Melville "Mel" Aaron Rosser sometimes recorded as Melvin and Melvyn (18 April 1901 – 8 September 1988) was a Welsh 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 ...

centre 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

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

and later turned to professional

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 ...

joining first

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, then

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

( Heritage #88), and then

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. Rosser played international rugby for Wales under both union and league codes, and toured Australia with the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

rugby league team in 1928.

Rugby union career

Mel Rosser began his rugby career with his local rugby club Machen RFC, before moving to first class team Cardiff. He played two seasons for Cardiff, scoring four tries during his period with the club. During the 1923–24 season, Rosser switched from Cardiff to local rival club Penarth. It was as a Penarth player that he was first selected for international duty, selected 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 ...

to face

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

as part of the

1924 Five Nations Championship The 1924 Five Nations Championship was the tenth 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 thirty-seve ...

. Rosser was brought in at centre, partnered with

Jack Elwyn Evans John "Jack" Elwyn Evans (1897 – 15 July 1941) was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for Wales, and at club level for Brynamman RFC, Amman U ...

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, ...

. The game was a sporting disaster, with Scotland inflicting their heaviest victory over Wales, and running up a record breaking score in a 35–10 win. Although Rosser was dropped after the Scotland game, missing the encounter with Ireland, he was reselected for the final game of the Championship, away to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Rosser was originally intended to play at centre, but on the train trip to Paris the Welsh selectors suspended Ossie Male as he had broken a rule preventing any player from representing Wales if they had played club rugby within the week leading up to the international match.Smith (1980), pg 214. With no other fullback aboard the train, Rosser was switched to an emergency fullback with reserve player Joe Jones drafted into the backs. It was a narrow win for Wales, with the victory coming thanks to a Vince Griffiths dropped goal. During his rugby union career, Griffiths also represented Glamorgan County and as a serving police officer, he also played for Glamorgan Police.Jenkins (1991), pg 144.

International rugby union matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 471. * 1924 * 1924

Rugby league career

At the start of the 1924/1925 season, Rosser turned his back on rugby union by joining professional rugby league club

. At the same time he left the police force and became a licensee. He played his first game for Leeds on 6 September 1924, and on 12 April 1926 he was selected to play for the

Wales national rugby league team The Wales national rugby league team represents Wales in representative rugby league football matches. Currently the team is ranked 17th in the IRL World Rankings. The team was run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an inde ...

, making him a dual-code international. The game was held at Pontypridd against England, and the Welsh lost narrowly despite scoring six tries and two goals. Rosser scoring one of the tries. He had to wait almost four years to record his second and Wales league cap, when he was selected to face Australia at Wembley in early 1930. Although Wales lost again, Rosser was again on the score sheet with another try. In between his two Wales caps for Leeds, Rosser also represented

on the team's 1928 tour of Australia. One of six Welsh players who went on the tour, he played in nine matches though none of the six Tests.Gate (1986), pg 164. In the 1930/31 season, Rosser switched rugby clubs from Leeds to

for one match, and then to

Football Club. While at York he represented Wales another three times, two games against England and another encounter with Australia. The Australian game was his last, played on 30 December 1930.Gate (1986), pg 143. Mel Rosser played left- in Monmouthshire rugby league team, Monmouthshire's 14-18 defeat by Glamorgan rugby league team, Glamorgan in the non-County Championship (rugby league), County Championship match during the 1926–27 Northern Rugby Football League season, 1926–27 season at Taff Vale Park, Pontypridd on Saturday 30 April 1927.Irvin Saxton (publish date To be announced, tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 32 – 1926–27". Rugby Leaguer & League Express, Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a Mel Rosser played right- in

's 8-22 defeat by Halifax R.L.F.C., Halifax in the 1930–31 Challenge Cup Final during the 1930–31 Northern Rugby Football League season#Challenge Cup, 1930–31 season at Wembley Stadium (1923), Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 2 May 1931, in front of a crowd of 40,368.Irvin Saxton (publish date To be announced, tbc) "History of Rugby League – № 36 – 1930–31". Rugby Leaguer & League Express, Rugby Leaguer ISBN n/a

International rugby league matches played

Wales * 1926, 1931, 1932 * 1930, 1933

Bibliography

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosser, Mel 1901 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen British publicans Cardiff RFC players Castleford Tigers players Dual-code rugby internationals Glamorgan County RFC players Glamorgan Police officers Glamorgan Police RFC players Great Britain national rugby league team players Leeds Rhinos players Monmouthshire rugby league team players Penarth RFC players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Caerphilly County Borough Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Machen Sportspeople from Machen Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh police officers Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players York Wasps players