Frederick Charles Parfitt (12 August 1869 – 20 March 1953) 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 ...
scrum-half who played club rugby for
Newport, regional rugby for Somerset and was capped nine 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 ...
. On retiring from rugby union, Parfitt switched to
bowls and also represented Wales in this sport.
Rugby career
Parfitt first played rugby for local club team Pontnewydd, before switching to first class club, Newport. At Newport, Parfitt was partnered at scrum-half with
Percy Phillips, and played behind a formidable pack filled with Wales internationals
Arthur Gould,
Bob Gould and
Charlie Thomas.
[Smith (1980), pg 72.]
Parfitt was first selected to represent Wales as part of the
1893 Home Nations Championship in the opening game against England. Under the captaincy of Arthur Gould, Parfitt was chosen to partner Phillips, who although was recognised as an elusive attacker was seen as a weak proposition in defence and poor at spot kicking.
[Smith (1980), pg 81.] Where Phillips was an asset was in his link-up play with Gould, the team mates would break together in attack using inter-passing and feints to confuse their opponents. Parfitt's role was to cover Phillips and make sure that his offensive play did not cause defensive weaknesses.
Parfitt and Phillips partnered each other in all three games of the 1893 Championship, which saw Wales win all matches and raise the
Triple Crown
Triple Crown may refer to:
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** Triple Crown Productions
* Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
* Tri ...
for the first time in the country's history.
Parfitt was reselected for Wales for the
1894 Championship, but Welsh campaign had a terrible start when England beat them 24-3. Parfitt gained his only international points during this game when he scored a
try
Try or TRY may refer to:
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* ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio
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, though the Welsh pack squabbled throughout the game, with
Frank Hill working against the wishes of his captain Gould. After a win against Scotland, Parfitt saw his partnership at scrum-half change, when in the final game of the tournament against Ireland, Phillips was replaced by
Cardiff's Ralph Sweet-Escott.
Parfitt played just a single game of the
1895 Home Nations Championship, alongside
Selwyn Biggs, in a loss to Scotland. He was reunited with Biggs in
1896
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
* January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
* January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...
, this time in a win over Scotland. His final game was the last game of the 1896 tournament away to Ireland. On this occasion he was partnered with new cap
Llewellyn Lloyd
George Llewellyn Lloyd (1877 – 1 August 1957) was a Welsh international half-back who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Kent. He won 12 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion against Scotland.
Rugby career
...
, who would become a strong player for Wales and a groundbreaking captain for Newport.
International matches played
Wales
[Smith (1980), pg 470.]
* 1893, 1894
* 1893, 1894, 1896
* 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896
External links
Newport RFC player profiles
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parfitt, Fred
1869 births
1953 deaths
Newport RFC players
Rugby union players from Cwmbran
Rugby union scrum-halves
Wales international rugby union players
Welsh male bowls players
Welsh rugby union players