Melville "Mel" Aaron Rosser sometimes recorded as Melvin and Melvyn (18 April 1901 – 8 September 1988) was a Welsh 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 ...

centre 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

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a weal ...

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 ...

and later turned to 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 ...

joining first

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 ...

, then

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the town centre the River Calder joins the ...

( Heritage #88), and then

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. Rosser played international rugby for Wales under both union and league codes, and toured Australia with the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

rugby league team in 1928.

Rugby union career

Mel Rosser began his rugby career with his local rugby club Machen RFC, before moving to first class team Cardiff. He played two seasons for Cardiff, scoring four tries during his period with the club. During the 1923–24 season, Rosser switched from Cardiff to local rival club Penarth. It was as a Penarth player that he was first selected for international duty, selected 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 ...

to face

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

as part of the 1924 Five Nations Championship. Rosser was brought in at centre, partnered with

Jack Elwyn Evans John "Jack" Elwyn Evans (1897 – 15 July 1941) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Brynamman RFC, Amman Uni ...

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

. The game was a sporting disaster, with Scotland inflicting their heaviest victory over Wales, and running up a record breaking score in a 35–10 win. Although Rosser was dropped after the Scotland game, missing the encounter with Ireland, he was reselected for the final game of the Championship, away to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Rosser was originally intended to play at centre, but on the train trip to Paris the Welsh selectors suspended Ossie Male as he had broken a rule preventing any player from representing Wales if they had played club rugby within the week leading up to the international match.Smith (1980), pg 214. With no other fullback aboard the train, Rosser was switched to an emergency fullback with reserve player Joe Jones drafted into the backs. It was a narrow win for Wales, with the victory coming thanks to a

Vince Griffiths Vince Griffiths (29 May 1901 – 7 January 1967) was a Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales and the British Lions. Griffiths played club rugby for Newport and captained the team in the 1928/29 season. Griffiths gained his first cap f ...

dropped goal. During his rugby union career, Griffiths also represented Glamorgan County and as a serving police officer, he also played for Glamorgan Police.Jenkins (1991), pg 144.

International rugby union matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 471. * 1924 * 1924

Rugby league career

At the start of the 1924/1925 season, Rosser turned his back on rugby union by joining professional rugby league club

. At the same time he left the police force and became a licensee. He played his first game for Leeds on 6 September 1924, and on 12 April 1926 he was selected to play for the

Wales national rugby league team The Wales national rugby league team represents Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an indepen ...

, making him a dual-code international. The game was held at Pontypridd against England, and the Welsh lost narrowly despite scoring six tries and two goals. Rosser scoring one of the tries. He had to wait almost four years to record his second and Wales league cap, when he was selected to face Australia at Wembley in early 1930. Although Wales lost again, Rosser was again on the score sheet with another try. In between his two Wales caps for Leeds, Rosser also represented

on the team's 1928 tour of Australia. One of six Welsh players who went on the tour, he played in nine matches though none of the six Tests.Gate (1986), pg 164. In the 1930/31 season, Rosser switched rugby clubs from Leeds to

for one match, and then to

Football Club. While at York he represented Wales another three times, two games against England and another encounter with Australia. The Australian game was his last, played on 30 December 1930.Gate (1986), pg 143. Mel Rosser played left-, i.e. number 4, 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 Mel Rosser played right-, i.e. number 3, in

's 8-22 defeat by Halifax in the 1930–31

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

Final during the 1930–31 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on Saturday 2 May 1931, in front of a crowd of 40,368.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 36 – 1930–31". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

International rugby league matches played

Wales * 1926, 1931, 1932 * 1930, 1933

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:Rosser, Mel 1901 births 1988 deaths category:Glamorgan Police officers Cardiff RFC players Castleford Tigers players Dual-code rugby internationals Glamorgan County RFC players Glamorgan Police RFC players Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos players Monmouthshire rugby league team players Penarth RFC players Publicans Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Caerphilly County Borough Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Machen Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh police officers Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players York Wasps players