Hugh 'Sawdust' Hughes was an 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 club rugby for Cardiff

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...

 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...

. Although very little personal information is available for Hughes, he is notable for facing the touring New Zealand Māoris

1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team

The 1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand football team that toured Britain, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. The team was composed mainly of players of Māori ancestry, although several Pakeha were included in the squad. The tour was a private endeavour, and was...

, the first touring Southern Hempishere rugby team, when they lost to Cardiff in 1888.

Rugby career

Hughes was first selected for the Wales national rugby team in the away match against the Scottish team during the 1887 Home Nations Championship

1887 Home Nations Championship

The 1887 Home Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 8 January and 12 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....

. The Wales team had experienced a fairly stable fullback position, filled by the likes of Charles Lewis

Charles Lewis (rugby player)

Charles Prytherch Lewis was a Welsh international rugby union player, who won five caps between 1882 and 1884.-Life:...

, Arthur Gould and for the previous three matches, Llanelli's

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...

 Harry Bowen

Harry Bowen

David Henry "Harry" Bowen was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales...

. Hughes was brought in for the second game, which began a period of instability for the Wales fullback position. Wales suffered a terrible defeat, which saw the Scottish scoring fourteen tries

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...

. Hughes was dropped for the next match, with the selectors opting for Samuel Clark

Samuel Clark (rugby player)

Samuel Simmonds Clark was an English-born rugby union official and international rugby union full-back who played club rugby for Neath...

.

Although overlooked for the 1888 Home Nations Championship, Hughes was part of the Cardiff team that on 29 December 1888, faced and beat the New Zealand Māori rugby union team

New Zealand Maori rugby union team

New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...

. The Cardiff match was the last game of the Māori's tour of Wales which had been of mixed fortune for the tourists, though the team had beaten both Newport and Swansea

Swansea RFC

Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...

 over the last five days. Under the captaincy of Frank Hill

Frank Hill (rugby player)

Frank Hill was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff. Hill won 15 caps for Wales over a period of ten years and was given the team captaincy on four occasions....

, Cardiff were on top form, with a resurgent Norman Biggs

Norman Biggs

Norman Witchell Biggs was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Selwyn played international rugby for Wales, though they never played together in the same match for Wales...

 scoring early on. Cardiff scored a second try later in the game, with a rare joint try from WT Morgan and Sydney Nicholls

Sydney Nicholls

Sydney 'Sid' Herbert Nicholls was an English-born dual code rugby forward who played club rugby under the union code for Cardiff and in his later years league rugby with Hull. Nicholls won four caps for Wales and was part of the Welsh team that beat the first touring Southern Hemisphere team the...

, which Hughes converted. Cardiff won by a goal to nil.

Hughes was reselected for Wales in the 1889 Championship

1889 Home Nations Championship

The 1889 Home Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 2 February and 2 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales...

, again for the away match to Scotland. Wales lost this game, but by a far smaller margin than the 1887 encounter. The next match of the tournament saw Hughes replaced by Ned Roberts

Ned Roberts

Edward 'Ned' John Roberts was a Welsh international rugby union fullback who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales.-Rugby career:...

.