Richard Hellings (1 December 1874 – 9 February 1938) was an English-born Welsh

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 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 ...

and club rugby for

Llwynypia Llwynypia () is a village and community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, near Tonypandy in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. Before 1850 a lightly populated rural farming area, Llwynypia experienced a population boom bet ...

. Hellings was noted for his strength built from years cutting coal as a

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

miner.Wales team visit Big Pit
WRU featureSmith (1980), pg 108. Hellings later played 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 ...

, Exeter and Devon.Jenkins (1991), pg 71.

Rugby career

Tiverton born,Smith (1980), pg 33. Hellings moved to the Rhondda while a young boy and later found work as a coal miner in

, there Hellings joined local rugby team Llwynypia RFC. In the late 1890s an ageing and failing Welsh pack forced the selectors to look for options outside the likes of Newport and

. This saw the emergence of the 'Rhondda forward', manual workers chosen from the villages and towns of the south Wales valleys.Smith (1980), pg 92. In 1897 Hellings was chosen to face England as part of the 1897 Home Nations Championship along with fellow Rhondda players,

Jack Rhapps John "Jack" Rhapps (15 July 1876 – 23 January 1950) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Penygraig, and international rugby for Wales. Rhapps later "Went North", when he turned professional, joining rugby ...

and

Dai Evans David "Dai" Evans (1872 – 29 January 1912) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Penygraig and international rugby for Wales. Evans was born in Maenclochog, Pembrokeshire, but came to the Rhondda Valley to f ...

. Under the captaincy of legendary Welsh player Arthur Gould Wales beat England by a goal and two tries to nil. Hellings was reselected for both matches of the 1898 Home Nations Championship, this time under the captaincy of

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 ...

. Wales won the first game against Ireland, but lost to England at Blackheath. Hellings missed the opening game of the 1889 Championship in which fellow Llwynypia player,

Willie Llewellyn William Morris Llewellyn (1 January 1878 – 12 March 1973) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He captained Wales in 1905 and London Welsh in 1902. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the ...

scored four tries on his Wales on his debut; but played in the final two games. The 1900 Championship saw Wales win the Triple Crown for the second time by winning all three games. Hellings played in two of the victories, but his more notable match was the opening game against England. Played at

Kingsholm Kingsholm is an area of Gloucester, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is home to Kingsholm Stadium, which hosts Gloucester Rugby and other international matches. It is also home to a Church of England school, Kingsholm Primary Sch ...

, England played 13 new caps, a record that stood until 1947. Hellings scored his one and only international try during the game, made all the more memorable as Hellings had fractured his arm in the game before scoring.Smith (1980), pg 142. Hellings final two games for Wales game in

1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...

. There were hopes that Wales would retain the Triple Crown, but although beating England in the first game, the selectors felt the forwards, of which Hellings was given the role of leading, lacked cohesion in the tight.Griffiths (1987), pg 4:10. When Wales lost the next game to Scotland, Hellings was dropped and never represented Wales again.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. * 1897, 1898, 1900, 1901 * 1898, 1899, 1900 * 1899, 1901

Biography

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellings, Dick 1874 births 1938 deaths Cardiff RFC players English rugby union players Llwynypia RFC players People from Rhondda Rugby union forwards Sportspeople from Tiverton, Devon Rugby union players from Tiverton, Devon Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Welsh miners