John Henry Gore (16 June 1899 – 18 March 1971) 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 Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

flanker who played

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 ...

for

Blaina Blaina ( cy, Blaenau ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

. His son,

Billy Gore William Gore (19 November 1919 – 13 April 2010) was a Welsh rugby union, and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Newbridge RFC, as a h ...

, played international rugby for

Wales national rugby union team The Wales national rugby union team ( cy, Tîm rygbi'r undeb cenedlaethol Cymru) represents Wales in men's international rugby union. Its governing body, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), was established in 1881, the same year that Wales played thei ...

the same as his father.

Rugby career

Gore played all his rugby union for the unfashionable lower level club Blaina, though during this period the Welsh selectors would often choose tough manual workers to represent the forward positions. Gore first represented Wales in the

1924 Five Nations Championship The 1924 Five Nations Championship was the tenth 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 thirty-seven ...

in a match 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 ...

against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Under the captaincy of

Jack Wetter Jack Wetter DCM (29 December 1887 – 29 July 1967) was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby predominantly for Newport. He was captain for both his club and country and earned 10 caps for Wales. Wetter's rugby career ...

, Gore found himself on the losing team which stopped a run of 9 successive home wins for Wales. His second game was against France and although a win for Wales, it was a poor Welsh performance caused by players being thrown out of position by the selectors decision to suspend

Ossie Male Ossie Male (31 December 1893 – 23 February 1975)
Scrum.com was a Wales, Welsh international full back who played club rugby fo ...

on the trip to Paris. Gore was selected later in the year to face the touring New Zealand team. Wales were totally outclassed by the All Blacks, though the forwards put on a spirited display.Billot (1972), pg 68. The next year Gore played his final game for Wales, when he faced England during the 1925 Championship. Wales lost the game 12–6, and Gore played no further international union games. He switched codes to the professional league game when he joined Salford later in 1925.Bale, John; The Global Sports Arena: Athletic talent migration in the interdependent world. Routledge pg28

Salford

Whilst

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Salford he played for both the

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 ...

and

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 ...

positioned at , i.e. number 13, during the era of contested

scrum Scrum may refer to: Sport * Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league ** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union * Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi Media and popular culture * M ...

s. Many say that he played for the Great Britain rugby league team as he was of Welsh birth and was not the only Welshman to play for this team, however local Salford newspaper reports of the day clearly record: To Jack Gore our Captain, we offer our very hearty congratulations on his selection as Loose Forward for 'England' on the occasion of the Third and Final Test against the ''All Blacks'' to be played at Leeds, on 15 January 1927. This match of course depends upon what transpires at the League Councils Meeting, held on Wednesday last. This honour, by the way is not unexpected, when having read ''Old Stagers'' report of the recent Wales v. ''All Blacks'', an extract from the ''South Wales News'' which is as follows: GORE, a forward who would be an acquisition to any pack of Forwards - on his showing at Pontypridd. Gore is one of the greatest Forwards Wales has ever produced - would secure a 'place' in any National side for which he was qualified Gore qualified to play for England because of his father's nationality. Jack made his début for Salford against St Helens on 28 February 1925 as a before quickly being switched to with great effect. Gore made 125 appearances for Salford between 1925 and 1928 scoring 29 tries. He played his last game for Salford at Barrow on 9 April 1928.

Wigan Highfield

He transferred to

Wigan Highfield Liverpool Stanley was a semi-professional rugby league club from Liverpool, England. It was renamed Liverpool City in 1951, but was otherwise unrelated to the original Liverpool club of the same name. The club's origins date back to 1880 when i ...

during the close season. Gore then played for Wigan Highfield from 1928 until 1932 making 109 appearances and scoring 17 tries.

Monmouthshire

Jack Gore played in

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

's 14-18 defeat by

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

in the non-

County Championship The County Championship (referred to as the LV= Insurance County Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales and is organised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). It bec ...

match during the 1926–27 season at

Taff Vale Park Taff Vale Park is a rugby union ground and former greyhound racing track in Treforest, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Taff Vale Park is situated on the River Taff at the end of Nile Street in Treforest. It was originally fields adjacent ...

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 ...

on Saturday 30 April 1927.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 32 – 1926–27". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

Retirement

Gore returned to his birth town where he ran the Kings Head

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lic house, High Street, Blaina. Gore was often suspected of being a rugby league spy for Salford. It is reported that he was instrumental in spotting the great Dai Watkins, also from Blaina, who followed Gore to Salford after his days as a Welsh International rugby star.

International rugby union matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. * 19 January 1924. Played at St Helens, Swansea, WALES 9 ENGLAND 17 * 8 March 1924. Cardiff Arms Park, WALES 10 IRELAND 13 * 27 March 1924 Colombes, Paris. FRANCE 6 WALES 10 * 29 November 1924. St Helens Swansea. WALES 0 NEW ZEALAND 19 Gore was also a Reserve on 2 February 1924. Played at Inverieth, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND 35 WALES 10

International rugby league matches played

Wales * 1927, 1928 * 6 December 1926. Played at

Pontypridd (att 18,000). WALES 34 NEW ZEALAND 8 (Gore scored 2 tries) England * 15 January 1927. Leeds

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

Great Britain Statistics at englandrl.co.uk (statistics currently missing due to not having appeared for both Great Britain, and England)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gore, Jack 1899 births 1971 deaths Blaina RFC players British publicans Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players Liverpool City (rugby league) players Monmouthshire rugby league team players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Blaina Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Blaina Salford Red Devils captains Salford Red Devils players Wales international rugby union players Welsh miners Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players