Daniel Griffiths (20 June 1857 – 29 October 1936) 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 it ...

forward who played club rugby 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 international rugby 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 ...

. Morgan was a collier by profession.

Rugby career

Griffiths came to note as a rugby player when playing for club team Llanelli. In 1888 Griffiths twice faced the 1888 touring New Zealand Natives, once with LlanelliBillot (1972), pg 16. and then three days later with Wales. The Llanelli game against the Māoris was the first time a touring Southern Hemisphere team had played a rugby match in Wales, and a crowd of 3,000 turned up at

Stradey Park Stradey Park (Welsh: ''Parc y Strade'') was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination o ...

to watch. Griffiths finished on the winning team, when Harry Bowen scored the only points of the game with a

dropped goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kicki ...

from near the halfway line.Billot (1972), pg 15. On the 22 December, Griffiths won his first international

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

when he was chosen to face the New Zealand team again, this time against Wales at St. Helen's in Swansea. The game began badly, when the crowd began booing their own team, mainly from Swansea and Llanelli fans who thought their clubs had been overlooked with only two Swansea players on the pitch and Griffiths being the only representative of the '

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

'.Billot (1972), pg 17. Even with a hostile crowd Wales played well, using the four threequarter system, which was adopted by the team after the game, to good effect. The Welsh won by a goal and two tries to nil. Griffiths lost his place for the next international, the opener of the

1889 Home Nations Championship The 1889 Home Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 2 February and 2 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England were excluded from the Ch ...

to Scotland, but was back in the team for the second and final game of the tournament at home to

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 ...

. Four Llanelli players were brought into the team, Griffiths,

Giotto Griffiths Griffith 'Giotto' Griffiths (15 September 1864 – 22 July 1938) was a Welsh international rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales. Rugby career Griffiths came to note as a rugby player when ...

, Ned Roberts and Tom Morgan, which would later turn out to be all four's final international. Wales were led by Arthur Gould, who with nine caps was the most experienced player in both teams;Godwin (1984), pg 22. but could not find the play to beat a useful Irish team.Griffiths (1987), pg 4:4. The Irish won by two tries to nil and Griffiths ended his international career with a loss. *Not to be confused with Daniel Griffiths who is also of Welsh decent and currently plys his Rugby trade at Warrington RUFC.

International matches played

Wales (rugby union)Smith (1980), pg 466. * 1889 * 1888

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Dan 1857 births 1936 deaths Llanelli RFC players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players