Herbert Benjamin Winfield (5 May 1878 – 21 September 1919) was an English

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 ...

player who played international rugby 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 ...

. He was a member of the victorious Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

in the famous ''

Match of the Century Match of the Century has referred to many events in various sports: Contract bridge * Bridge Battle of the Century, Lenz vs Culbertson, 1931–1932 Chess * The World Chess Championship 1972, between Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spass ...

'' and would go on to captain Wales against Ireland in 1908. He played club rugby for

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 ...

. Winfield is not one of the most well known of the players from the first Welsh Golden Era, which was probably due to his solid but unspectacular style of play. He was a strong kicker of the ball and in the fifteen matches he played for his country he scored 14 conversions and 6 penalty goals.

International career

Wales

As Winfield was Nottingham born, he initially attended trials, at Exeter, for the England rugby team towards the end of 1901. The Western Mail's rugby correspondent reported that Winfield made "disastrous and uncharacteristic errors",Parry-Jones (1999), p. 92. and the England selectors chose Devonport's H.T. Gamlin in his position. On his arrival back in Wales Winfield told reporters that he now intended to represent Wales. Wales Rugby1905

Winfield made his debut for

against Ireland in March 1903, after seasons playing for Cardiff. Winfield may well have played earlier for Wales, but the full-back position before him was first held by the legendary

Billy Bancroft William James Bancroft (2 March 1871 – 3 March 1959) was a Welsh international fullback, who played club rugby for Swansea, and a county cricketer for Glamorgan, for whom he was the first professional player in 1895. Bancroft was seen as ...

and then the dependable Strand-Jones. Although chosen to represent his country on 15 occasions Winfield converted only 20 tries which is seen as a poor return. Though many commentators argue that the matches in which Winfield played were in terrible weather conditions, such as gales or fog,Thomas (1979), p. 41. and the fact that the selectors kept faith in him lends credence to the argument. Winfield's accurate kicking was highlighted in two international matches. The first was the 1904 game against England when with only a few minutes to spare, Winfield kicked a goal from the halfway line to draw the game. The second was during the historic ''

'' in 1905 against the

. Although Winfield missed the difficult conversion after

Teddy Morgan Edward Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous '' Match of the Century'' and is remembered for scorin ...

's trySmith (1980), p. 161. it was his tight kicking game that was key, when Wales switched their on-field strategy to a defensive style of play. Whereas the New Zealand Full Back kicked to the open side, tiring his own forwards, Winfield chose extremely long and accurate kicking to touch to slow the game down for his pack.Thomas (1979), p. 42. The All Blacks regarded Winfield as the best full back they had faced on the tour. Winfield was not always celebrated for his style of play. Against Ireland in 1904 he allowed the ball to bounce before attempting to collect it, a common habit in his play, allowing the Irish winger to steal the ball from him, score a try and win the game.

International games played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 474. * 1908 * 1904, 1906, 1908 * 1908 * 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908 * 1905 * 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908,

Later career and death

In 1901 Winfield set up a laundry business in Newport with

Gwyn Nicholls Erith Gwyn Nicholls (15 July 1874 – 24 March 1939)Newport RFC player profiles
was a W ...

,Parry-Jones (1999), p. 88. his brother-in-law and fellow Welsh international.Smith (1980), p. 128. As the Winfield family had a history of working in the laundry business, Nicholls was more of a sleeping partner, but this changed in 1914 when Winfield joined the British Army.Parry-Jones (1999), p. 199. Joining the 16th Battalion (City of Cardiff) of the

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

, Winfield was posted to France. Winfield returned from the Front but died in 1919 from injuries he received in a motorcycle accident.

Bibliography

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winfield, Bert 1878 births 1919 deaths Military personnel from Nottingham Motorcycle road incident deaths Rugby union players from Nottingham Rugby union fullbacks English rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players British Army personnel of World War I Wales rugby union captains Cardiff RFC players Glamorgan County RFC players Welch Regiment soldiers Road incident deaths in Wales