Samuel Ramsey (1873 – 14 January 1956) was a Scottish-born

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 ...

forward who played club rugby for

Treorchy Treorchy ( cy, Treorci; ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 c ...

and international rugby 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 ...

. Ramsey is noted as being one of the first 'Rhondda forwards', impact players selected by the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

to not only take, but also hand out physical abuse.Griffiths (1987), 4:8

Rugby career

Although born in Scotland, Ramsey moved to the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...

where he became a collier during the industrial growth of the area in the late Victorian period. Ramsey joined local team Treorchy in the early 1890s and in the 1892/93 season was made team captain, holding the captaincy the next season too.Club Captains (1886 to present date)
treorchyrugby.com In 1896 became the first 'Rhondda forward' when he was selected to represent Wales as part of the

1896 Home Nations Championship The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

in an away game to England. Ramsey was brought in to replace

Jim Hannan James John Hannan (January 7, 1940 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American retired professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1971 for the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers and Milwaukee Brewers. Th ...

in an aging Welsh pack, under the captaincy of Arthur Gould. The game was disastrous for Wales, with England running in seven tries without reply. The selectors reacted by replacing six of the Welsh pack for the next game, including five new caps; Ramsey was one of those replaced. Surprisingly, Ramsey was reselected eight years later for his second and final game, another encounter with England, this time as part of the

1904 Home Nations Championship The 1904 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 9 January and 19 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. Ramsey was a temporary replacement for one of the most notable 'Rhondda forwards', Dai 'Tarw' Jones, another collier, who played club rugby for

Treherbert Treherbert () is a village and community situated at the head of the Rhondda Fawr valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historically part of Glamorgan, Treherbert is a former industrial coal mining village which was at its eco ...

. The Welsh team for the match against England, contained many greats of the Welsh game, including

Teddy Morgan Edward "Teddy" Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous '' Match of the Century'' and is remembered for ...

Rhys Gabe Rhys Thomas "Rusty" Gabe (22 June 1880 – 15 September 1967) born as Rees Thomas Gape,Jenkins (1991), pg 60. was a Welsh rugby union player who played club rugby for Llanelli, London Welsh and Cardiff and gained 24 caps for Wales, mainly as a c ...

and

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

. The Welsh team should have been victorious, but were hampered by poor officiating from the referee.Godwin (1984), pg 73. The match ended in a 14–all draw, but the next match Ramsey was replaced by

Edwin Thomas Maynard Edwin Thomas Maynard (21 March 1878 – 20 November 1961) known as Edwin Thomas or "Beddoe" Thomas was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Newport RFC. Thomas was part of the Wales team that won the Triple Crown ...

, and never represented his country again.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 470. * 1896, 1904

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsey, Sam 1873 births 1956 deaths Scottish rugby union players Rugby union forwards Treorchy RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh miners