Bathurst Bellers Mann (15 May 1858 – 17 November 1948) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born 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 its m ...

forward who played club rugby for

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 ...

and international rugby for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He won a single cap for Wales, in the country's first international match.

Rugby career

In 1881 Newport Athletic secretary

Richard Mullock Richard Mullock (3 May 1851 – 1920) was a Welsh sporting administrator and official, who is most notable for organising the first Welsh rugby union international game and was instrumental in the creation of the Welsh Football Union, which bec ...

needed to quickly form a Welsh team to face

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

after a successful application to the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

. He turned to two of

' main rugby clubs, Newport and Cardiff, to form the bulk of the team. Mann was vice-captain of Cardiff RFC during the 1880/81 season and was one of four players that represented Cardiff during the period to make up the first Wales team; the other three members were

Leonard Watkins Leonard Watkins (7 December 1859 - 7 February 1901) was a Welsh international rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. He won just a single game for Wales when he was selected ...

Barry Girling Barry Edward Girling (1857 - 28 October 1905) was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales. He won a single cap for Wales, in the country's first international match. ...

and

William David Phillips William David Phillips (16 August 1855 – 15 October 1918) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. He won five caps for Wales and would later become ...

.Smith (1980), pg 40. The Welsh team was poorly organised before the game began, with no trial games organised, and a group of players who had very little experience of each other's style of play. Many members of the team were picked on their college background or the geographic location of their club. The game began poorly when Mann and

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

were both injured after just ten minutes of the match and eventually had to leave the field.Smith (1980), pg 57. The game ended in humiliation for the Welsh team, with England winning by eight goals to nil.Smith (1980), pg 56. Eleven players were dropped from the next Wales game, Mann being one of those to never play at an international level again.Smith (1980), pg 469. Mann later emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and he died in Los Angeles in 1948. He is buried in Bellevue Cemetery,

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

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Bibliography

References

* ''Welsh International Rugby Players'' Jenkins/Pierce/Auty, Bridge Books. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, B.B. Irish rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Cardiff RFC players Rugby union forwards 1858 births 1948 deaths