Barry Edward Girling (1857 - 28 October 1905) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-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

When Girling was selected for the first Welsh team he was playing for club team Cardiff. The team selection for the Wales squad was undertaken in a hurry, as the match organiser,

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 ...

, had broken away from the South Wales Football Union to arrange the match with England. With no real links to any of the clubs outside Newport and Cardiff, Mullock chose a team made up of gentlemen players with connections to the old universities. Four members of Cardiff RFC were chosen for the Welsh team, club captain

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 ...

, vice-captain B. B. Mann,

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 ...

and Girling. The Welsh team were unprepared for the far more experienced and well drilled England team, and ended the match losing by eight goals to nil, a humiliating result. When the second Welsh international was arranged against Ireland the next year, eleven of the original squad were not reselected. Girling was one of those dropped, and never represented Wales again. Although no longer part of the international scene, Girling continued playing for Cardiff, and when Phillips ended his captaincy of Cardiff, Girling was given the role for the 1882/83 season.Marshall, Francis ''Football; the Rugby union game'' (1892) Cassell and company Ltd. pg 265

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girling, Barry 1858 births 1948 deaths Cardiff RFC players English rugby union players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Bristol Wales international rugby union players