William Cave (rugby union)

Last updated

William Cave
Birth nameWilliam Thomas Charles Cave
Date of birth(1882-11-24)24 November 1882
Place of birth Croydon, England
Date of death2 February 1970(1970-02-02) (aged 87)
Place of death Suffolk, England
School Tonbridge School
University Caius College, Cambridge
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
Cambridge University R.U.F.C. ()
– Blackheath F.C. ()
– Barbarians ()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1903 British Isles 3 (3)
1905 England 1 (0)

William Thomas Charles Cave (24 November 1882 – 2 February 1970) [1] was an English international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cambridge and Blackheath. Cave played international rugby for both the British Isles and England, and was also selected for invitational team the Barbarians.

Contents

Personal history

Cave was born in Croydon in 1882 and was educated at Tonbridge School and Caius College, Cambridge. [2] He entered the legal profession, and was admitted to The Bar in 1907. He joined the business of E. F. Turner & Sons, of 115 Leadenhall Street in London. [3] With the outbreak of the First World War, Cave joined the British Army and reached the rank of Second Lieutenant in the Inns of the Court Officers Training Regiment. [4] On 25 April 1916 he was given the temporary rank of captain. [5] After the war he returned to E. F. Turner & Sons, became a partner and continued with the firm until at least 1935. [6]

Rugby career

Cave first came to note as a rugby player when he was selected to play for Cambridge University. In 1902 he was selected for the Cambridge team to face Oxford University in the Varsity Match, winning the first of three sporting Blues. Cave was selected for the next two Varsity Match encounters, a loss in 1903, but a victory in the 1904 game. The 1904 match saw a far superior Cambridge pack, winning most of the scrummages and wheeling the Oxford forwards. [7] Cave had an impressive game, and scored one of the Cambridge tries, when the pack pushed the ball over the line for Cave to dive on. [8]

In 1903, while still a Cambridge player, Cave was approached to join the British Isles team on their tour of South Africa. Cave was one of four Cambridge players on the tour, being joined by David Bedell-Sivright, Thomas Gibson and Alfred Hind. The tour took in 22 matches, mostly against regional and invitational teams, but also included three Test games against the South Africa national rugby union team. Cave was a regular choice throughout the tour, missing just two games, and played in all three Tests. [9] During the tour, Cave scored two tries; his first was in the win over a Grahamstown team, but more importantly he scored one of two British tries in the First Test with South Africa, played in Johannesburg. [10] The game ended in a draw.

On returning to Britain, Cave continued his rugby career, leaving University and joining first-class English team Blackheath. In the 1903/04 season, whilst still a Blackheath player, Cave was approached to join invitational tourists, the Barbarians. [11] The nest season, Cave won his one and only international cap for England, when he was selected to face Wales as part of the 1905 Home Nations Championship. The game was a sporting disaster for England, facing one of the most impressive Welsh teams in the nation's history. Wales scored seven tries without reply, winning 25–0, England's largest losing points margin in a Championship match until their 12–27 loss to France in 1972.

International matches played

England

British Isles

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederic Alderson</span> England international rugby union footballer

Frederic Hodgson Rudd Alderson was an English international rugby union threequarter who played club rugby for Cambridge University and Hartlepool Rovers. Alderson played international rugby for England and was an original member of invitational team, the Barbarians.

Osbert Gadesden Mackie was an English rugby union centre and Anglican priest. Mackie played club rugby for Wakefield Trinity, and Cambridge University and county rugby for Yorkshire. Mackie played international rugby for the British Isles XV on their 1896 tour of South Africa and on the return from Africa he was awarded two caps for the English team.

Arthur Rotherham was an English rugby union scrum-half who was a member of the first official British Isles tour and was later capped for the England team.

Edward Bromet was an English rugby union forward who was a member of the first official British Isles team to tour abroad. On the tour he was joined by his brother, William Bromet, who would also play international rugby for England.

Randolph Littleton Aston was an English rugby union centre who played club rugby for Blackheath and Cambridge University and was a member of the first official British Isles tour in 1891.

William Grant Mitchell was an English rugby union fullback who was a member of the first official British Isles team. Mitchell represented several club teams and was an original member of touring team, the Barbarians.

Howard Marshall OBE was an English rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Blackheath and Richmond and was a member of the first official British Isles tour in 1891. Marshall played just one game for England, scoring a hat-trick of tries on his debut. It is thought, through historical records and the detective work of Sunderland based sport and social historian Keith Gregson, that Marshall sustained a severe knee injury which curtailed his rugby career.

Denys Douglas Dobson was an English international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Oxford University and Newton Abbot. Dobson played international rugby for England and the British Isles team on its 1904 tour of Australia. Dobson was the first player from a British touring rugby team to be dismissed from the playing field, when he was sent off in a match against the Northern District in Newcastle, New South Wales.

William Henry Thorman was an English rugby union forward who was a member of the British Isles XV that toured South Africa in 1891. Despite playing for Cambridge and the British Isles, Thorman was never awarded a national cap.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Stout (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Frank Moxon Stout MC also referred to as Frank Moxham Stout, was an English international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Gloucester and Richmond. Stout played international rugby for England and was selected for the British Isles on two tours in 1899 and 1903. On the 1899 tour of Australia, he acted as on field captain for three of the Tests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Clauss</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Paul Robert Clauss was a German-born rugby union three-quarter who played club rugby for Oxford and Birkenhead Park. Clauss was a member of the first official British Isles tour in 1891 and also represented Scotland on six occasions. He was part of two Triple Crown winning teams for Scotland, and made an impressive international start in the 1891 Championship, scoring in all three Scotland games.

Piercy Henderson "Dolly" Morrison was an English rugby union three-quarter who played club rugby for Northern and Cambridge University and played international rugby for England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Todd (rugby union)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Alexander Findlater Todd was an English rugby union forward who played for Cambridge University and Blackheath F.C. at club level, and Kent at county level. Todd played international rugby for England and later represented the British Isles team on their 1896 tour of South Africa.

William Ernest Bromet was an English rugby union forward who played club rugby for Oxford University and Tadcaster and county rugby for Yorkshire. Bromet and was a member of the first official British Isles tour in 1891 and represented England on twelve occasions between 1891 and 1896. Bromet was a part of the 1892 Triple Crown winning team for England.

Lt. Colonel Gilbert Faraday Collett DSO was an English sportsman who was an international rugby union wing and first-class cricketer for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. As a rugby footballer he represented Cambridge University and Cheltenham at club level. Collett also played international rugby for the British Isles during the 1903 tour of South Africa but was never selected for the England national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Charles Hartley</span> England international rugby union player

Major Bernard Charles "Jock" Hartley OBE was a rugby union international player who represented England from 1901 to 1902. At club level he represented Cambridge University and Blackheath. In 1938 he was given the role of team manager of the British Isles team on their tour of South Africa.

William Eldon Tucker was a Bermudian rugby union player who played club rugby for Cambridge University, St. George's Hospital and Blackheath. Tucker gained his first of five international caps when he was selected for England in 1894. He returned to Bermuda after qualifying as a medical doctor.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Neale</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Maurice Edward Neale was an English rugby union international who played on a single occasion for his country and was part of the first official British Isles team that toured South Africa in 1910, finishing top try scorer of the series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Young (rugby union, born 1901)</span> British Lions & England international rugby union player

Arthur Tudor Young was an English rugby union scrum-half who played for both England and the British Lions. At 5 ft 4ins he was affectionately known as England's little man.

References

  1. ↑ William Cave rugby profile Scrum.com
  2. ↑ Views of St John's College and group photographs of College sporting teams. W.T. Cave listed as a Caius student in a 1901 Cambridge photograph
  3. ↑ Record of service of solicitors and articled clerks with His Majesty's Forces 1914—1919 Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & co. Ltd. (1920)
  4. ↑ "No. 28941". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 October 1914. p. 8335.
  5. ↑ "No. 29649". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 July 1916. p. 6582.
  6. ↑ "No. 34149". The London Gazette . 1 July 1916. p. 2469.
  7. ↑ Marshall (1951), pg 113.
  8. ↑ Marshall (1951), pg 114.
  9. ↑ William Cave Lions profile lionsrugby.com
  10. ↑ Great Britain tour – Johannesburg, 26 August 1903 Scrum.com
  11. ↑ Starmer-Smith, Nigel (1977). The Barbarians. Macdonald & Jane's Publishers. p. 219. ISBN   0-86007-552-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.