William Henry Howell (December 1863 – unknown) 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 ...

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

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

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 ...

Rugby career

Educated at

Llandovery College , image = Llandovery College (geograph 5927072).jpg , image_size = , motto = Gwell Dysg Na Golud(here areno riches better than learning) , established = , closed = , type = Independent day and boa ...

, famed for its early links with rugby in Wales, Howell began playing first class rugby in 1887 when he joined Swansea RFC.William Henry Howell player profile
Swansea RFC site Not long after his inclusion into the Swansea team, Howell was called up by the Welsh selectors to represent Wales as part of the

1888 Home Nations Championship The 1888 Home Nations Championship was the sixth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 4 February and 10 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England were excluded from the Champ ...

. Howell was one of five new caps brought into the nine man pack for the first game against Scotland, along with

Dick Kedzlie Quentin Dick Kedzlie (22 March 1861 – 3 May 1920) was a Scottish-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales. In his later life he became the chairman of the South Wales Baseball ...

, Richard Powell and Swansea team-mates T. Williams and John Meredith. The game finished in an historic victory for Wales, when they beat the Scottish for the first time, winning by a solitary try. Howell was reselected for the second and last match of the Championship when he was called up to face Ireland at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

on 3 March 1888. Howell was part of an unchanged pack, the first time this had ever happened for the Wales team, but the team that had been so successful in disrupting the Scottish play, could not recreate their level of play in Ireland. The Irish beat the Welsh for the first time, which ended the Championship careers of eight of the Wales team. Howell was never selected for the national team again.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 467. * 1888 * 1888

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, William Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union forwards Swansea RFC players Rugby union players from Swansea 1863 births People educated at Llandovery College Year of death missing