THROUGHOUT the Six Nations, we have been taking a look at the Welsh internationals from the Swansea, Amman, Tywi and Gwendraeth Valleys.
Here we take a look at some more.
Tom Day
Tom Day was born in 1907 in Glanaman and played for Wales Secondary Schools, after leaving school, he went to play for Gorseinon, before moving to Swansea in 1928.
On October 10, 1931, he played against South Africa for Swansea. He captained the side in the 1933/34 season.
He won 13 caps for Wales, with the first coming in the 1931 Five Nations Championship – which Wales won. He made his debut in the draw against England and played in the remaining three games against Scotland, France and Ireland, which Wales won. His next appearance for Wales came against South Africa that same year, his second match against the Springboks in 1931.
Tom also played in the 1932 Home Nations Championship, playing against England, Ireland and Scotland. He didn’t play in 1933, but returned in 1934, where he played against Ireland and Scotland and in 1935, he played his final three games, against England, Scotland and ending his international career with a loss against Ireland.
Claude Davey
Claude Davey was born in Garnant on December 14, 1908, and played rugby in the centre. He was first noticed when playing for Wales Secondary Schools.
He played in the Wales University XV while studying at Swansea University and went on to play for Cwmgors RFC’s predecessor. He moved to play first class rugby at Swansea in 1928. He also played for Sale.
He represented Wales 23 times, captaining his country on eight occasions including the 13-12 win over New Zealand on December 21, 1935.
His first senior international cap came in the final 1930 Five Nations Championship match against France. In the 1931 game against Ireland, he scored a try, set up two more tries and left his opposite centres with concussion. His final match came against England in 1938.
In total, he played against England seven times, France twice, Ireland six times, New Zealand once, Scotland six times and South Africa once.
Will Davies
William Davies was born on February 14, 1906, in Cwmgors. He began playing rugby as a scrum half and centre before moving to the flanker position.
He played rugby for Swansea, including in the game against South Africa in 1931, setting up Claude Davey’s try.
He won four caps for Wales, with his first against South Africa in 1931, scoring the only Welsh points in their 8-3 loss. He featured in the England and Scotland games in the 1932 Home Nations Championship and played his final game that tournament against Ireland.
Ieuan Evans
Ieuan Cennyd Evans, MBE, was born on March 21, 1964, in Pontarddulais. He played rugby on the wing.
He began playing rugby in school at the age of 10, going on to captain his school team. He played for Carmarthen Quins RFC from the age of 17, joining Llanelli two years later.
He would remain at Llanelli until 1997, when he moved to Bath Rugby, winning the Heineken Cup the following year.
He made his Welsh debut against France in 1987. And in March 1994, he captained Wales to win the Five Nations Championship. He made his final international appearance in 1998 against Italy.
He made a total of 72 appearances for Wales between 1987 and 1998 and held the record for most appearances as captain for Wales with 28 until he was overtaken by Ryan Jones in 2012. He scored a total of 33 tries.
He went on three British and Irish Lions tours, visiting Australia in 1989, New Zealand in 1993, and South Africa in 1997. He scored the series winning try in the third test against Australia and scored four times during the New Zealand tour, being named top try scorer for the Lions.
He was awarded an MBE for services to rugby in 1996 and was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame in 2007, being introduced into the IRB Hall of Fame seven years later.
He has worked as a pundit for BBC, ITV and Sky Sports and was elected on the Welsh Rugby Union’s National Council for a three-year term. Last November, he was elected chairman of the Welsh Rugby Union.
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Jim Lang
Jim Lang was born in Garnant on October 1, 1909, who played number 8 for Llanelli and Swansea.
He faced South Africa in 1931 and New Zealand in 1935 with Llanelli.
His first Wales cap came in the 1931 Five Nations Championship against France. He then played against Ireland later that tournament.
He wouldn’t play for Wales for a few years, earning his third cap against Scotland in the 1934 championship. He then went on to play nine more consecutive games for Wales between 1934 and 1937 – facing England three times (including his final international match in 1937), Ireland three times, Scotland three times and New Zealand once. The New Zealand game was Wales’ famous 1935 win over the All Blacks
Don Tarr
Donald James Tarr was born in Llandeilo Fawr on March 11, 1910. He played as a hooker for Swansea and Cardiff and also played county rugby for Hampshire.
He first represented Wales as a schoolboy, playing for the Welsh Secondary Schools team in 1927. He joined Cardiff in 1931, playing against a touring South Africa side. He joined Swansea in 1933, facing New Zealand in 1935 for the club.
He also faced New Zealand twice more at club level – for the Combined Services team and a joint Hampshire/Sussex county team.
He was chosen for his sole Wales senior cap in 1935 against New Zealand, where he would suffer a severe injury, breaking his neck. He was removed from the pitch still face down on the stretcher which was believed to have saved his life.
He went on to have played one match for Ammanford RFC after his injury and had a successful career as a naval officer, where he reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Bryn Howells
Bryn Howells was born in Hendy on February 9, 1911, and was a dual-code rugby player.
He played rugby as full back, playing for Llanelli RFC, including in the 1931 match against South Africa.
He made his only appearance for Wales in 1934 against England before moving on to rugby league where he played for Broughton Rangers and he also played cricket in the Lancashire League.
Emrys Evans
Emrys Evans was born on April 24, 1911, in Gwaun Cae Gurwen. He was a dual-code international rugby player.
He played for Llanelli RFC as a flanker and in rugby league he played for Salford and Wigan as a prop.
He won his first cap for Wales in rugby union in 1937 against England, with his final two caps coming against Scotland and Ireland in 1939, He won his sole cap for Wales Rugby League in 1945.
We will look at more internationals next week.
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