Iorwerth Isaac (12 October 1911 – 25 April 1966) commonly known as Iorrie Isaac, was a Welsh dual-code 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 its m ...

, and professional

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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1930s. He played representative rugby union (RU) for

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 ...

, and at club level for

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 (). The ...

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 ...

, as a flanker, i.e. number 6 or 7, and representative rugby league (RL) for

, and at club level for

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, as a , or , i.e. number 8 or 10, or, 11 or 12, during the era of contested

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Rugby career

Isaac was first selected for Wales in their opening game of the

1933 Home Nations Championship The 1933 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-sixth series of the nort ...

. The match was against England at their national stadium,

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

. Wales had failed to win at the ground in their first nine attempts, and the Welsh failure at the ground was known as the 'Twickenham bogey'. Isaac was placed at open-side flanker, opposite the veteran Tom Arthur who was positioned on the blind side.Smith (1980), pg 274. Isaac, along with

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, and Arthur, continually spoiled the English scrum.Smith (1980), pg 276. When Isaac caused the English half-backs to loose the loose maul,

Watcyn Thomas Watcyn Thomas (16 January 1906 – 10 August 1977) was a Welsh rugby union player who captained Wales in the early 1930s. Thomas was born in Llanelli and educated at Llanelli County School and at University College, Swansea. While still at scho ...

heeled the ball back for Wooller, and then Davey to feed

Ronnie Boon Ronald Winston Boon (11 June 1909 – 3 August 1998) was an international rugby union wing for Wales who played club rugby for Cardiff. Boon possessed a tremendous self-confidence in his own ability and this was reflected in his nickname ''Cock ...

who scored a Welsh

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.Smith (1980), pg 277. The game ended 7–3, with all the Welsh points scored by Boon, who had also placed a drop goal. Isaacs played just one more international game in the very next match of the Home Nations Championship against Scotland at St. Helens, his international career identical to that of Raymond Bark-Jones. At the start of the 1933/34 season Isaac left rugby union behind when he 'Went North' switching to the professional rugby league game, joining Leeds RLFC.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 467. * 1933 * 1933

International Rugby League honours

Isaac won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

s for

(RL) while at Leeds in 1933 against Australia, and 1935 against France.

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Pontypridd RFC player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac, Iorrie 1911 births 1966 deaths Cardiff RFC players Cilfynydd RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Glamorgan Police RFC players Glamorgan Police officers Leeds Rhinos players Penarth RFC players Pontypridd RFC players Rugby league players from Rhondda Cynon Taf Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Cilfynydd Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh police officers Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players