William "Billy" Alexander (16 July 1874 – 1 November 1937) 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...

 prop who played club rugby for Llwynypia

Llwynypia RFC

Llwynypia RFC was a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Llwynypia in the Rhondda. The team provided several international players during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most notably Willie Llewellyn, who was not only selected to represent Wales while playing at the club, but...

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Club career

Alexander began his club rugby days with local rugby team Glynneath

Glynneath RFC

Glynneath RFC are a Welsh Rugby Union club playing in Division Three South West of the WRU National Leagues. The Club has win a number of honours over the years, including the locally famous Invincibles of the 1961-62 season captained by Bas Thomas....

, but later moved to Rhondda

Rhondda

Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley , is a former coal mining valley in Wales, formerly a local government district, consisting of 16 communities built around the River Rhondda. The valley is made up of two valleys, the larger Rhondda Fawr valley and the smaller Rhondda Fach valley...

 team Llwynypia. Although an unfashionable second tier club, Llwynypia provided several international caps around the turn of the century as the 'Rhondda forward' gained acceptability into the Welsh pack. Alexander as a strong prop forward was first selected to represent Wales in the 1898 Home Nations Championship

1898 Home Nations Championship

The 1898 Home Nations Championship was the sixteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Five matches were played between 5 February and 2 April. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....

 in a game against Ireland, under the captaincy of Billy Bancroft

Billy Bancroft

Billy Bancroft was a Welsh international fullback who played club rugby for Swansea and a county cricketer for Glamorgan, becoming their first professional player in 1895....

. After a strong Welsh win, Alexander retained his position for the last game of the campaign against England.

Alexander was back for all three matches of the 1899 Championship

1899 Home Nations Championship

The 1899 Home Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 18 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....

, which saw Wales demolish England in the opening game at St Helens

St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground

St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground is a spectator venue in Swansea, Wales. It is used for both rugby and cricket.It is owned and operated by the City and County of Swansea council and is also used to host the local annual Guy Fawkes night fireworks display.-History:Since the ground opened in...

, but then slip away in the later two encounters against Scotland and Ireland. Alexander missed the 1900 Championship

1900 Home Nations Championship

The 1900 Home Nations Championship was the eighteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 6 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...

, but played the last two games of the 1901 tournament. These would be his very last internationals, but he finished on a successful note with a clean win against the Irish. Alexander scored his only international points in the Ireland game with two tries. The match is noted as a transition game which saw the end of an older generation, with not only Alexander but also Bancroft playing his last game, and the introduction of future Welsh heroes Rhys Gabe

Rhys Gabe

Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe born as Rees Thomas Gape, was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli, London Welsh and Cardiff and gained 24 caps for Wales, mainly as a centre.-Rugby career:...

, Dicky Owen

Dicky Owen

Dicky Owen was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Swansea RFC Owen is seen as one of the greatest Welsh scrum-halves and won 35 caps for Wales between 1901 and 1912, a record that was unbeaten until 1955 when Ken Jones surpassed him.-Influence in rugby:Born Richard Morgan...

 and Dick Jones

Dick Jones (rugby player)

Richard Hughes "Dick" Jones was a Welsh international fly-half who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Club. He won 15 caps for Wales and played county rugby for Glamorgan.-Rugby career:...

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