Charles "Tal" Harris (4 February 1903 - 1 October 1963) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 ...

scrum-half who represented

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 ...

and played club rugby for

Aberavon Aberavon ( cy, Aberafan) is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a distri ...

Rugby career

Harris played for Aberavon during their 'golden era' which saw the team crowned Welsh Club Champions four consecutive years from the 1923/24 to the 1926/27 season. While playing for Aberavon, Harris was awarded his one and only Welsh cap against the touring Australian Waratahs. The match took place on 26 November 1927 at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

, and although the Welsh forwards showed strength and commitment, were out-classed by the tourist back play. In 1931, while still with Aberavon, Harris was part of the joint

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

/ Aberavon team that narrowly lost to the 1931 touring South Africans. Harris was challenged to the position by Neath's Cliff Evans, but Harris was considered more experienced and tougher.Billot (1974), pg 166. The match was a close contest, and with three minuted left on the clock the score line was 3-3 after the Welsh side had taken an early lead; but the tourist fought back and scored a try with the last move of the game. During the match, Harris and his Aberavon team mate Wilf Selby were considered the better pairing than the

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

duo of

Danie Craven Daniël Hartman Craven (11 October 1910 – 4 January 1993) was a South African rugby union player (1931–1938), national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic, and author. Popularly known as Danie, Doc, or Mr R ...

and

Bennie Osler Benjamin Louwrens Osler (23 November 1901 – 28 April 1962) was a rugby union footballer who played internationally for South Africa. Osler played mainly at fly-half for both South Africa, and his provincial team of Western Province. Osler was b ...

, but the Welsh team's threequarter line was believed to have let them down with slow distribution.Billot (1974), pg 169.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. *

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

1927

The Tal Harris Appreciation Society

The Tal Harris Appreciation Society was formed in 1994, dedicated to the memory of Tal Harris. They journey to Dublin every two years on the occasion of the Ireland v Wales rugby union match.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Tal Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves 1903 births 1963 deaths Rugby union players from Cardiff Neath RFC players Aberavon RFC players Maesteg RFC players