Griffith 'Giotto' Griffiths (15 September 1864 – 22 July 1938) 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 ...

half-back who played club rugby for

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

and 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 ...

Rugby career

Griffiths came to note as a rugby player when playing for club team Llanelli. In 1888 Griffiths was part of the Llanelli squad who faced the first touring Southern Hemisphere rugby team, the

New Zealand Natives New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. Griffiths was constant in rushes against the Maoris,Billot (1972), pg 18. and the game was decided by a single long range dropped goal from Llanelli's Harry Bowen. Griffiths was later selected for the Welsh national team, partnered with Newport's Charlie Thomas, in a match against Ireland as part of the

1889 Home Nations Championship The 1889 Home Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Three matches were played between 2 February and 2 March. It was contested by Ireland, Scotland and Wales. England were excluded from the C ...

. The Welsh team on that day included four Llanelli players, Griffith's team-mates being

Tom Morgan Tom Morgan may refer to: Sports * Tom Morgan (rugby union) (1866–1899), Wales international rugby union player * Tom Morgan (footballer), football (soccer) manager with Wrexham and Port Vale * Tom Morgan (baseball) (1930–1987), American basebal ...

, Dan Griffiths and Ned Roberts, all four playing their final international match. The game was played at St. Helen's and the Wales team was captained for the first time by rugby superstar Arthur 'Monkey' Gould. Wales lost the game by two tries to nil and in the next game Griffiths was replaced by

William Stadden William James Wood "Buller" Stadden (1861 –30 December 1906) was a Wales, Welsh international rugby union Half-back (rugby union), half back who played club rugby for Canton, Cardiff, Canton, Cardiff RFC, Cardiff and Dewsbury Rams, Dewsbur ...

, and never represented his country again.

International matches played

Wales (rugby union)Smith (1980), pg 466. *

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

1889

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Giotto Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Rugby union halfbacks Llanelli RFC players 1864 births 1938 deaths Rugby union players from Llanelli