John Meredith (1863 - 30 November 1920) 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 its m ...

forward who played club rugby for

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 ...

and won four caps 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 ...

. Outside rugby, Meredith later became a literary adjudicator in

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

au.Player profile of Meredith
Swansea Rugby Club website

Rugby career

Meredith was first selected for Wales on 4 February 1888 in the opening game of the Home Nations Championship against Scotland at

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's cen ...

. Meredith was one of seven new caps in the Welsh squad, and one of five in the pack, which included fellow Swansea teammates W.H. Howell and T. Williams. Wales won the game thanks to a single

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

from

Thomas Pryce-Jenkins Dr. Thomas John Pryce-Jenkins (1 February 1864 – 6 August 1922) was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for London Welsh and county rugby for Middlesex. Pryce-Jenkins represented Wales twice but he is more notable with ...

and Meredith was reselected for the next game of the tournament, played away to Ireland at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

. Although the team was more stable in its selection, with the same eight forwards playing, Ireland won comfortably and for eight of the Welsh team it was their last Championship match. Meredith found himself dropped for the next season's Championship but unlike most of the 1888 team, found himself back in the Welsh team when he was chosen to play in the opener of the 1890 Championship against Scotland. Played 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 ...

, Wales lost the game and the following game to England was expected to follow the same pattern. Wales had never beaten the English, but the England team had missed the last two seasons after an argument with the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

and this was their first Championship game of the tournament. Now under the captaincy of Arthur Gould, Meredith was part of a victorious Wales team, thanks to a clever try from

William Stadden William James Wood "Buller" Stadden (1861 –30 December 1906) was a Welsh international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Canton, Cardiff and Dewsbury. Stadden won eight caps for Wales over a period of seven years and is mo ...

. Although part of the winning team, Meredith was never reselected for Wales with Tom Graham taking Meredith's place.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 469. * 1890 * 1888 * 1888, 1890

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, John 1863 births 1920 deaths Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Swansea Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players