Horace Sampson Lyne
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
(31 December 1860 – 1 May 1949) 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 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
Newport Rugby Football Club. He won five caps 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 ...
. After retiring from play, he became the longest serving president of the
Welsh Rugby Union, and was one of six representatives that formed the
International Rugby Board
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international ru ...
.
Playing career
Lyne played most of his club rugby with Newport, spending 8 seasons there between 1878 and 1885. He captained Newport in his final full season in 1883/1884. Lyne was first selected for Wales during the
1883 Home Nations Championship
The 1883 Home Nations Championship was the inaugural series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Five matches were played between 16 December 1882 and 3 March 1883. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
England were ...
in an away match at Raeburn Park to Scotland. It was the first time the two teams had played each other, and Wales, under the captaincy of
Charles Lewis, lost by three goals to one. Lyne played in the next four Welsh games, including all three games of the
1884 Championship, and the opening game of the
1885 Championship against England at
St Helens in
Swansea. He retired from playing in 1885, but continued his association with the game when he refereed the match between England and Ireland in 1885.
International matches played
Wales
[Smith (1980), pg 469.]
* 1884, 1885
* 1883, 1884
* 1884
Administrative career
While still a player, Lyne took a clear interest in the affairs of Welsh rugby; and on his retirement from play, began applying for administrative posts. In 1887, Lyne and WRU secretary
Richard Mullock
Richard Mullock (3 May 1851 – 1920) was a Welsh sporting administrator and official, who is most notable for organising the first Welsh rugby union international game and was instrumental in the creation of the Welsh Football Union, which bec ...
became the Welsh representatives to the
International Board, the body set up to regulate the sport in Britain.
[Smith (1980), pg 50.] Lyne served on the board of the IB, which later became the International Rugby Board, from 1887 to 1938. He was in demand as an administrator, and was known to be very fair-minded.
[Smith (1980), pg 51.] He was also a progressive thinker, and voiced concerns about the North of England breaking away from the IRB years before the formation of
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 11 ...
. As the chair of the Welsh Football Union, he met with
Neath secretary
Walter E. Rees, with whom he later ran the WRU for near four decades. In 1892, Lyne was elected one of four vice-presidents of the WRU, with joint responsibilities for Cardiff and the East area. During the same meeting, Mullock, who was extremely unpopular with the Welsh rugby clubs, was replaced as secretary by
William Gwynn.
[Smith (1980), pg 78.]
In 1906, Lyne replaced
Sir John T. Llewellyn as the President of the Welsh Rugby Union—a role he held until 1947, making him the longest serving president. He was succeeded by Sir
David Rocyn-Jones
The Reverend Sir David Thomas Rocyn-Jones, CBE, K St J, DL, JP (16 November 1862 – 30 April 1953) was a Welsh medical officer of health and servant of multiple professional bodies within Wales.
Professional career
Rocyn-Jones was born in ...
.
Lyne was also the Chairman of Newport Athletic Club from 1894 to 1949.
Bibliography
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyne, Horace
Welsh rugby union players
Wales international rugby union players
Rugby union forwards
Rugby union players from Newport, Wales
Newport RFC players
1860 births
1949 deaths
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Welsh rugby union referees
Wales Rugby Union officials