Harry Phillips (rugby union)
| Birth name | Henry Thomas Phillips | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 22 June 1903 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Crosskeys, Caerphilly County Borough, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 16 December 1978 (aged 75) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Newport, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | Collier Police officer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Henry Thomas Phillips (22 June 1903 – 16 December 1978)
Rugby career
Phillips was born in
In 1927, Phillips was given his first international call-up, when he was selected for the opening game of the 1927 Five Nations Championship. Under the captaincy of Bernard Turnbull, Phillips' debut was against England at Twickenham which Wales lost 9–11. Phillips played in all the matches of the 1927 Championship which saw poor Welsh results, with only a single win, over France. Despite the poor run of results, Phillips was reselected for the Wales game against the New South Wales Waratahs, who he had faced just a month earlier with Newport. The Wales team included eight new caps, which the far tighter Waratahs were able to defeat, finishing the match 18–8 winners.
Phillips played in all four games of the 1928 Championship, which was as miserable a campaign as 1927. The Welsh won just once, the first ever victory over Scotland at Murrayfield. Although a historic win, this was the start of a poor run of results for Scotland[4] who finished the tournament with just a single win too. Worse for Wales was the loss to France. Wales had beaten France in the previous twelve encounters, and this was the first time Wales had lost to the French team. This final game of the tournament saw five Welsh players represent Wales for the last time, Phillips was one of them.[5]
Phillips continued representing Newport after the end of his international career, and in the 1929/30 season he was given the captaincy of the Newport first team.[6] He left Newport in 1931.
International matches played
Wales (rugby union)[7]
England 1927, 1928
France 1927, 1928
Ireland 1927, 1928
New South Wales Waratahs 1927
Scotland 1927, 1928
Bibliography
- Billot, John (1972). All Blacks in Wales. Ferndale, Glamorgan: Ron Jones Publications.
- Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883–1983. Grafton Street, London: Willow Books. ISBN 0-00-218060-X.
- Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.
References
- ^ Harry Phillips player profile Scrum.com
- ^ Wales team visit Big Pit[permanent dead link] Welsh Rugby union website
- ^ Billot (1972), pg 74.
- ^ Godwin (1980), pg 169.
- ^ Godwin (1980), pg 171.
- ^ Harry Phillips player profile Archived 17 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Newport RFC site
- ^ Smith (1980), pg 470.