Ernest Melville Rowlands (21 September 1864 – 7 April 1940) was a Welsh

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...

 player who played rugby for Lampeter University

University of Wales, Lampeter

University of Wales, Lampeter is a university in Lampeter, Wales. Founded in 1822 by royal charter, it is the oldest degree awarding institution in Wales and may be the third oldest in England and Wales after Oxford and Cambridge...

 and international rugby 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...

.

Personal life

Rowland was born in Neath

Neath

Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...

, 1864 to Evan Rowland and Jane Morris. After graduating from Lampeter University, Rowland took Holy Orders becoming a priest based in North Wales. He married Hannah Lillian Gilbert on 18 June 1896.

Rugby career

Rowland was awarded his first and only cap for Wales while still at Lampeter University. Played against England as part of the 1895 Home Nations Championship

1895 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...

, Rowland was brought into the Welsh pack alongside fellow debuts Lewis Cobden Thomas

Lewis Cobden Thomas

Lewis Cobden Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Neath and Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. In 1900 he became the Mayor of Neath.-Personal history:...

 and Evan Richards

Evan Richards

Evan Sloane Richards was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea, captaining the club through three seasons during the 1880s. Richards' father was Member of Parliament for Ceredigion, Evan Matthew Richards.- Rugby career :Richards first came to prominence within...

. This was the fourth time Wales had played England, and just like the three previous matches England were victorious over the Welsh team. Rowland was replaced for the next game, against Ireland, by Willie Thomas

Willie Thomas

William 'Willie' Henry Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli and London Welsh. He was capped eleven times for Wales and captained the team on two occasions. In 1888, Thomas was chosen to tour New Zealand and Australia as part of the first British...

 of Llandovery College

Llandovery College

Llandovery College is an independent school in Llandovery, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was founded and endowed by Thomas Phillips in 1847 to provide a classical and liberal education in which the Welsh language; the study of Welsh literature and history were also to be cultivated.Llandovery...

, and never represented Wales again.