Joseph Henry "Jake" Blackmore (10 March 1883 - 26 March 1964)
Scrum.com was an 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 ...

forward 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

Abertillery Abertillery (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Blaenau Gwent County Borough, Wales. It is located in the Ebbw Fach Valley, Ebbw Fach valley, and the Monmouthshire (historic), historic county of Monmouthshire. The surrounding lan ...

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

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

. 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 ...

under the rugby union code and then represented his country at rugby league in two matches between 1910 and 1911. Despite winning only one cap, he became a Triple Crown winning player when he played in the opening game of the 1909 Home Nations Championship.

Rugby career

Blackmore first came to note as a rugby player when he joined Abertillery in 1902.Thomas (1983), pg 17. Blackmore stayed with Abertillery for the majority of his amateur career, spending just two seasons outside the team when he left after a disagreement with the club. During these two seasons he represented first

Tredegar Tredegar (; ) is a town and community situated on the banks of the Sirhowy River in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, in the southeast of Wales. Within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire, it became an early centre of the Industrial R ...

, and then

Blaina Blaina ( ) is a small town, situated deep within the South Wales Valleys between Brynmawr and Abertillery in the unitary authority of Blaenau Gwent, ancient parish of Aberystruth, preserved county of Gwent and historic county of Monmouthshi ...

, before returning to Abertillery.Thomas (1983), pg 91. In 1906 Blackmore was chosen to represent Monmouthshire county, and was part of the team that faced the South African national team on their first overseas tour. In 1907, Blackmore faced his second national team, this time the first touring Australian team, but on this occasion with his club side Abertillery. This was the first national team to visit Abertillery Park, and Blackmore was part of the team to force the Australians to a 3-3 draw.Thomas (1983), pg 25. In 1909 Blackmore won his first full test cap when he was selected for the Wales team to face

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in the opening game of the

1909 Home Nations Championship The 1909 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-seventh series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 16 January and 20 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Although not offic ...

. Played at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

, Blackmore was the only new cap into the team, and joined Abertillery teammate,

Jim Webb James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States ...

in the pack. The game ended in a Welsh victory, and although Blackmore played no further part in the campaign, he became a Triple Crown winning player after Wales won the remaining two games of the competition. In 1910, Blackmore decided to turn professional, and left Abertillery to join English rugby league team, Hull Kingston Rovers. He played his first game for Hull Kingston Rovers on 3 September 1910, facing

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

.Jenkins (1991), pg 22. Three months later, on 10 December, Blackmore was selected for the Wales rugby league team, in a game against

at Coventry. Wales lost 13-39.Gate (1986), pg 141. Blackmore was reselected for Wales in the next league international, which Wales again lost to England, but this time on Welsh soil at

Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...

. Jake Blackmore played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

' 10-22 defeat by

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

in the 1911–12 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1911–12 season at Belle Vue,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

on Saturday 25 November 1911, in front of a crowd of 20,000.Irvin Saxton (publish date tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 17 – 1911–12". Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

International matches played

Wales (rugby union) * 1909 Wales (rugby league) * 1910, 1911

Bibliography

* * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackmore, Jake 1883 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Abertillery RFC players Blaina RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Hull Kingston Rovers players Monmouthshire County RFC players Rugby union forwards Rugby league players from Blaenau Gwent Rugby union players from Blaenau Gwent Tredegar RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players