John "Jere" Blake (1875 – 15 February 1933) 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

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 ...

and international rugby 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 ...

. He was part of the 1900 Wales

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winning team.

Rugby career

Blake was first capped for Wales during the

1899 Home Nations Championship The 1899 Home Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 18 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 1899 Championship w ...

in the opening game against England. The selectors made multiple changes to the team that finished the previous season, with only six players returning to the squad from that game. Blake was one of five new caps to be brought into the pack, while the

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

half-back pairing of

Evan Evan is both an English and Welsh male given name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to "Ivan", "Ian", and "Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yəhôḥ� ...

and David James returned into the team after their reinstatement to the rugby union code. The game was a massive loss for England, with Wales running in six tries, four by

Willie Llewellyn William Morris "Willie" Llewellyn (1 January 1878 – 12 March 1973) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He captained Wales in 1905 and London Welsh in 1902. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Black ...

. The selectors kept faith with Blake for the rest of the tournament, but Welsh fortunes dropped after the England game, with a loss to Scotland and Ireland. Blake was back in the Wales team for the entirety of the 1900 Championship under the captaincy of Welsh sporting icon

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 ...

. Wales won all three matches and won the Triple Crown for the second time in the country's history. The next season the selectors tried to keep the nucleus of the Championship winning team together and hopes were high that the Welsh team could repeat the last season's feat and retake the Triple Crown. Blake retook his place in the pack, with the forwards being led by

Dick Hellings Richard Hellings (1 December 1874 – 9 February 1938) was an English-born Welsh rugby union forward who played international rugby for Wales and club rugby for Llwynypia. Hellings was noted for his strength built from years cutting coal as a ...

, but they lacked cohesion in the tight and although beating England at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

, looked ragged at times.Griffiths (1987), pg 4:10. The next game Scotland took advantage of the weaknesses in the forward positions, with Wales caving in towards the end of the match, with the Scottish winning 18-8. Blake played his final international game when Wales hosted Ireland at St. Helen's for the final game of the tournament. Wales were narrow victors, but the selectors chose a new wave of players at the start of 1902, as they had done in 1899, and Blake lost his place to Will Osborne.

International matches played for Wales

WalesSmith (1980), pg 463. * 1899, 1900, 1901 * 1899, 1900, 1901 * 1899, 1900, 1901

Bibliography

* * *

Note

In 'Gone North - Volume 2', the 'Errata to (Gone North) Volume 1'Robert Gate (1986). "Gone North — Volume 1". R. E. Gate. section states that "Detailed research now indicates that Jere Blake and

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

appear never to have signed for

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

or any other professional club although they do appear to have trialled for Northern Union clubs".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Jere 1875 births 1933 deaths Cardiff RFC players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Cardiff Wales international rugby union players Welsh miners Welsh rugby union players