William Howell (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
William Henry Howell was a Welsh
rugby union
forward who played club rugby for Swansea
and international rugby for Wales
.
, famed for its early links with rugby in Wales, Howell began playing first class rugby in 1887 when he joined Swansea RFC. Not long after his inclusion into the Swansea team, Howell was called up by the Welsh selectors to represent Wales as part of the 1888 Home Nations Championship
. Howell was one of five new caps brought into the nine man pack for the first game against Scotland, along with Dick Kedzlie
, Richard Powell
and Swansea team-mates T. Williams
and John Meredith
. The game finished in an historic victory for Wales, when they beat the Scottish for the first time, winning by a solitary try.
Howell was reselected for the second and last match of the Championship when he was called up to face Ireland at Lansdowne Road
on 3 March 1888. Howell was part of an unchanged pack, the first time this had ever happened for the Wales team, but the team that had been so successful in disrupting the Scottish play, could not recreate their level of play in Ireland. The Irish beat the Welsh for the first time, which ended the Championship careers of eight of the Wales team. Howell was never selected for the national team 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...
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...
forward who played club rugby for 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...
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...
.
Rugby career
Educated at Llandovery CollegeLlandovery 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...
, famed for its early links with rugby in Wales, Howell began playing first class rugby in 1887 when he joined Swansea RFC. Not long after his inclusion into the Swansea team, Howell was called up by the Welsh selectors to represent Wales as part of the 1888 Home Nations Championship
1888 Home Nations Championship
The 1888 Home Nations Championship was the sixth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 4 February and 10 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England was excluded from the Championship due to their refusal to join the...
. Howell was one of five new caps brought into the nine man pack for the first game against Scotland, along with Dick Kedzlie
Dick Kedzlie
Quentin Dick Kedzlie was a Scottish-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales...
, Richard Powell
Richard Powell (rugby player)
Richard 'Dick' Powell was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Abergavenny and Newport.-Rugby career:...
and Swansea team-mates T. Williams
T. Williams
T. Williams was a rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and London Welsh and played international rugby for Wales. Very little is known of Williams and he is often confused with his contemporary Tom Williams who also played for Wales around the same period, and who also had...
and John Meredith
John Meredith (rugby player)
John Meredith was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and won four caps for Wales. Outside rugby, Meredith later became a literary adjudicator in Eisteddfodau.-Rugby career:...
. The game finished in an historic victory for Wales, when they beat the Scottish for the first time, winning by a solitary try.
Howell was reselected for the second and last match of the Championship when he was called up to face Ireland at Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
on 3 March 1888. Howell was part of an unchanged pack, the first time this had ever happened for the Wales team, but the team that had been so successful in disrupting the Scottish play, could not recreate their level of play in Ireland. The Irish beat the Welsh for the first time, which ended the Championship careers of eight of the Wales team. Howell was never selected for the national team again.