George Albert Rowles (16 December 1865 – 12 September 1922) was a 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 ...
international halfback who played club rugby for
Penarth and Cardiff . He won a single cap 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 ...
during the
1892 Home Nations Championship
The 1892 Home Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 2 January and 5 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
England took the 1892 Champio ...
. He was the second player to represent Wales while playing club rugby for Penarth, after
Dickie Garrett
Richard Garrett (1865 – 17 February 1908) was a Wales, Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby for Penarth RFC, Penarth and international rugby for Wales national rugby union team, Wales. Garrett was a collier by trad ...
.
Rugby career
Rowles had played for Penarth for several years before his international selection in 1892, he was senior team captain during the 1885/86 season,
and is recorded as being a member of the Penarth team that won the Cardiff District Cup in 1888. Rowles won his only Welsh cap when he was chosen to partner
Newport's Percy Phillips in the opening game of the 1892 Home Nations Championship against England. The preferred halfback partnership for Wales were the
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
pairing of
Evan
Evan is a Welsh language, Welsh masculine given name, derived from ''Iefan'', a Welsh form of the name John (name), John. Similar names that share this origin include Euan, Ivan (name), Ivan, Ian, and Juan. "John" itself is derived from the ancie ...
and
David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to:
Performers
*David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre
*David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...
, but with the James brothers unavailable, Rowles was given his opportunity. Under the captaincy of
Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, Wales were outclassed by England who won by three goals and a try to nil. The next match the James brother were brought back in and Rowles and Phillips lost their places; though Phillips would represent his country on a further five occasions, Rowles never played for Wales again.
International matches played
Wales
[Smith (1980), pg 471.]
* 1892
Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowles, George
1865 births
1922 deaths
Gloucestershire County RFU players
Penarth RFC players
Rugby union players from Pontypool
Rugby union scrum-halves
Wales international rugby union players
Welsh rugby union players