Ernest Edward George (1871 – 28 November 1952) 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 it ...

forward who played club rugby for a variety of teams, but is most associated with

Pontypridd () ( colloquially: Ponty) is a town and a community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Geography comprises the electoral wards of , Hawthorn, Pontypridd Town, 'Rhondda', Rhydyfelin Central/Ilan ( Rhydfelen), Trallwng ( Trallwn) and Treforest (). ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. George was capped three times 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 ...

between 1895 and 1896.

Rugby career

George, a masonry worker by trade, began his rugby career playing for local club Llantwit Major,The Major Influence
Walesonline 23-01-08 but switched to Pontypridd. It was while representing Pontypridd that he was first selected for the Wales national team; being brought into the pack for the match against Scotland as part 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 ...

. George was one of two debut forwards in the Welsh team, with

Tom Pook Tom Pook (1869 – 21 February 1948) was an English-born Wales international rugby forward who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league with Holbeck (in Holbeck, Leeds). Although short for a forward player at five foot six, Pook was ...

from Newport. The game was a close affair, with Wales losing 4–5, which set up the final Welsh game of the tournament as a wooden spoon decider between Wales and Ireland. George was reselected for the encounter with Ireland, which was played at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

. The game was another tight match, with Wales winning by the fact that they converted their only

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 ...

, while Ireland missed theirs. George played just one more international game, the opening game of the 1896 Championship away to England. Wales were humiliated, with England scoring seven tries without reply; and the Welsh selectors reacted by changing six of the eight man pack for the next game; George was one of those players whose Wales rugby career ended after the game.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. * 1896 * 1895 * 1895

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Ernie 1871 births 1952 deaths Cardiff RFC players Llantwit Major RFC players London Welsh RFC players Plymouth Albion R.F.C. players Pontypridd RFC players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Llantwit Major Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players