Ralph Bond Sweet-Escott (11 January 1869 – 11 November 1907) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born 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 it ...

half back who played club rugby for

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 was capped three times for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. Sweet-Escott also played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

for Glamorgan representing the county in the

Minor Counties Cricket Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

. His brother, Edward Sweet-Escott, was a notable cricketer for Glamorgan.Edward Sweet-Escott player profile
Glamorgan Cricket archive

Early life

Sweet-Escott was the third son to the Rev. William Sweet-Escott JP, of Hartrow Manor in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

and the daughter of Lord Dynevor. He was educated at King Henry VIII School in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, before being accepted into Peterhouse, Cambridge.

Rugby career

Sweet-Escott was born in

Essington Essington is a village and civil parish in South Staffordshire, England, located near the city of Wolverhampton and towns of Walsall, Bloxwich, Cannock and Brewood. The villages of Cheslyn Hay, Great Wyrley, Coven, Penkridge and Featherston ...

, Staffordshire, and played club rugby for

Blackheath F.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath in 1858, and is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after Dublin University Fo ...

before moving to

and joining first class Welsh club Cardiff. In 1891 he was first selected to represent the Welsh national team, in a match against Scotland as part of the Home Nations Championship. Under the captaincy of Llanelli's

Willie Thomas William Henry Thomas (22 March 1866 – 11 October 1921) was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli and London Welsh. He was capped eleven times for Wales and captained the team on two occasions. In 1888, ...

, Wales were heavily beaten with Scotland running in seven tries without reply. Sweet-Escott lost his place in the Welsh team for the next game, with the Welsh selectors switching from the Cardiff partnership of Sweet-Escott and Ingledew to the exciting Swansea brother duo of

Evan Evan is both an English and Welsh male given name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to " Ivan", " Ian", and " Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yəhô� ...

and David James. In 1891, Sweet-Escott was chosen to represent the British invitational team, the

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 les ...

. He continued his career with Cardiff, and after a lapse of three years regained favour with the Welsh selectors, regaining his position in the Wales squad, this time alongside Newport's

Fred Parfitt Frederick Charles Parfitt (12 August 1869 – 20 March 1953) was a Welsh international rugby union scrum-half who played club rugby for Newport, regional rugby for Somerset and was capped nine times for Wales. On retiring from rugby union, Par ...

. As part of the

1894 Home Nations Championship The 1894 Home Nations Championship was the twelfth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 6 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

and this time led by Frank Hill, Sweet-Escott found himself again on the losing side when Ireland won by a single penalty goal. Sweet-Escott's last game for Wales was another match against Ireland, in the following year's

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

. In this, his final international, Sweet-Escott finished on the winning side.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 472. * 1894, 1895 * 1891

Bibliography

* * *

References

External links

Photo of a Blackheath team including Sweet-Escott

CricketArchive.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweet-Escott, Ralph 1869 births 1907 deaths Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players Cardiff RFC players Glamorgan cricketers Penarth RFC players People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry Rugby union halfbacks Rugby union players from Staffordshire Wales international rugby union players Welsh cricketers Welsh rugby union players