David 'Dai' Gwynn (28 December 1861 – 8 March 1910) was a Welsh 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 ...

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

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 county rugby for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

. Gwynn played 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 ...

on six occasions and was the brother of

William Gwynn William Gwynn (1856 - 1 April 1897) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and would later become secretary of the Welsh Rugby Union. Gwynn was an all-round sportsman and as well as his success on the rug ...

, who also played international rugby for Wales.

Background

Gwynn was born in

, Wales, and he died aged 48 in

, Wales.

Rugby career

Gwynn made his first club appearance for Swansea in 1878 and in 1882 he was part of the third Welsh national team. Under the captaincy of Charles Lewis, this was the first home game played by Wales, and the match at St. Helen's ended in another defeat by Wales at the hands of the English. This was Gwynn's last international match for just over four years, and during this period his brother played for Wales five times and the brothers never played in the same team national team together. When Gwynn was selected again, it was for the

1887 Home Nations Championship The 1887 Home Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 8 January and 12 March. It was contested by England national rugby union team, England, ...

in a game against Scotland. Gwynn found himself on the losing side for a second time and was forced to wait another three years before his was selected to play for his country again. When Gwynn was reselected he was chosen to face England as part of the 1890 Championship, which saw Wales beat the English for the very first time, thanks to a

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from

William Stadden William James Wood "Buller" Stadden (1861 –30 December 1906) was a Welsh international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Canton, Cardiff and Dewsbury. Stadden won eight caps for Wales over a period of seven years and is mo ...

. This was followed by a draw against Ireland as part of the same tournament. Gwynn played two final games for Wales, the Scotland and Ireland matches of the 1891 Championship. Gwynn moved north and played for

Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...

during this period, though continued to turn out for Swansea when he could. He was joined at Oldham by

William McCutcheon William McCutcheon (second ¼ 1870 – 3 July 1949) was a Welsh international rugby wing who played club rugby in the union code for Swansea, and represented Oldham ( Heritage No. 23) under the league code. McCutcheon was capped for the Wale ...

who not only played for Swansea, but also represented Lancashire with Gwynn at county level.Marshall, Francis ''Football; the Rugby union game'' (1892) Cassell and company Ltd. pg 367 When Gwynn left the sport of rugby, he became heavily associated with Swansea Cricket Club and umpired for the club.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. * 1882, 1890, 1891 * 1887, 1891 * 1890

Change of Code

When Oldham converted from the

code to the

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 ...

code on Thursday 29 August 1895, David Gwynn would have been approximately 34 years of age. Consequently, he may have been both a rugby union, and rugby league footballer for Oldham.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Search for "Gwynn" at rugbyleagueproject.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynn, David 1861 births 1910 deaths Lancashire County RFU players Oldham R.L.F.C. players Rugby union players from Swansea Rugby union wings Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh cricket umpires Welsh rugby union players