Philip Joseph Taylor (6 June 1931 – 23 October 2019) was an

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 ...

rugby union international No.8 winning six caps between 1955 and 1962. Taylor played club rugby for

Wakefield RFC Wakefield RFC was an English rugby union club, founded in 1901 and folded in 2004 as a result of poor finances, with a trading loss of £105,000 for the season and unsecured creditors' loans of approximately £640,000. The club's final season w ...

and

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

. Phil Taylor first took up rugby upon visiting College Grove, the home of Wakefield RFC, in 1948 with a friend. Up until then, he had played

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

. Taylor made his debut for Wakefield RFC during the 1948/49 season but it wasn't until the following season that he became a first team regular. In November 1949 he left the club to join the

Duke of Wellington's Regiment The Duke of Wellington's Regiment (West Riding) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the King's Division. In 1702, Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, which he di ...

for his

National service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

training. In April 1951 he was selected for the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

side to play France. Taylor played for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

fifty-four times appearing in the Yorkshire sides that won the

County Championship The County Championship, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Rothesay County Championship, is the only domestic first-class cricket competition in England and Wales. Established in 1890, it is organised by the England and Wales Cri ...

in 1952-53 and 1956-57. He played three times for the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

making his first appearance on 4 April 1953 against Cardiff and his last on 3 March 1955 against East Midlands. Taylor played for England in trial matches before making his full debut for

in their defeat to Wales in November 1955. He went on to play another five times for England, his last cap being in a drawn game against Scotland in March 1962. Taylor was educated at St Austin's school,

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 ...

Salesian College, Farnborough Salesian College is an Independent Schools Council, independent Roman Catholic school in Farnborough, Hampshire, England. Founded in 1901 as a small preparatory school (UK), preparatory school for boys, it soon expanded to provide secondary ed ...

and Loughborough University with whom he played. On joining

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public university, public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university sinc ...

, he joined

under which club he made his England appearances. In February 1966 he donated an England shirt to Wakefield RFC Taylor was a representative for a Northampton firm of timber importers. Phil Taylor died on 23 October 2019, at the age of 88.

References

Sources

* Wakefield Rugby Football Club—1901-2001 A Centenary History. Written and compiled by David Ingall in 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Pj 1931 births 2019 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Wakefield RFC players Northampton Saints players Barbarian F.C. players Alumni of Loughborough University People educated at Salesian College, Farnborough Yorkshire County RFU players Army rugby union players Rugby union players from Wakefield Rugby union number eights 20th-century English sportsmen