James Augustus Merry (c. 1888
– 14 December 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
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
hooker who played
rugby union for
Pill Harriers and
rugby league with
Hull F.C.
Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...
He won two caps for
Wales at rugby union and later represented the
Wales rugby league team in 1913.
Rugby career
Merry was born , in Newport, Wales. A crane driver by profession,
[Jenkins (1991), pg 110.] he played amateur rugby for Pill Harriers, a notably tough team that played in Newport. Merry made his international début for Wales during the
1912 Five Nations Championship
The 1912 Five Nations Championship was the third series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the thirtieth se ...
, in a much changed team for the encounter with
Ireland. In the first two matches of the campaign, Wales had lost to England, but then beat Scotland. Despite the win over Scotland, the Ireland match saw the Welsh selectors bring in seven new caps, five of them in the pack. The inexperience of the Welsh team showed on the day and Wales were beaten 12-5, after the Welsh led 5-0 at half time. Merry played one final game for Wales under the union code, the last match of the 1912 Championship, played in his home town of Newport against
France. After a slow start Wales came through to narrowly beat the French, who were a weak team in their infancy.
It is unknown if Merry would have gained any further caps for the Welsh union team as in 1912 he switched to the professional code, joining Hull. He made his début on 5 September and played 35 games for Hull.
On 15 February 1913, Merry was selected to play for the Wales rugby league team, making him a dual-code international.
His only cap for Wales was against
England, played at Plymouth. Wales lost 16-40. In 1919 he made a failed application to rejoin the union code.
[Jenkins (1991), pg 110.]
Bibliography
References
External links
* (archived by web.archive.org
Stats → PastPlayers → M at hullfc.com* (archived by web.archive.org
Statistics at hullfc.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merry, Gus
1880s births
1943 deaths
Crane operators
Dual-code rugby internationals
Hull F.C. players
Pill Harriers RFC players
Rugby league players from Newport, Wales
Rugby union hookers
Rugby union players from Newport, Wales
Wales international rugby union players
Wales national rugby league team players
Welsh rugby league players
Welsh rugby union players