Arthur Whitelock Lemon (15 April 1905 – 28 May 1982) 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 number 8 who played club rugby for

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and community situated in the Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,258 in 2011. Historica ...

and was capped 13 times 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 ...

, then later switched codes to play

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for St Helens when he found that he had been dropped from the Wales team.

International rugby career

Lemon made his international debut for Wales in a game against Ireland on 9 March 1929 under the captaincy of Guy Morgan. Wales drew the game, which handed the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

to Scotland. Although Lemon missed the opening game of the

1930 Five Nations Championship The 1930 Five Nations Championship was the sixteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty-t ...

against England, he was reselected for the remaining three games. Lemon played in all four games of the 1931 tournament, which saw Wales win the Championship for the first time in eight years. Lemon was next selected to play against the 1931 touring South Africans. It was a terrible spectacle played on an icy pitch, that Wales captain

Jack Bassett Jack Bassett (11 July 1905 – 19 February 1989) was a Welsh international rugby union full back who played club rugby for Penarth. He won 15 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1930 British Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand. He cap ...

failed to adapt his teams play to. After playing out the entirety of the 1932 Championship, Lemon would play one final match for Wales against Ireland in 1933. When Wales lost the game, the selectors decided on wholesale change and Lemon was amongst 11 players to be dropped.

Rugby League career

On being dropped by Wales, Lemon chose to turn professional with St Helens. He played for one season, then was sold to

Streatham and Mitcham R.L.F.C. Streatham and Mitcham RLFC was a professional rugby league team based at Mitcham Stadium in London. They wore green and white hoops. In the present day, top amateur rugby league side, South London Storm play close to the former Mitcham stadiu ...

when Saints were in financial difficulty.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 468. * 1931, 1932 * 1930, 1931 *

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933 * 1930, 1931, 1932 * 1931

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemon, Arthur 1905 births 1982 deaths Footballers who switched code Neath RFC players Rugby league players from Neath Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Neath St Helens R.F.C. players Streatham and Mitcham R.L.F.C. players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players