the monumental match between the unbeaten All Blacks and the Triple Crown-winning Welsh team, Morgan is believed to have led the his team in singing the Welsh national anthem in response to the New Zealanders' haka.^[2] This was the first time a national anthem had been sung at a sporting event.^[6] During a strongly contested game, a single score decided the game. In the twenty-fifth minute, Welsh scrum half Dicky Owen released the ball to Cliff Pritchard, who received the ball at ankle level before darting forward. Having passed by Bob Dean, Pritchard released to Rhys Gabe who in turn found Morgan. Morgan dummied George Gillett and touched the ball down in the corner.^[7]

As well as scoring the winning try for Wales against the 1905 All Blacks, he was also central to a controversial decision during the match. During the game, New Zealand player Bob Deans dived for the Welsh try line with the ball and was tackled by Cliff Pritchard and Rhys Gabe. The referee decided Deans landed short, and no try was given. Morgan stated later that the ball was successfully grounded and the try should have counted.^[8][9]

International games played

Wales^[10]

•  England 1902, 1904, 1905, 1906
•  France 1908
•  Ireland 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906
•  New Zealand 1905
•  Scotland 1902, 1904, 1905, 1906
•  South Africa 1906

British Isles

In 1904 Morgan was one of the Welsh players chosen to tour Australasia^[11] under the captaincy of Bedell-Sivright. Morgan would captain the British team against both Australia and New Zealand during this tour.^[8]

Bibliography

• Jones, Stephen; Paul Beken (1985). Dragon in Exile, The Centenary History of London Welsh R.F.C. London: Springwood Books. ISBN 0-86254-125-5. 
• Parry-Jones, David (1999). Prince Gwyn, Gwyn Nicholls and the First Golden Era of Welsh Rugby. Bridgend: seren. ISBN 1-85411-262-7. 
• Thomas, Wayne (1979). A Century of Welsh Rugby Players. Ansells Ltd. 
• Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3. 

References