William John Abbott "Dave" Davies

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(21 June 1890 – 26 April 1967) 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 peopl ...

rugby union footballer who played international rugby for England normally positioned at fly-half. He also captained his country.Dave Davies Profile on scrum.com
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Career

Davies was born in Pembroke, Wales, and originally played for Pembroke Dock Harlequins. Davies made his international debut on 4 January 1913 at Twickenham in the England vs South Africa match. He was part of the England team that won the Grand Slam in both 1921 and 1923. During his time playing he earned 22 caps, making him England's most capped fly-half until

Rob Andrew Christopher Robert Andrew (born 18 February 1963) is a former English Rugby Union player and was, until April 2016, Professional Rugby Director at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons and has been Chief Executiv ...

overtook him. He played half of his matches as captain. During his 22 matches at international level, he was on a losing side only in the first, against South Africa in 1913. He formed a notable international half-back partnership with his Royal Navy team-mate Cecil Kershaw; in their 14 matches together for England they never finished on the losing side.

Personal life

Outside of rugby, Davies served as a naval officer aboard HMS ''Iron Duke'' and HMS ''Queen Elizabeth'' during World War I, for which he was appointed an OBE in 1919. Davies also was offered the chance to play at Wimbledon, but declined the offer to focus on his rugby. Davies had two children.

References

WJA Davies inducted into RFU Hall of Fame (PDF Format)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Wja 1890 births 1967 deaths England international rugby union players Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Pembroke Welsh rugby union players