David "Dai" Edwards (21 March 1896 – 24 August 1960)
Scrum.com was an 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 ...

forward 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 its m ...

for

Glynneath Glynneath ( cy, Glyn-nedd "valley of the River Neath"), also spelt ''Glyn-neath'' and ''Glyn Neath'', is a small town, community and electoral ward lying on the River Neath in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales. It was formerly in th ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

with

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

. He won a single cap 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 ...

under the rugby union code and then represented his country at rugby league in two matches between 1923 and 1925.

Rugby career

Edwards' rugby career was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I, in which Edwards fought for his country serving in the Welsh Guards. On the resumption of club rugby in 1919, Edwards rejoined his local team Glynneath, and was given the captaincy of the club in the 1919/1920 season. He retained the captaincy the following season, and in 1921 he won his first and only international cap as a rugby union player.Jenkins (1991), p. 49. Edwards won his cap for the opening game of the

1921 Five Nations Championship The 1921 Five Nations Championship was the seventh 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-fo ...

, an encounter with

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 ...

at Twickenham. Wales suffered from several injuries to players during the game and were comprehensively beaten. Edwards was not reselected for any of the remaining games of the tournament. In 1921, Edwards surrendered his amateur status by joining professional rugby league team, Rochdale Hornets. His first match for the Hornets was on 27 August against Swinton. He won two rugby league caps for

as a rugby league international, both games against England in 1923 and in 1925. Edwards played right-, i.e. number 12, in

' 10–9 victory over

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

in the

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1921–22 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingle ...

Rugby Stadium,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

on Saturday 6 May 1922, in front of a crowd of 32,596. Returning to Wales in the late 1920s, he coached

Rhigos RFC Rhigos Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Rhigos, Aberdare, South Wales. History Rhigos RFC were formed by the local cricket team that decided they needed a winter sport to allow them to continue playing when the cricket sea ...

, until he was stopped by the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

due to his background as a professional league player. He was however allowed to play for Rhigos during the Second World War.

International matches played

Wales (rugby union) * 1921 Wales (rugby league) * 1923, 1925

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Dai 1896 births 1960 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Dual-code rugby internationals Glynneath RFC players Neath RFC players Rhigos RFC players Rochdale Hornets players Rugby league forwards Rugby league players from Neath Port Talbot Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Glynneath Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh Guards soldiers Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players