Thomas Cooper Graham (12 November 1866 – 1 December 1945) was an England-born 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 ...

international forward who played club rugby for Newport. He won 12 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 ...

and was seen as intelligent, mobile forward player.Griffiths (1987), pg 4:5. Graham is most notable within rugby for his captaincy of Newport, which saw the team through one of their most successful periods, including the 1891–92 "invincible" season.

Club career

Born in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North of England, Graham had left

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

to find work in Newport. While in Newport he joined the rugby club, making his debut on 15 October 1886 against the Cardiff Harlequins.1887–1888 season
Newport RFC In 1888, Graham was part of the Newport team to face the first Southern hemisphere touring team the New Zealand Māoris. Led by

Theo Harding Charles Theodore 'Theo' Harding (26 May 1860 – 13 July 1919) was an English-born international rugby union player who played club rugby for Newport and international rugby for Wales. Harding was an all-round sportsman and also captained ...

, Newport were out-muscled by the Māoris, losing three tries to nil. By 1890, Graham had been made the team captain, an honour he would hold for four consecutive seasons. The Newport team of the time included several players who were part of Wales's first

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

-winning side. Graham's vice captain was Wales front row specialist

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 ...

, while the rest of the team included internationals

Arthur Boucher Arthur Boucher (29 June 1870 – 25 April 1948) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport. Boucher was an adaptable player, who although selected mainly as a forward, often played at centre. He was strong, ...

Harry Packer Harry Packer (9 September 1868 – 25 May 1946) was an English-born international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Newport and was capped seven times for Wales. Packer had a long association with rugby, as a player, selector, officia ...

Harry Day Harry Melville Arbuthnot Day, (3 August 1898 – 11 March 1977) was a Royal Marine and later a Royal Air Force pilot during the Second World War. As a prisoner of war, he was senior British officer in a number of camps and a noted escapee. Ea ...

and Welsh rugby legend Arthur Gould. Graham initiated a policy of weekly training in the teams gymnasium and an avoidance of alcohol.Smith (1980), pg 71. Welsh sports journalist 'Dromio' wrote that under Graham's captaincy '...the dressing room became a school for footballers'. During the 1891–92 season, Newport, under the captaincy of Graham, played 33 games, winning 29, drawing 4 and losing none. With 72 goals and 95 tries scored and only three goals and five tries conceded, it was one of the greatest seasons in the team's history.

International career

Graham made his international debut for Wales in a match against Ireland as part of the

1890 Home Nations Championship The 1890 Home Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 1 February and 15 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Table Results ...

. Under the captaincy of team mate Gould, Wales drew the game 3–3 with the Welsh points coming from a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

from another Newport player, Charlie Thomas. Although Graham missed the next Wales game, the opening match of the 1891 Championship to England at Newport's

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales, owned and operated by the Welsh Rugby Union. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's cen ...

, he was reselected for the final two games of the tournament. After playing two matches for Wales in a disappointing 1892 season, Graham played his only full Home Nations Championship in

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

. After a narrow win over England in the opening game 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 ...

, Wales were on fine form in an away victory over Scotland. The last match at

Stradey Park Stradey Park (Welsh: ''Parc y Strade'') was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of s ...

saw Wales beat Ireland and lift the Triple Crown for the first time in the country's history. Graham would play four more matches for Wales over the next two seasons, though would only play in one more win for his country, in a match against Scotland in

1894 Events January–March * January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire. * January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...

. In Graham's penultimate international game he scored his only points for his country, when he scored a try at St. Helen's in 1895.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. * 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895 * 1890, 1891, 1893 * 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895

External links

Newport RFC player profiles

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Tom 1866 births 1945 deaths Barbarian F.C. players Blaina RFC players English rugby union players Newport RFC players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Newcastle upon Tyne Wales international rugby union players