Archie Skym (12 July 1906 – 15 June 1970) was an international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and played club rugby for

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. Skym played as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

and was renowned for his strength and vigour and was nicknamed ''The butcher''.Thomas (1979), pg 72. An excellent scrummager, he was known to be able to lift opponents in the front row. Skym had good hands and was able to dribble with some skill.

Club career

Due to his father's religious beliefs, Skym was not allowed to play rugby as a child, but during a nine-month miners strike Skym joined a local team, at his home town of Drefach, as something to do. Although an adult when he started playing, he picked up the game quickly and soon moved to Tumble Rugby Club. He impressed in his play and on 26 December 1926 he was playing for top-flight team Llanelli against

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seaso ...

. Although a Welsh international by early 1928, Llanelli didn't pick him to play once during the 1928/29 season, and by February Skym had enough and left for rival team Cardiff. With regular matches for Cardiff, Skym was back in the Welsh team. An excellent 1931/32 season including a great game for Cardiff against the South African team, saw Skym cement his place at international level. In January 1935, in a match against Swansea, Skym broke his ankle but stayed on the pitch for the entire game. It was injury that ended his international career and he retired from rugby at the end of the season.

International career

Skym played twenty matches for Wales, his first cap was against England on 21 January 1928. He would score two tries, and was part of the Wales team that in 1933 finally beat England at Twickenham.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 471. * 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935 * 1928, 1930, 1931 * 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933 * 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933 * 1931

Bibliography

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References

Llanelli RFC history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skym, Archie 1906 births 1970 deaths Barbarian F.C. players Cardiff RFC players Glamorgan Police RFC players Llanelli RFC players Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire Rugby union props Wales international rugby union players Welsh miners Welsh police officers Welsh rugby union players category:Carmarthenshire Police officers category:Glamorgan Police officers