William James 'Bobby' Delahay (2 September 1900 – 12 September 1978)
ESPN Scrum.com was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 ...

who played club rugby for

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

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 ...

. Although he played at scrum-half he was also selected 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 ...

at centre and fly-half.Thomas (1979), pg 62.

Rugby career

Delahay first came to prominence as part of Bridgend Rugby Football Club, and played his first eight games for Wales while with the club. Delahay switched to first-class club Cardiff in 1923, and after leaving Cardiff, turned out as a veteran for Torquay Athletic and Devon. In 1924 Delahay was part of the Cardiff team to face the touring

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

, and although Cardiff lost 8–16, he scored a memorable try. Delahay captained Cardiff during the 1926/27 season.

International rugby career

Delahay was first capped for Wales on the 21 January 1922 in a match against England. Delahay was one of eight new caps on the day and Wales beat England easily, scoring eight tries, Delahay scoring one of them. Delahay would be selected for all four games in the

1922 Five Nations Championship The 1922 Five Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-fif ...

, which Wales won, but the next year, again selected for all four games in the competition Delahay was part of the Wales team that came last. In 1923, after his switch to Cardiff, Delahay gave some terrible performances in Welsh trials,Thomas (1979), pg 63. and was not selected for the 1924 tournament. After his good game for Cardiff against the All Blacks, he was re-selected to play for Wales against the same touring New Zealanders. Delahay would play all games in the

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Italia ...

and

1926 Five Nations Championship The 1926 Five Nations Championship was the twelfth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirty-nin ...

s, and in the final game of the 1926 tournament he was selected as Wales captain in the game against France. ''International matches played for Wales''Smith (1980), pg 465. * 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926 * 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926 * 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926 * 1924 * 1922, 1923, 1925, 1926, 1927

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delahay, Bobby 1900 births 1978 deaths Bridgend RFC players Cardiff RFC players Rugby union players from Bridgend Rugby union scrum-halves Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players