Frederick Charles Parfitt (12 August 1869 – 20 March 1953) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

international

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 ...

scrum-half who played club rugby for Newport, regional rugby for Somerset and was capped nine times 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 ...

. On retiring from rugby union, Parfitt switched to

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

and also represented Wales in this sport.

Rugby career

Parfitt first played rugby for local club team Pontnewydd, before switching to first class club, Newport. At Newport, Parfitt was partnered at scrum-half with Percy Phillips, and played behind a formidable pack filled with Wales internationals Arthur Gould, Bob Gould and Charlie Thomas.Smith (1980), pg 72. Parfitt was first selected to represent Wales as part of the

1893 Home Nations Championship The 1893 Home Nations Championship was the eleventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 17 January and 11 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In winning all three matc ...

in the opening game against England. Under the captaincy of Arthur Gould, Parfitt was chosen to partner Phillips, who although was recognised as an elusive attacker was seen as a weak proposition in defence and poor at spot kicking.Smith (1980), pg 81. Where Phillips was an asset was in his link-up play with Gould, the team mates would break together in attack using inter-passing and feints to confuse their opponents. Parfitt's role was to cover Phillips and make sure that his offensive play did not cause defensive weaknesses. Parfitt and Phillips partnered each other in all three games of the 1893 Championship, which saw Wales win all matches and raise the Triple Crown for the first time in the country's history. Parfitt was reselected for Wales for the 1894 Championship, but Welsh campaign had a terrible start when England beat them 24-3. Parfitt gained his only international points during this game when he scored a try, though the Welsh pack squabbled throughout the game, with

Frank Hill Frank Robert Hill (21 May 1906 – 28 August 1993) was a Scottish football player and manager. Playing career Forfar and Aberdeen Hill was born in Forfar and started his career at Forfar Athletic, joining the club in 1924. He moved to Aberdee ...

working against the wishes of his captain Gould. After a win against Scotland, Parfitt saw his partnership at scrum-half change, when in the final game of the tournament against Ireland, Phillips was replaced by Cardiff's

Ralph Sweet-Escott Ralph Bond Sweet-Escott (11 January 1869 – 11 November 1907) was an England, English-born international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Cardiff RFC, Cardiff and was capped three times for Wales national rugby union team, Wales ...

. Parfitt played just a single game of the

1895 Home Nations Championship The 1895 Home Nations Championship was the thirteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Scotland won all their ...

, alongside Selwyn Biggs, in a loss to Scotland. He was reunited with Biggs in

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

, this time in a win over Scotland. His final game was the last game of the 1896 tournament away to Ireland. On this occasion he was partnered with new cap

Llewellyn Lloyd George Llewellyn Lloyd (1877 – 1 August 1957) was a Welsh international half-back who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Kent. He won 12 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion against Scotland. Rugby career ...

, who would become a strong player for Wales and a groundbreaking captain for Newport.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 470. * 1893, 1894 * 1893, 1894, 1896 * 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896

External links

Newport RFC player profiles

Bibliography

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parfitt, Fred 1869 births 1953 deaths Newport RFC players Rugby union players from Cwmbran Rugby union scrum-halves Wales international rugby union players Welsh male bowls players Welsh rugby union players