Bert Dauncey
Encyclopedia
Frederick Herbert Dauncey (1 December 1871–30 October 1955) was a Welsh
international rugby union
wing who played club rugby for Newport and was capped three times for Wales
. Dauncey was an all-round sportsman, and also represented Wales in tennis
and Newport in field hockey
. He was educated at King Henry VIII Grammar School in Abergavenny
and was a lifelong member of the schools Old Boys society.
and Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, with whom, historian G. M. Trevelyan
believed had an instinct to know where each were on the rugby pitch.
In 1896 Dauncey was awarded his first international cap, when he was selected to face England in the opening game of the Home Nations Championship
. Brought into the team as a replacement for Newport team-mate Tom Pearson, Dauncey was positioned on the wing opposite another new cap, Cliff Bowen
. The game was a sporting disaster for Wales, losing 25-0 to England. The Welsh selectors reacted by making multiple changes to the Welsh pack, but apart from replacing Owen Badger
for Gwyn Nicholls
, the threequarters were left alone, giving Dauncey a second cap in the second match of the tournament, home to Scotland. Played at the Cardiff Arms Park
, good Welsh handling saw two second half tries give Wales victory over Scotland. Dauncey played one final international cap, the last Welsh game of the 1895/96 season, away to Ireland. Despite the Scottish win, the Irish kick and rush tactics were too much for the Welsh forwards and Wales lost 4-8. The next season Dauncey was replaced by the return of Tom Pearson.
champion May Sutton
in a mixed doubles match at the Welsh Tennis Championship, which although they were beaten in the second round, Sutton went on to win the ladies championship.
, played field hockey. Dauncey followed Harding as captain of the Newport Hockey Club's men's team during the 1902 season.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
wing who played club rugby for Newport and was capped three times for Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
. Dauncey was an all-round sportsman, and also represented Wales in tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and Newport in field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
. He was educated at King Henry VIII Grammar School in Abergavenny
Abergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
and was a lifelong member of the schools Old Boys society.
Rugby career
Dauncey came to note as a Newport player, joining the club as a player in 1888. Dauncey made 178 appearances for Newport, scoring 94 tries, 9 conversions and a single dropped goal. Dauncey played at threequarters with two important Welsh international rugby players, Tom PearsonTom Pearson (rugby player)
Thomas William Rory Pearson was a Welsh international wing who played club rugby for Cardiff and Newport and county rugby with Middlesex. He won 13 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion, against England. Pearson was an all-round sportsman, representing Wales not only in rugby, but...
and Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, with whom, historian G. M. Trevelyan
G. M. Trevelyan
George Macaulay Trevelyan, OM, CBE, FRS, FBA , was a British historian. Trevelyan was the third son of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, and great-nephew of Thomas Babington Macaulay, whose staunch liberal Whig principles he espoused in accessible works of literate narrative avoiding a...
believed had an instinct to know where each were on the rugby pitch.
In 1896 Dauncey was awarded his first international cap, when he was selected to face England in the opening game of the Home Nations Championship
1896 Home Nations Championship
The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...
. Brought into the team as a replacement for Newport team-mate Tom Pearson, Dauncey was positioned on the wing opposite another new cap, Cliff Bowen
Cliff Bowen
Clifford "Cliff" Alfred Bowen was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played for club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales...
. The game was a sporting disaster for Wales, losing 25-0 to England. The Welsh selectors reacted by making multiple changes to the Welsh pack, but apart from replacing Owen Badger
Owen Badger
Owen Badger was a Welsh international rugby centre who played rugby union for Llanelli and was capped four times for Wales. He later switched codes, playing professional rugby league for Swinton.-Rugby career:...
for Gwyn Nicholls
Gwyn Nicholls
Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....
, the threequarters were left alone, giving Dauncey a second cap in the second match of the tournament, home to Scotland. Played at the Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
, good Welsh handling saw two second half tries give Wales victory over Scotland. Dauncey played one final international cap, the last Welsh game of the 1895/96 season, away to Ireland. Despite the Scottish win, the Irish kick and rush tactics were too much for the Welsh forwards and Wales lost 4-8. The next season Dauncey was replaced by the return of Tom Pearson.
Tennis career
Dauncey played tennis at a national level, representing the Welsh team in minor tournaments. In 1906 he partnered WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
champion May Sutton
May Sutton
May Godfrey Sutton was a tennis champion and the first American to win the singles title at Wimbledon.-Biography:...
in a mixed doubles match at the Welsh Tennis Championship, which although they were beaten in the second round, Sutton went on to win the ladies championship.
Hockey career
Dauncey, like fellow Wales rugby player Theo HardingTheo Harding
Charles Theodore 'Theo' Harding was an English-born international rugby union player who played club rugby for Newport and international rugby for Wales...
, played field hockey. Dauncey followed Harding as captain of the Newport Hockey Club's men's team during the 1902 season.