Billy Trew (1 July 1878 – 20 August 1926) 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 ...

international

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...

, outside half and wing who played club rugby for

Swansea Rugby Football Club Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premiership. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours. History ...

. He won 29 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 is seen as one of the key players of the first Golden Age of Welsh

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

Davies (2008), pg 886.

Early years

Billy Trew was born William James Trew on 1 July 1878. Much like legendary Welsh rugby captain Arthur Gould before him, Billy Trew was part of a sporting family. His two brothers, Harry and Bert both played for Swansea RFC.

Rugby career

Club history

Trew's first match for Swansea was against

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a wealthy seaside resort ...

on 8 October 1897 scoring a drop goal in the match,Smith (1980), pg 134. and very soon he was a permanent fixture in various positions behind the club's backs. He was made captain of Swansea for the 1906/07 season, a position he held for the next four season. After a year break when

Dicky Owen Dicky Owen (17 November 1876 - 27 February 1932) was a Welsh international scrum-half who played club rugby for Swansea RFCSmith (1979), pg 132. Owen is seen as one of the greatest Welsh scrum-halves and won 35 caps for Wales between 1901 and 1 ...

took over the role,Smith (1980), pg 135. he took up the captaincy again for the 1912/13 season. He played for Swansea against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

in 1905 and captained the team in wins against the touring Australia (1908) and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

(1912) national sides.

International career

By 1900 Welsh fans began wondering how Trew, a player who had outscored all other club players with 33 tries during the 1898/99 season and 31 tries in the 1899/1900 season, had not been chosen to represent Wales. The

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, ove ...

finally gave Trew his international debut at the age of twenty in January 1900. His first cap was at left-wing in a win against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

a game in which he scored a try.''Prince Gwyn, Gwyn Nicholls and the First Golden Era of Welsh Rugby'',

David Parry-Jones David Parry-Jones (25 September 1933 – 10 April 2017) was a Welsh sports commentator, TV current affairs presenter and writer. He presented ''BBC Wales Today'' for many years and was a rugby analyst for BBC Radio 5. He was the author of b ...

(1999) pg70. He would play for Wales a further 28 times, scoring 11 tries, one conversion and one drop goal. His final match for Wales was an 11–8 win over France in 1913.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 472. * 1908 * 1900, 1901, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911 * 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1913 * 1900, 1908, 1909, 1911 * 1900, 1901, 1903, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913

Captain of Wales

Trew captained Wales fourteen times in 1889 and 1890. During his captaincy the national team only lost four matches and saw Wales collecting the

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 * T ...

on three occasions.

Later life and death

Trew's son, Billy Trew Jr, followed his father and played for Swansea RFC. Trew Jr also captained Swansea during the 1929/30 season before moving to England to play for Swinton. Billy Trew died on 20 August 1926, and was buried six days later at Danygraig Cemetery in Swansea. Many local people lined the streets to pay their last respects.

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trew, Billy 1878 births 1926 deaths Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Rugby union centres Rugby union players from Swansea Wales rugby union captains Swansea RFC players Glamorgan County RFC players