Dicky Ralph (21 January 1908 – 5 October 1989) was a Welsh international

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

fly-half who played

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 ...

for Newport and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

with

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

. He won six caps 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 ...

at rugby union, and also represented Wales at rugby league.

International career

Ralph was first capped for Wales against France on 28 February 1931 under the captaincy of Jack Bassett. The game was a walkover, with Wales winning 35–3, Ralph scored two tries of the seven scored by the Welsh team that day and unsurprisingly was reselected two weeks later to face Ireland. In a bruising encounter, Wales won at Ravenhill, with Ralph again on the score sheet, this time with a drop goal. Later that year he faced

Bennie Osler Benjamin Louwrens Osler (23 November 1901 – 28 April 1962) was a rugby union footballer who played internationally for South Africa. Osler played mainly at fly-half for both South Africa, and his provincial team of Western Province. Osler wa ...

's touring South African team twice, once with Newport, and then again in December as part of the Welsh team. Ralph appeared on the losing team on both occasions, though played some strong rugby during the international and his screw kicking on the day was excellent. In the 1932 Home Nations Championship, Ralph was back in the squad, alongside his Newport team mate

Jack Morley John Cuthbert Morley (28 July 1909 – 7 March 1972) was a Welsh international rugby wing who played rugby union for Newport and rugby league with Wigan. He won 14 caps for Wales in union, and five caps for Wales in rugby league, and was the ...

. Ralph played all three games, scoring against Ireland with a try and a drop goal. Ralph may have gained further caps, but switched codes to rugby league in 1933, joining Leeds. On 30 December 1933 Ralph played for the Wales rugby league team in an encounter with Australia, becoming a dual-code international.

International matches played

Wales (rugby union) * 1932 * 1931 * 1931, 1932 * 1932 * 1931 Wales (rugby league) * 1933

Bibliography

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralph, Dicky 1908 births 1989 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Batley Bulldogs players Dual-code rugby internationals Leeds Rhinos players London Welsh RFC players Newport RFC players Rugby league players from Caerphilly County Borough Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Abercarn Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players