Philip Leach Nicholas (30 May 1876 – 31 January 1952) was an 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 ...

wing who played club rugby for

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. Nicolas played one international rugby game for

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 ...

in 1902.

Personal history

Philip Nicholas was born in Monmouth in 1876, the son of Thomas Leach Nicholas, a proprietor of a small chemical works, and his wife Julia Elizabeth. He was educated locally at

Monmouth School Monmouth School for Boys is a public school (independent day and boarding school) for boys in Monmouth, Wales. The school was founded in 1614 with a bequest from William Jones, a successful merchant and trader. The School is run as a trust, t ...

before matriculating to

. After leaving university he became a clergyman and he was ordained in 1908. He moved to Devon where he was married to Annie Margaret. Nicolas died in 1952 and was buried at St. John the Baptist's Church Cemetery in

Bishop's Tawton Bishop's Tawton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. It is in the valley of the River Taw, about three miles south of Barnstaple. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,176. Des ...

, Devon.

Rugby career

Nicholas played rugby from a young age representing Monmouth School and

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...

. When he went to Oxford University, he was selected to play for the university team and won three successive sporting Blues by playing in

the Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford University RFC, Oxford and Cambridge University R.U.F.C., Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions ...

es of 1897, 1898 and 1899. On leaving Oxford he moved to Devon and there he joined Exeter RFC and was also selected to represent

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

at county level. During his time with Devon, the county won the County Championship of 1900–01, which was also the season he represented the Rest of England. In 1902, while an Exeter player, Nicolas was selected for his one and only international cap for England. He was called into the team at wing for the opening game of the 1902 Home Nations Championship, played at the

Rectory Field Rectory Field is a sports ground in Blackheath in the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south-east London. It was developed in the 1880s by Blackheath Cricket, Football and Lawn Tennis Company and became the home ground of rugby union team Blackheath ...

in Blackheath against

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 ...

, his home country. Wales won by a narrow 9–8 scoreline, and in the next game of the season Nicholas was not selected, his short international career was over.

International caps

England *

1902

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Philip 1876 births 1952 deaths Alumni of the University of Oxford Barbarian F.C. players England international rugby union players Exeter Chiefs players Oxford University RFC players People educated at Monmouth School for Boys Rugby union players from Monmouth, Wales Rugby union wings Welsh rugby union players