Owen Badger (3 November 1871 – 17 March 1939) 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 ...

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

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. ...

, and was capped four times 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 later switched codes, playing 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 ...

for Swinton.

Rugby career

Llanelli RFC

Badger came to prominence playing for Llanelli. He was part of the team that won the South Wales Challenge Cup during the 1893/94 under the captaincy of Ben James. While playing for Llanelli, Badger was first chosen to represent Wales in a game against England as part of the

1895 Home Nations Championship The 1895 Home Nations Championship was the thirteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Scotland won all their t ...

. Under the captaincy of Wales legend Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, Wales lost the game 6-14, mainly due to far better play from the English forwards. Although appearing on the losing side, Badger was reselected for the very next game. The Scotland game was a much closer affair, but Wales lost this match too, though the final game of the tournament at

home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

to Ireland saw Wales victorious thanks to

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 ...

's conversion of a Tom Pearson

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 ...

. This match was Badger's only appearance on a winning international team under the rugby union code. His final amateur match for Wales was in the next season's opening game of the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. It was a torrid game for Wales and Badger, as in the first 15 minutes of the match, he broke his collar bone in a tackle and was forced to leave the pitch.Godwin (1984), pg 46. With replacements not allowed, the Welsh team played on with 14 men and saw seven tries scored against them without reply. Badger's replacement for the next match was

Gwyn Nicholls Erith Gwyn Nicholls (15 July 1874 – 24 March 1939)Newport RFC player profiles
was a W ...

, one of the finest threequarters in Welsh rugby. Wales rugby team 1895

Swinton RLFC

Whether Badger would have regained his position in the Welsh team is unknown, as he switched codes to professional rugby league in 1897. His fee for switching to Swinton was £75, with a match fee of £2, 10 shillings a week. Badger's family remained in Wales while he played in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. This fact caused repercussions for Swinton, when Badger's actions caused the club to forfeit two league points when he took time off work to visit his sick children in Wales. On his return, Swinton forgot to ask permission from the Northern Union (now the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

(RFL) to reintroduce Badger into the team, and the club was duly penalised.Collins, Tony; ''Rugby's Great Split: Class, Culture and the origins of Rugby League Football'', Frank Cass Publishers, (1998) pg 172.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 463. * 1895, 1896 * 1895 * 1895

Personal

When Badger died in 1939, it was just seven days before his Wales replacement, Nicholls also died.

External links

Llanelli team photograph that includes Badger
National Library of Wales

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badger, Owen 1871 births 1939 deaths Llanelli RFC players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Llanelli Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Llanelli Swinton Lions players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players