Birth name | William John Abbott Davies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 21 June 1890 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 26 April 1967 76) | (aged||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | (registered in) Richmond (aged 76 years 309 days) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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William John Abbott "Dave" Davies OBE (21 June 1890 – 26 April 1967) was a Welsh rugby union footballer who played international rugby for England normally positioned at fly-half. He also captained his country. [1]
Davies was born in Pembroke, Wales, and originally played for Pembroke Dock Harlequins. Davies made his international debut on 4 January 1913 at Twickenham in the England vs South Africa match. [1] He was part of the England team that won the Grand Slam in both 1921 and 1923. During his time playing he earned 22 caps, making him England's most capped fly-half until Rob Andrew overtook him. He played half of his matches as captain. During his 22 matches at international level, he was on a losing side only in the first, against South Africa in 1913. He formed a notable international half-back partnership with his Royal Navy team-mate Cecil Kershaw; in their 14 matches together for England they never finished on the losing side. [1]
Outside of rugby, Davies served as a naval officer aboard HMS Iron Duke and HMS Queen Elizabeth during World War I, for which he was appointed an OBE in 1919. Davies also was offered the chance to play at Wimbledon, but declined the offer to focus on his rugby. Davies had two children.
Philip Bennett was a Welsh rugby union player who played as a fly-half for Llanelli RFC and the Wales national team. He began his career in 1966, and a year later he had taken over from Barry John as Llanelli's first-choice fly-half. He made 414 appearances for the Scarlets over the course of a 15-year career he scored 131 tries, 43 drop goals, 293 pens and 523 convs. He made his Wales debut in 1969, but it was not until John's retirement from rugby in 1972 that Bennett became a regular starter for his country. He led Wales to the Five Nations Championship title, including the Grand Slam in 1978, which culminated with his retirement from Wales duty.
Jason Thorpe Robinson is an English former dual-code international rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. Playing as a wing or fullback, he won 51 rugby union international caps for England and is the first black man to captain the England team. He was part of the 2003 World Cup winning rugby union England team.
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs. In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players".
Michael John Catt OBE is a South African-born former rugby union player who played for the England national rugby union team. He played professionally for the clubs London Irish and Bath. He earned 75 international caps for England and played in two World Cup Finals, in 2003 and 2007. With his appearance in the October 2007 final, at age 36 years 1 month, he became the oldest ever player to play in a Rugby World Cup final. Since 2008, Catt has coached various rugby teams, and has since 2019 been an assistant coach for the Ireland national rugby team.
Gary Armstrong is a former Scotland international rugby union player. He played scrum-half for Jed-Forest RFC, Newcastle Falcons and the Border Reivers.
Jonathan Davies, OBE is a Welsh former rugby footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and who represented his nation in both rugby union and rugby league. A goal-kicking backline player, he played his club rugby in Wales, England and Australia. Davies has since become a television commentator for both codes and a media personality, in both the Welsh and English languages.
Robert Nicholas Jones is a Welsh rugby union coach and former player. He was capped 54 times for Wales during his career, at that time a record. He and Gareth Edwards, Rob Howley, Dwayne Peel and Mike Phillips are the only scrum-halves to have achieved 50 caps or more for Wales.
William James Trew, better known as Billy Trew was a Welsh international centre, outside half and wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club. He won 29 caps for Wales and is seen as one of the key players of the first Golden Age of Welsh rugby union
Dicky Owen was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Swansea RFC Owen is seen as one of the greatest Welsh scrum-halves and won 35 caps for Wales between 1901 and 1912, a record that was unbeaten until 1955 when Ken Jones surpassed him.
Willie Davies was a Welsh international dual-code rugby fly half who played rugby union for Swansea and rugby league for Bradford Northern. He won six caps for the Wales rugby union team and nine caps for the Wales rugby league team. In 2003 he was inducted into the Welsh Sports Hall of Fame. He was the cousin of Wales international Haydn Tanner.
Daniel Biggar is a Welsh professional rugby union player currently playing for French Top 14 side Toulon as a fly-half. A Wales international, Biggar has also twice been selected to tour with the British and Irish Lions.
Howell Lewis was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club and was capped for Wales on four occasions. Lewis was also part of the Swansea team that beat the touring South Africa team in 1912.
| repyears1 = 1895–1900 | repcaps1 = 9 | reppoints1 = 0 | ru_ntupdate = | coachteams1 = | coachyears1 = | ru_coachupdate = | relatives = Norman Biggs, brother
Cecil Biggs, brother }}
Clifford 'Cliff' William Jones OBE was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for many teams but is most associated with Cardiff and Cambridge University. Jones was known as a quick and elusive runner, but was also noted for his numerous injuries which limited his international and club appearances.
Aloysius Mary "Louis" Magee was an Irish rugby union halfback. Magee played club rugby for Bective Rangers and London Irish and played international rugby for Ireland and was part of the British Isles team in their 1896 tour of South Africa.
Thomas Egerton Seymour Francis played first-class cricket for Somerset, Cambridge University and Eastern Province between 1921 and 1928. He also played four rugby union international matches for England in 1925/26. He was born at Uitenhage, Cape Province, South Africa and died at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Charles Henry "Cherry" Pillman was an English rugby union international who played on 18 occasions for his country and was part of the first official British Isles team that toured South Africa in 1910. He played club rugby with Blackheath and county rugby for Kent. Pillman's speed and tactics made him one of the leading exponents of an attacking wing forward, now recognised as the flanker position.
Francis Nathaniel Tarr was an English international rugby union player. He played centre for the Leicester Tigers and, between 1909 and 1913, won four caps for England, scoring two tries. He also earned three Blues while reading law at Oxford.
John Anthony Sydney Ritson DSO & Bar, was an English mines inspector and engineer who became professor of mining at Leeds University and at the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College, London. In his early life he was a rugby union player of note playing international rugby for both England and the British and Irish Lions, and was a member of the first ever English Grand Slam winning side. During the First World War he served in the Durham Light Infantry and later commanded a battalion of the Royal Scots.