John Ainsworth Spoors (1 July 1886 – 19 March 1963)Jack Spoors Lions profile
lionsrugby.com was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

back who played club rugby for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. Although he was never capped for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

he was selected for the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

in their 1910 tour of South Africa, playing in all three Test matches and ending the tour as the team's top scorer.

Rugby career

Spoors was educated at

Colston's School Collegiate School (formerly known as Colston's Collegiate School and Colston’s School) is an independent day school in Bristol, England, and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It is currently in a period of transiti ...

a private school in

. He joined Bristol Rugby Club during 1903/04 season playing for the second XV, and in the following season he made his first team debut in a match against

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 ...

. By 1905 he was a regular in the first team and that year he faced the first touring New Zealand team. Described as a wing with a deceptive turn of pace and the ability to side-step and swerve whilst running at speed, Spoors was chosen at county level for

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

. During the 1909/10 season, while still with Bristol, Spoors was selected to trial for the England national team. He played in all three trials that season, playing on the winning team each time and scoring three tries. Despite his success in the trials, the England selectors failed to choose Spoors preferring instead to choose the entire Harlequins backs for the opening game of the

1910 Five Nations Championship The 1910 Five Nations Championship was the first 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 twenty-eigh ...

International matches played

British Isles

* 1910, 1910, 1910

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoors, Jack 1886 births 1963 deaths Bristol Bears players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England English rugby union players Gloucestershire County RFU players People educated at Colston's School Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Bristol