Francis Escott "Frank" Hancock (7 February 1859 – 29 October 1943) was an English-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 ...

centre who played club rugby for Somerset and

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

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 ...

. Hancock is best known as being the sport's first fourth threequarter player, which changed the formation of rugby union play that lasts to the present day. His role in the development of rugby was recognised by the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

in 2011 with induction to the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

Rugby career

Hancock first played rugby in Somerset, and captained his local club and represented the Somerset county team. He moved to

to become involved in his family's brewing company, which had a brewery in Cardiff. He joined the Cardiff team in 1884 and was placed at centre as a replacement for the injured Tom Williams.Jones (1985), pg 14. Hancock had an inspiring game and scored two tries, which left the Cardiff committee with a problem as they wanted to keep their original back players but also wished to play Hancock. The club decided to instead change the balance of the team, from three threequarters to four threequarters. It was a successful tactic and Cardiff stuck with it for the remainder of the 1883/1884 season.Thomas (1979), pg 10. Within two months of moving to Wales, Hancock was playing for Cardiff, changed the future formation of rugby and was then selected to play for Wales. He played his first international game under the captaincy of Joe Simpson against Ireland as part of the

1884 Home Nations Championship The 1884 Home Nations Championship was the second series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 12 April 1884. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. England won the champ ...

. Wales won the game with tries from

William Norton William Joseph Norton (2 November 1900 – 4 December 1963) was an Irish Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957, Leader of the Labour Party from 1932 to 1960, Minister for Social Welfare from ...

and

Tom Clapp Tom Clapp (25 October 1858 – 15 October 1933) was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and Nantyglo RFC. He won 14 caps for Wales and captained the team on three occasions. Clapp was the first ...

, and Hancock was reselected for the very next Welsh game against England in the next years tournament. Hancock played two games in the 1885 Championship, a loss to England at St Helens and a scoreless draw in Scotland. In 1885 Hancock was elected as captain of Cardiff, and he revolutionised the way the team played. He discouraged kicking and made the team focus mainly on try scoring through the forwards gaining the ball for individual play from the backs. Traditionally the forwards in a rugby side would retain the ball, engaging in prolonged scrums and mauls.Hignall, (2007) p.164 Hancock encouraged his forwards to release the ball to the half-backs, and they in turn would neither run nor kick the ball away, but would move the ball out to the centres. The centres job was, through low accurate passing to, transfer the ball to the wings who should take the ball on the run. Solid passing was primary in Hancock's vision of winning through scoring tries. In the 1885/86 season Cardiff scored a remarkable 131 tries but not a single penalty or drop goal. It is said that Hancock aggressively shouted down one of this team who attempted a drop goal during a game. Hancock was single minded and dictatorial in his approach as a captain, but his tactics were extremely successful, winning all bar one game and seeing just four tries scored against them. Hancock's first and only international match as captain was against Scotland in the 1886 Home Nations Championship. With the power of captaincy, Hancock tried out his four three-quarter system, the first time this had been done in an international. Hancock was paired up with Welsh rugby superstar Arthur Gould, but the poor selection of the team resulted in Hancock scrapping the system during the game and switched Gould to full-back; but the damage was already done and Wales lost the match. The trial was judged a failure and the four three-quarter system was dropped for several years.Thomas (1979), pg 11. Hancock retired from rugby at the end of the 1885/86 season at the age of 26. Hancock's son,

Ralph Ralph (pronounced ; or ,) is a male given name of English, Scottish and Irish origin, derived from the Old English ''Rædwulf'' and Radulf, cognate with the Old Norse ''Raðulfr'' (''rað'' "counsel" and ''ulfr'' "wolf"). The most common forms ...

, played first-class cricket for

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

in a few matches before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. His brother

Froude Hancock Philip Froude Hancock universally known as Froude Hancock (29 August 1865 – 16 October 1933) was an English rugby union forward who played international rugby for the British Isles XV on two tours, the 1891 and 1896 tour of South Africa ...

was also a notable rugby player.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. * 1885 * 1884 * 1885, 1886

Other sports

* Hancock was also a notable amateur tennis player having won the West Somerset ALTS Tournament two times in 1881 and 1883..

Bibliography

* * * Prescott, Gwyn, ''This Rugby Spellbound People: Rugby Football in Nineteenth-Century Cardiff and South Wal''es. Welsh Academic Press. . * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, Frank 1859 births 1943 deaths Cardiff RFC players English rugby union players People from Taunton Deane (district) Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Wiveliscombe Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees