David Samuel (1869 – 15 September 1943) 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 ...

forward who played club rugby for

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

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 is most notable as being a member of the first Welsh Triple Crown winning team, in 1893.

Rugby career

Samuel began his rugby, like many players from

, at

Morriston RFC Morriston Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the village of Morriston, Swansea in West Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys. The club was founded in 1876 and has produced a number o ...

.Player profile
Ospreys website By 1891 Samuel was playing for first class club Swansea, and on 7 March was selected to represent Wales against Ireland as part of the

1891 Home Nations Championship The 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 1891 Championship was won ...

. The game saw an influx of Swansea players into the squad, with first caps for Tom Deacon,

David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to: Performers *David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre *David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...

, Samuel's brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

Griffiths (1987), 4:5. as well as Samuel himself. After losses in the first two games of the tournament against Scotland and England, Wales achieved a narrow win over Ireland to avoid ending bottom of the table. Samuel was at the centre of the match scoring a vital

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

, which was converted by

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 ...

. Despite the success of the Welsh team against Ireland, Samuel was replaced the next season by Swansea teammate

Frank Mills Frank Mills (born June 27, 1942) is a Canadian pianist and recording artist, best known for his solo instrumental hit "Music Box Dancer". Early life and education Mills was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was raised in Verdun, Quebec and started pl ...

. In 1893 the Welsh team had achieved early success in the Home Nations Championship. The Welsh selectors had decided to keep faith with a fairly static squad, which had achieved success with wins over both England and Scotland. Under the captaincy of Welsh rugby superstar Arthur Gould, Wales faced Ireland 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 of s ...

in the hope of winning their first

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

Championship. Samuel was the only change to the Welsh squad after the win away to Scotland, brought in to replace

Harry Day Harry Melville Arbuthnot Day, (3 August 1898 – 11 March 1977) was a Royal Marine and later a Royal Air Force pilot during the Second World War. As a prisoner of war, he was senior British officer in a number of camps and a noted escapee. Ea ...

. Wales won by a single try, taking the Triple Crown for the first time, making Samuel a Home Nations Champion. Although Samuel had played in two winning games, he was not selected for any further Welsh international games.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 471. * 1891, 1893

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel, David 1869 births 1943 deaths Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Swansea Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players