James Alfred Bevan (15 April 1858 – 3 February 1938) was a

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 ...

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 ...

three-quarter who played club rugby for Clifton RFC and Newport. He is best known for being the first Welsh international captain, whilst at Cambridge University.

Early life

Bevan was born in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, southeast of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip Local government areas of Victoria, local government area. St Kilda recorded a ...

, Australia, the son of Elizabeth (née Fly) and James Bevan. James was from

Grosmont, Monmouthshire Grosmont ( or ) is a village and Community (Wales), community near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales. The population taken at the United Kingdom Census 2021, 2021 census was 869. The wider community (parish) includes the villages of Llangattoc ...

, Wales, and came to Melbourne, Victoria in 1848. Elizabeth Fly arrived with her parents and 3 brothers John, William and Charles in 1853 on board the Recruit. James Snr met 17 year old Elizabeth in Bendigo, Victoria and married soon after. He was a childhood friend of

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia, prime minister of Australia from 1903 to 1904, 1905 to 1908, and 1909 to 1910. He held office as the leader of th ...

, the second

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

; their fathers were partners in a

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

business. On 11 January 1866, Bevan's parents died when the '' SS London'' sank in a gale in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay ( ) is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarc'h to the Spanish border, and along the northern coast of Spain, extending westward ...

. He was sent back to Wales after being orphaned to live with paternal relatives. He attended

Hereford Cathedral School Hereford Cathedral School is a private, co-educational boarding and day school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from nursery to sixth form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premises a ...

.Smith (1980), pg 24.

Rugby career

Bevan played for

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the England–Wales border, border with England and is loca ...

before attending university at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, graduating in 1881. Bevan played for Cambridge University R.U.F.C., was awarded two

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

for rugby (in 1877 and 1880) and while with Cambridge was selected to captain the first Welsh international, against England. The

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

insisted that the England vs Wales match be played on 19 February 1881. This was the same day that

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 ...

were playing

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, ...

at Neath in a semi-final cup-tie thus depriving Wales of several players. This was Wales's first international, organised before the

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; ) is the governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running of rugby in Wales, overseeing 320 member clu ...

was set up. The players had never played together before, though one player, Major Richard Summers, was selected for Wales on his performances a couple of years earlier for his school,

Cheltenham College Cheltenham College is a public school ( fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. The school opened in 1841 as a Church of England foundation and is known for its outstanding linguis ...

, in matches against Cardiff and Newport. No formal invitations to play were sent out to the Welsh XV. Two of those expected to appear did not turn up, so bystanders, university undergraduates with tenuous Welsh links who had travelled to London to see the match, were called in to play for Wales. It was a humiliating defeat for the Welsh team and Bevan never played for Wales again (under modern scoring values Wales lost 82–0). A month after the match the WRFU was founded at the Castle Hotel,

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

on 12 March 1881. The

James Bevan Trophy The James Bevan Trophy is a rugby union trophy which was created in 2007, and named after James Bevan, the Welsh Australian who was the first ever captain of the Wales rugby union team in 1881. The trophy was established after a decision on 10 ...

was named in his honour to celebrate 100 years of Test Rugby.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 463. *

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 ...

1881

Clergy career

Bevan later became an Anglican clergyman. He was ordained deacon in 1888 and priest in 1889. He served his title first at

Christ Church, Hampstead Christ Church, Hampstead, is a Church of England church in Hampstead, London. It is a church with particular connections to the old village of Hampstead and the Heath. Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Clement Attlee ...

(1888-1892) and secondly at Trinity Church, Hampstead (1892-1899). From 1899 to 1936 he was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

at St George's Church in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

(now St George's Theatre).James Bevan biography
Clifton RFC In addition, he was Vicar of St Margaret's, Herringfleet from 1906 to 1908.

Personal life

He married Annie Susan Woodall in 1882. One of their sons was Kenneth Bevan, who also became a clergyman, and went on to become a missionary bishop in China. Bevan died in 1938, aged 79, at the vicarage of St Paul's,

Leytonstone Leytonstone ( ) is an area in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the nor ...

, where another son, Ernest, was the incumbent. He is buried in Hampstead Cemetery.

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, James Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Australian rugby union players Wales rugby union captains 1858 births 1938 deaths Abergavenny RFC players Newport RFC players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Rugby union players from Melbourne People educated at Hereford Cathedral School 20th-century English Anglican priests Rugby union three-quarters People from St Kilda, Victoria Australian people of Welsh descent Australian emigrants to Wales