Frank "Genny" Gordon 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 ...
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 Rugby Club. Although never capped for his country he is notable for captaining Swansea over two seasons, including the 1904/05 "invincible" season. Gordon also led Swansea against the first touring
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
team in 1906.
Rugby career
Gordon joined Swansea in 1894, and spent several seasons playing for the "all whites" before succeeding
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 ...
as the captain of the first XV. He would captain Swansea over four seasons, when Swansea won the Welsh championship twice, including the 1904/05 "invincible" season when Swansea finished unbeaten by all club opposition. In 1904, with Gordon now into his third season as Swansea captain, he was listed as a replacement centre for the upcoming
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 ...
encounter with
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 ...
, the final match of the
1904 Home Nations Championship
The 1904 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 9 January and 19 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Table
Results
...
, which happened to be played at Swansea. The present Welsh centre was Swansea team-mate and his vice-captain,
Dan Rees. On the morning of the match Rees informed the
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby.
The WRU is responsible for the running ...
that he was ineligible to play. This was seen by the Welsh selectors as an attempt by the Swansea club to manoeuvre their popular captain into the now empty slot in the Welsh team, to provide him with his first international cap in front of
their own ground.
[Parry-Jones (1999), pg 124.] The selectors acted angrily, and recalled semi-retired Wales captain
to take the vacant position, rather than be dictated in their actions by the Swansea club. Despite Wales winning the match, Nicholls was treated poorly by the crowd who reportedly threw oranges and mud at him during the team photo.
Whether through the perceived actions of his club or not, Gordon never represented Wales at international level.
In late 1905,
The Original All Blacks
The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...
had arrived in Wales as part of their first overseas tour. The last of their encounters in Wales was against Swansea, and except for a narrow defeat in a classic encounter against the National team, had defeated all their opponents, including England, Ireland and Scotland. Swansea was the last match to be played on British soil but few critics gave Swansea any hope of beating the All Blacks.
[Billot (1980), pg 42.] Gordon lead his team in a narrow loss against New Zealand, the All Blacks scoring a dropped goal, while Swansea scored a single
try
Try or TRY may refer to:
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from
Fred Scrine. In 1905 that left the score 4–3 to New Zealand, by modern standards it would have seen Swansea win 5–3.
After leaving club rugby, Gordon continued to support his old club, and in the encounter between Swansea and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
during the
Wallabies 1908-09 tour, Gordon was linesman during the match.
Frank Gordon profile
Swansearfc.co.uk
Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Frank
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
Welsh rugby union players
Rugby union centres
Swansea RFC players