David Daniel (rugby union)

David Daniel
Birth name	David John Daniel
Place of birth	Llanelli, Wales
Place of death	Llanelli, Wales
Notable relative(s)	Gipsy Daniels (son)
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Position(s)	Forward
Amateur team(s)
Years	Team
	Llanelli RFC
International career
Years	Team
1891-1899	Wales

David John Daniel (1871 – 30 April 1948)^[1] was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales.

Personal history

Daniel was born in 1871 in Llanelli. He married Francis Ann Roberts and they had thirteen children. His son William Daniel was a boxer of some note, fighting under the name Gipsy Daniels he became British light-heavyweight boxing champion in 1927.^[2] Daniel was a mason by trade but also worked as a brewery worker.^[3]

Rugby career

Daniel came to note as a rugby player for first class side Llanelli. It was while playing for Llanelli that Daniel was first selected to represent Wales, an away game against Scotland as part of the

Willie Thomas

, Wales were outclassed by Scotland, who scored seven tries without reply. The next game of the Championship saw a vastly altered Welsh pack with four new caps, Daniel was one of the players dropped.

Daniel failed to be reselected for three years, but in

William Elsey who was in turn replaced by Ernie George

after a single game.

Another four seasons passed, and Daniel was again back in favour with the Welsh selectors, when he came into the Welsh squad to face Ireland as part of the

Gould Affair, and Daniel found himself the veteran pack leader, with five of the pack newly capped that match, and the other two positions held by Fred Cornish and Dick Hellings, both having played just a single game each. This meant that Daniel had twice as many caps as the entire seven other pack members combined. Despite the inexperience of the Welsh pack, Wales were victorious over the Irish, winning 11-3. The selectors reacted by keeping faith in the Welsh squad, which saw no newly capped players, and Daniel leading out an almost unchanged pack against England at Blackheath. Despite a try and a dropped goal from Viv Huzzey

, Wales lost the game.

Daniel's final season with Wales was during the 1899 Home Nations Championship. After a record win over England, Daniel missed the away game to Scotland, replaced by Fred Scrine, but returned for the home game to Ireland at the Cardiff Arms Park; Daniel's final Wales international match.