Harry Packer
Encyclopedia
Harry Packer was an English
-born international rugby union
prop who played club rugby for Newport and was capped seven times for Wales
. Packer had a long association with rugby, as a player, selector, official and in 1924 was the manager of the touring British Isles
team.
. Under the captaincy of William Bowen, Packer was part of the squad which faced England at Newport in the opening game of the campaign, but after Wales lost, Packer was dropped from the team. It would take four seasons for Packer to be reselected, when he was chosen for the second and third game of the 1895 Championship
this time led by Welsh rugby legend Arthur Gould. Wales lost the Scotland game, but Packer experienced his first international victory in the game against Ireland at the Cardiff Arms Park
.
Packer was selected for the entirety of the 1896 Championship
, and was one of only three players from the pack to be retained during the Scotland game when the selectors brought in five new caps. Packer played his final international game the next year in a memorable win against England. This would be Wales' only game of the year after the team lost their international playing status due to the 'Gould Affair'
In 1924 Packer was chosen to manage the British team on their tour of South Africa
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
-born 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...
prop who played club rugby for Newport and was capped seven 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...
. Packer had a long association with rugby, as a player, selector, official and in 1924 was the manager of the touring British Isles
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
team.
International rugby career
Packer was born in Chipping Norton and educated in the South of England, playing rugby at school boy level for Devon County and West Buckland School. After moving to Wales he became part of the Newport team, and while with Newport was selected to represent Wales as part of the 1891 Home Nations Championship1891 Home Nations Championship
The 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March...
. Under the captaincy of William Bowen, Packer was part of the squad which faced England at Newport in the opening game of the campaign, but after Wales lost, Packer was dropped from the team. It would take four seasons for Packer to be reselected, when he was chosen for the second and third game of the 1895 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...
this time led by Welsh rugby legend Arthur Gould. Wales lost the Scotland game, but Packer experienced his first international victory in the game against Ireland 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...
.
Packer was selected for the entirety 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:...
, and was one of only three players from the pack to be retained during the Scotland game when the selectors brought in five new caps. Packer played his final international game the next year in a memorable win against England. This would be Wales' only game of the year after the team lost their international playing status due to the 'Gould Affair'
In 1924 Packer was chosen to manage the British team on their tour of South Africa
1924 British Lions tour to South Africa
The 1924 British Isles tour to South Africa was the tenth tour by a British Isles team and the fifth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 1950...
.
International matches played
Wales 1891, 1896, 1897- 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, 1896 1895, 1896