Rowland Griffiths (4 March 1886 – 4 May 1914) was a 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 ...

player. He was selected for the 1908 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia. Griffiths played club rugby for

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on t ...

Rugby career

Griffiths first came to note as a rugby player when he represented first-class Welsh team Newport. He joined the club in 1902 as a threequarter and continued to represent the club until 1908. As a Newport player Griffiths faced the touring

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

at least once in his career; when in the 1905 Winter tour he scored with a conversion in

Charlie Pritchard Charles Meyrick Pritchard (30 September 1882 – 14 August 1916) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks. He played club rugby for Newport RFC and county rugby ...

's win over the Baa-Baas.Starmer-Smith, Nigel ''The Barbarians'' Macdonald & Jane's Publishers (1977) pg. 110 In 1906 he was selected as part of the Newport team to face

The Original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their op ...

in their first tour of Britain. Again under the captaincy of Pritchard, Griffiths was put into the fullback position by his club. Griffiths did not have a good game; in the first half

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

wing

Eric Harper Eric Tristram Harper (1 December 1877 – 30 April 1918) was a New Zealand sportsman and lawyer, who is most notable for playing rugby union for the New Zealand national rugby union team and in 1905 became one of the Original All Blacks when he ...

easily beat Griffiths to score a try.Thomas (1979), pg 37. The tourists furthered their lead with a penalty goal, before Griffiths gave Newport hope with a penalty goal of his own, but despite heroic efforts by scrum-half

Tommy Vile Major Thomas Henry Vile MBE (6 September 1882 – 30 October 1958) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He played club rugby predominantly for Newport, captaining the side twice and played county rugby for Monmouthshire. He also repres ...

, the tourists won the game. Despite becoming the first Newport player to score against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

, Vile stated after the match that he believed that Newport lost because Griffiths had been positioned at fullback, and Griffiths "was never a fullback".Rowland Griffiths Player profile
Blackandambers.co.uk Although Griffiths was never selected for the

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 ...

team; in 1908 Griffiths was part of

Arthur Harding Arthur Flowers Harding (8 August 1878 – 15 May 1947) was an English-born international rugby union player who played for and captained the Wales national team. Often called 'Boxer' Harding, he was a member of the Wales team for the famous '' ...

's Anglo-Welsh team that toured Australia and New Zealand. Griffiths played a part in the games against the regional sides but was never selected for the Test Matches, and thus never capped. Griffiths later moved to France, where he played for Stade Nantais Université Club (Nantes) with

Percy Bush Percy Frank Bush (23 June 1879 – 19 May 1955) was a Welsh rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales on eight occasions. Playing at fly-half, Bush is regarded as one of the most talented Welsh players of the pre-First World W ...

(1910–11) and for Racing Club de France (Paris) where he played on the losing side of the final of the 1912

French Championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

. In 1912–13, he coached US Perpignanaise (Perpignan, later called "USAP") before settling in Marseilles where he died of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

on 4 May 1914 at the age of 29.

References

Biography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Rowland 1886 births 1914 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Deaths from typhoid fever Newport RFC players Racing 92 players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Monmouthshire Rugby union wings Welsh rugby union players