David Morgan (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
David "Dai" Morgan was a Welsh
international rugby union
fly-half who played club rugby for Llanelli
and was capped twice for Wales
.
in a game against Ireland. Morgan was brought in as a replacement for Cardiff's
Selwyn Biggs
and was paired at half back with another Cardiff player, Ralph Sweet-Escott
. Under the captaincy of Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, Wales faced Ireland in a 'wooden spoon' decider, with both countries having already lost against England and Scotland. Wales won the game 5-3, thanks to an inventive try
from Tom Pearson
. The next season the Welsh selectors kept faith with Morgan bringing him into the team for the opening game of the 1896 Championship
. This time the selectors chose a Llanelli pairing, bringing in Ben Davies
, to whom this was also his second international. The match was a sporting disaster for Wales, losing 25-0, and although the forwards took the brunt of the blame, the selectors also reacted by dropping both Morgan and Davies, neither of whom ever represented Wales again.
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...
fly-half who played club rugby for Llanelli
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
and was capped twice 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...
.
Rugby career
Morgan first played international rugby when he was selected for the final game of the 1895 Home Nations Championship1895 Home Nations Championship
The 1895 Home Nations Championship was the thirteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March...
in a game against Ireland. Morgan was brought in as a replacement for Cardiff's
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
Selwyn Biggs
Selwyn Biggs
Selwyn Hanam Biggs was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Norman played international rugby for Wales, though they never played in the same match for Wales together. Biggs was described at the time...
and was paired at half back with another Cardiff player, Ralph Sweet-Escott
Ralph Sweet-Escott
Ralph Bond Sweet-Escott was an English-born international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Cardiff and was capped three times for Wales. Sweet-Escott also played cricket for Glamorgan representing the county in the Minor Counties Cricket Championship...
. Under the captaincy of Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, Wales faced Ireland in a 'wooden spoon' decider, with both countries having already lost against England and Scotland. Wales won the game 5-3, thanks to an inventive try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
from Tom Pearson
Tom 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...
. The next season the Welsh selectors kept faith with Morgan bringing him into the team for the opening game of the 1896 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:...
. This time the selectors chose a Llanelli pairing, bringing in Ben Davies
Ben Davies (rugby player)
Benjamin "Ben" Davies was a Welsh international rugby halfback who played rugby union for Llanelli and was capped twice for Wales. Davies captained Llanelli for the 1894-95 season and was club secretary between 1898 and 1899...
, to whom this was also his second international. The match was a sporting disaster for Wales, losing 25-0, and although the forwards took the brunt of the blame, the selectors also reacted by dropping both Morgan and Davies, neither of whom ever represented Wales again.
International matches played
Wales 1896- IrelandIreland national rugby union teamThe Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
1895