Ernest Edward George (1871 – 28 November 1952) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

forward who played club rugby for a variety of teams, but is most associated with

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. George was capped three times for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

between 1895 and 1896.

Rugby career

George, a masonry worker by trade, began his rugby career playing for local club

Llantwit Major Llantwit Major () is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry and ...

,The Major Influence
Walesonline 23-01-08 but switched to Pontypridd. It was while representing Pontypridd that he was first selected for the Wales national team; being brought into the pack for the match against Scotland as part of the

1895 Home Nations Championship The 1895 Home Nations Championship was the thirteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Scotland won all their ...

. George was one of two debut forwards in the Welsh team, with Tom Pook from Newport. The game was a close affair, with Wales losing 4–5, which set up the final Welsh game of the tournament as a wooden spoon decider between Wales and Ireland. George was reselected for the encounter with Ireland, which was played at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

. The game was another tight match, with Wales winning by the fact that they converted their only try, while Ireland missed theirs. George played just one more international game, the opening game of the 1896 Championship away to England. Wales were humiliated, with England scoring seven tries without reply; and the Welsh selectors reacted by changing six of the eight man pack for the next game; George was one of those players whose Wales rugby career ended after the game.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. * 1896 * 1895 * 1895

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Ernie 1871 births 1952 deaths Cardiff RFC players Llantwit Major RFC players London Welsh RFC players Plymouth Albion R.F.C. players Pontypridd RFC players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from the Vale of Glamorgan Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players