Benjamin Davies (5 June 1873 – 23 June 1930)
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 Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

halfback who played

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 ...

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 was capped twice 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 ...

. Davies captained Llanelli for the 1894-95 season and was club secretary between 1898 and 1899. He later became the coach of Llandovery College and also wrote sports articles for the Daily Mail.Jenkins (1991), pg 36.

Rugby career

Davies played club rugby for first class Welsh team, Llanelli, and it was while representing the 'Scarlets' that he was first selected to play for Wales. Wales had used the Newport half-back pairing of Percy Phillips and

Fred Parfitt Frederick Charles Parfitt (12 August 1869 – 20 March 1953) was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Newport, regional rugby for Somerset and was capped nine times for Wales. On retiring from rugby union, Par ...

, but after the retirement of Phillips, the selectors began experimenting with new pairings. The opening game of the

1895 Home Nations Championship The 1895 Home Nations Championship was the thirteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Scotland won all their t ...

against England saw the introduction of two new caps into the half-back positions, Davies and Cardiff's

Selwyn Biggs Selwyn Hanam Biggs (June 1872 – 12 January 1943) was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for Cardiff and county rugby for Glamorgan. Both Biggs and his brother Norman played international rugby for Wales, though ...

. Despite experienced and talented backs, including

Billy Bancroft William James Bancroft (2 March 1871 – 3 March 1959) was a Welsh international fullback, who played club rugby for Swansea, and a county cricketer for Glamorgan, for whom he was the first professional player in 1895. Bancroft was seen as o ...

, Tom Pearson and captain Arthur Gould, the weak forward play from Wales left the backs hamstrung, and the team lost 6-14.Griffiths (1987), 4:7. The next game of the Championship saw the selectors retain Biggs, but Davies was replaced by a returning Fred Parfitt. Despite playing no further part in the 1895 tournament, Davies was given another international cap the next year, again in the opening game of the tournament against England. This time Davies' half-back partner was Llanelli team mate David Morgan. The Welsh selectors often favoured less able half-back pairing which came from the same club team, giving a level of continuity to the back play. Morgan was first capped in the last game of the 1895 tournament, a home win over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Morgan was retained, while his partner

Ralph Sweet-Escott Ralph Bond Sweet-Escott (11 January 1869 – 11 November 1907) was an English-born international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Cardiff and was capped three times for Wales. Sweet-Escott also played cricket for Glamorgan repre ...

was dropped to allow Davies another chance. Played away at

Rectory Field Rectory Field is a sports ground in Blackheath in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. It was developed in the 1880s by Blackheath Cricket, Football and Lawn Tennis Company and became the home ground of rugby union team Blackhe ...

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

, Wales were completely outclassed, losing 25-0. Neither Morgan or Davies were ever selected for Wales again.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 464. * 1895, 1896

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Ben 1873 births 1930 deaths Welsh rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Rugby union players from Llanelli Llanelli RFC players Wales international rugby union players British sportswriters