Frank "Lonza" Bowdler (4 January 1901 – 17 December 1962) 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 ...

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 ...

hooker who played club rugby for

Cross Keys Cross Keys or Crosskeys may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Crosskeys, Wales ** Crosskeys railway station ** Crosskeys College, a campus of Coleg Gwent * The Cross Keys (disambiguation), several pubs in the United Kingdom * Cross Keys Inn, a ...

and was capped 15 times 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 ...

. A coal miner by profession,

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 ...

remembered him in his autobiography, as a dedicated player, turning out for Wales on Saturday before returning immediately to his shift underground at his mine.Thomas (1977), pg 49.

International rugby career

Although Cross Keys was seen as an unfashionable club at the time, it had already produced two respected internationals in Steve Morris and

Ossie Male Ossie Male (31 December 1893 – 23 February 1975)
Scrum.com was a Welsh international full back who played club rugby for ...

; therefore although unusual, it was not a surprise when Bowdler was selected for the Welsh rugby team. In 1927 Bowdler was selected to face the touring Australian Waratahs and the next year made his debut in the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament contes ...

in a game against England, which was also the last game for Wales captain

Rowe Harding W. Rowe Harding (10 September 1901 – 10 February 1991) was a Welsh international rugby union wing who played club rugby for Swansea, a barrister, and a judge. An intelligent player, Harding played for several teams at club and international l ...

. Bowdler played out the entirety of the

1928 Five Nations Championship The 1928 Five Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty- ...

and the 1929 season. An unsuccessful period in Welsh rugby, Bowdler played through into the early 1930s when the team's fortunes began changing. He missed the

1931 Five Nations Championship The 1931 Five Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty ...

, when Wales actually won the tournament, but was selected to play against the 1931 touring South Africans. His final game was at Ravenhill against Ireland in 1933, when Wales lost the selectors dropped 11 players from the squad. Bowdler was one of them.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 463. * 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932 * 1928, 1929 * 1928, 1929, 1932, 1933 *

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

1927 * 1928, 1929, 1932 * 1931

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowlder, Lonza 1901 births 1962 deaths Cross Keys RFC players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Caerphilly Wales international rugby union players Welsh miners Welsh rugby union players