Iorwerth Isaac (12 October 1911 – 25 April 1966) commonly known as Iorrie Isaac, was a Welsh
dual-code international rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
, and professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer who played in the 1930s. He played representative rugby union (RU) for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, and at club level for
Pontypridd and
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, as a
flanker, i.e. number 6 or 7,
and representative rugby league (RL) for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, and at club level for
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, as a , or , i.e. number 8 or 10, or, 11 or 12, during the era of contested
scrum
Scrum may refer to:
Sport
* Scrum (rugby), a method of restarting play in rugby union and rugby league
** Scrum (rugby union), scrum in rugby union
* Scrum, an offensive melee formation in Japanese game Bo-taoshi
Media and popular culture
* M ...
s.
Rugby career
Isaac was first selected for Wales in their opening game of the
1933 Home Nations Championship
The 1933 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-sixth series of the nort ...
. The match was against England at their national stadium,
Twickenham
Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...
. Wales had failed to win at the ground in their first nine attempts, and the Welsh failure at the ground was known as the 'Twickenham bogey'. Isaac was placed at open-side flanker, opposite the veteran
Tom Arthur who was positioned on the blind side.
[Smith (1980), pg 274.] Isaac, along with
Turnbull Turnbull may refer to:
People
*See Turnbull (surname)
*Malcolm Turnbull, former Prime Minister of Australia
Places
*Turnbull High School in Bishopbriggs, Scotland
*Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, located near Spokane, Washington, USA
*Turnbull ...
, and Arthur, continually spoiled the English scrum.
[Smith (1980), pg 276.] When Isaac caused the English half-backs to loose the loose maul,
Watcyn Thomas
Watcyn Thomas (16 January 1906 – 10 August 1977) was a Welsh rugby union player who captained Wales in the early 1930s.
Thomas was born in Llanelli and educated at Llanelli County School and at University College, Swansea. While still at schoo ...
heeled the ball back for
Wooller, and then
Davey to feed
Ronnie Boon
Ronald Winston Boon (11 June 1909 – 3 August 1998) was an international rugby union wing for Wales who played club rugby for Cardiff. Boon possessed a tremendous self-confidence in his own ability and this was reflected in his nickname ''Cock ...
who scored a Welsh
try
Try or TRY may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio
* ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs
* "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987)
* "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014)
* "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004)
* " Try (Ju ...
.
[Smith (1980), pg 277.] The game ended 7–3, with all the Welsh points scored by Boon, who had also placed a drop goal. Isaacs played just one more international game in the very next match of the
Home Nations Championship against Scotland at
St. Helens, his international career identical to that of
Raymond Bark-Jones
Raymond Bark-Jones (29 August 1911 – 2 February 1995) was an English rugby union lock who played international rugby for Wales. He played his club rugby for Waterloo R.F.C. and Cambridge University.
Rugby career
Bark-Jones was educated at Up ...
.
At the start of the 1933/34 season Isaac left rugby union behind when he 'Went North' switching to the professional rugby league game, joining Leeds RLFC.
International matches played
Wales
[Smith (1980), pg 467.]
* 1933
* 1933
International Rugby League honours
Isaac won
caps for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
(RL) while at Leeds in 1933 against Australia, and 1935 against France.
Bibliography
*
*
*
References
External links
*(archived by web.archive.org
Pontypridd RFC player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac, Iorrie
1911 births
1966 deaths
Cardiff RFC players
Cilfynydd RFC players
Dual-code rugby internationals
Glamorgan Police RFC players
Glamorgan Police officers
Leeds Rhinos players
Penarth RFC players
Pontypridd RFC players
Rugby league players from Rhondda Cynon Taf
Rugby union flankers
Rugby union players from Cilfynydd
Wales international rugby union players
Wales national rugby league team players
Welsh police officers
Welsh rugby league players
Welsh rugby union players