Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe (22 June 1880 – 15 September 1967) born as Rees Thomas Gape,Jenkins (1991), pg 60. was a Welsh

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 who played club rugby 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. ...

London Welsh London Welsh Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain) was a rugby union club formed in 1885. Based in Old Deer Park, Richmond-upon-Thames, London Welsh RFC played in the English Premiership in the 2012–13 and 2014–15 seasons, ...

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 gained 24 caps 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 ...

, mainly as a centre.

Rugby career

Born in

Llangennech Llangennech (()) is a village and community in the area of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales, which covers an area of . It is governed by Llangennech Community Council and Carmarthenshire County Council. Llangennech is also the name of the count ...

, Gabe started his rugby career with

before making his debut with Llanelli at the age of seventeen. In 1901 he moved to London to study at Borough Road Training College and joined

, where he was moved to centre. After qualifying as a mathematics teacher, he took a teaching post in Cardiff and joined the

club, where he formed a devastating centre combination with

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

for both club and country. He played for Cardiff between 1902–03 and 1909–10, captaining the club in the 1907–08 season. He scored 51 tries for Cardiff in 115 appearances.'Cardiff Rugby Club History and Statistics 1876–1975' (1975) D.E. Davies Gabe won his first cap for Wales against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 1901, playing on the left wing. His 24 caps for Wales included the famous '' Match of the Century'', the 1905 victory against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Gabe would go on to captain Wales in the 1907 match against Ireland, and toured

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

with the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

team of 1904. He played in all four test matches, including the three victories over Australia.'Cardiff Sporting Greats' (2007) Andrew Hignell and Gwyn Prescott pp 194–195 Wales Rugby1905

Gabe was an impressive try scorer and scored 11 tries during his Welsh career. In his first game against England in 1902 he scored a memorable try when

John Strand-Jones John Strand-Jones (2 December 1877 – 3 April 1958) was a Wales, Welsh rugby union player, who represented the Wales national rugby union team on five occasions in 1902 and 1903. His profession was in the clergy of the Anglican Church. Life ...

deceived the entire English pack and passed the ball to Gabe. With only the English full back Gamlin to beat, Gabe raced to the try line and rounded Gamlin but took a heavy blow to his solar plexus. Gabe managed to carry on, cross the line, score the try, only then passing out.Davies (1980), pg 143. His most remarkable try was probably one scored against

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 ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1908. The match was played in thick fog, and Gabe and his teammate

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 ...

found a loose ball outside England's 25. Gabe won the tussle for the ball and set off in the direction of the line, while Bush ran off in the opposite direction to confuse the opposition. Eventually the referee and the other players arrived at the line to find Gabe waiting with the ball.Davies (1980), pg 193. Gabe retired in 1908, but still appeared occasionally for Cardiff. He was a fine club cricketer and played occasionally for Glamorgan. He also captained Radyr Golf Club, and played at Cardiff Golf Club well into his eighties. He died in Cardiff in 1967.

International games played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. * 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908 * 1908 * 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908 * 1905 * 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1908 * 1906 British Isles * 1904, 1904, 1904 * 1904

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gabe, Rhys 1880 births 1967 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff RFC players Glamorgan County RFC players Llanelli RFC players Llangennech RFC players London Welsh RFC players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Carmarthenshire Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby union players

Rugby career

International games played

Bibliography

Further reading

References