Albert Percival "Percy" Coldrick (born 1 November 1888 – 26 December 1953) was a Welsh dual code

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 ...

player 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 Newport 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 ...

for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. He represented

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 union code and Wales and Great Britain under league rules.

Rugby career

Coldrick birth was registered in

Caerleon Caerleon ( ; ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in Newport, Wales. Situated on the River Usk, it lies northeast of Newport city centre, and southeast of Cwmbran. Caerleon is of archaeological importance, being the site of a notable ...

, Wales, he formed a trade union for rugby players, but when it attempted to organise a strike, it collapsed, his son, also named Percy Coldrick, became the General Secretary of the

Transport Salaried Staffs' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, ...

. and he died aged 64–65 in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, England.

Rugby career

Coldrick played for several teams, including a single game for Harlequins and represented

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

at county level, before being selected by Newport in 1909. Coldrick gained his first international cap in a game against England as part of the

1911 Five Nations Championship The 1911 Five Nations Championship was the second 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 twenty-nin ...

. Under the captaincy of

Billy Trew William James Trew, better known as Billy Trew (12 March 1879 – 20 August 1926) was a Welsh international centre, outside half and wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club. He won 29 caps for Wales and is seen as one of t ...

at the

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 ...

's St Helens Ground, Wales won the game 15–11. Coldrick was re-selected for the next game against Scotland, but failed to appear in the inaugural match in Paris. Coldrick was back for the final game in a Championship decider between Wales and Ireland and when the Welsh team won the match Coldrick became a

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and Triple Crown winning international. Coldrick played three games in the 1912 tournament, with his final rugby union international game being a contest against the French team at

Rodney Parade Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, South Wales. It is located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre. The ground is on Rodney Road, a short walk from the city's central bus and railway stations via Newport Bri ...

. Although Wales beat France, eight of the fifteen Welsh squad never played for Wales again, Coldrick was one of them, though it was his own decision rather than a selection choice. In 1912, Coldrick made himself ineligible for further selection to the Welsh union team when he switched to the professional game of rugby league, joining Wigan RLFC. Coldrick played two international games for the Welsh national league team, both against England, in 1913 and 1914. He also played for the Great Britain team. Coldrick was selected to tour with the England squad on the Ashes tour of Australia and was selected for all three tests, scoring a try in the second game. In 1919 Coldrick approached 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 ...

to have his amateur status re-instated, though his application was refused. He left Wigan in 1925, and joined St. Helens. A shared benefit for; Percy Coldrick, Charlie Seeling and Frank Walford

took place in April 1925. Percy Coldrick played in

's 13–2 victory over

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

Final during the 1921–22 season at

The Cliff A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff, The Cliff or The Cliffs may also refer to: Buildings *Cliff Brewery, a former brewery near Ipswich, England *Cliff Palace, largest cliff dwelling in North America *The Cliffs, a histo ...

, Broughton on Saturday 6 May 1922. Percy Coldrick played left- and scored a try in

's 21–5 victory over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

in the

1912–13 Lancashire Cup The 1912 Lancashire Cup was the eighth year of this regional rugby league competition. The cup was won by Wigan Warriors, Wigan who beat the holders Rochdale Hornets in the final at The Willows, Salford, The Willows, Salford, Greater Manchester, ...

Final during the 1912–13 season at

Weaste Weaste () is an inner-city suburb of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is bordered by the town of Eccles, Greater Manchester, Eccles to the West and Seedley to the East. In 2014 Weaste and Seedley (ward), Weaste and Seedley ward had a pop ...

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, on Wednesday 11 December 1912. and played right- in the 20–2 victory over

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the

1922–23 Lancashire Cup The 1922–23 Lancashire Cup was the fifteenth staging of this regional rugby league competition. The trophy was won again by Wigan who beat local rivals Leigh in the final at The Willows, Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the Unite ...

Final during the 1922–23 season at

The Willows, Salford The Willows was a rugby league stadium in Weaste, City of Salford, Salford, England. It had a final capacity of 11,363 with 2,500 seats. History In 1900, Salford agreed a 14-year lease on of land belonging to the Willows Estate Company, named ...

, on Saturday 25 November 1922.

International matches played under union code

WalesSmith (1980), pg 464. * 1911, 1912 * 1912 * 1911 * 1911, 1912

International matches played under league code

Wales * 1913, 1914 Great Britain * 1914, 1914, 1914

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Profile at saints.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coldrick, Percy 1888 births 1953 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Crumlin RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Great Britain national rugby league team players Harlequin F.C. players Monmouthshire County RFC players Newport RFC players Other Nationalities rugby league team players Rugby union players from Caerleon Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Newport, Wales Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby union props St Helens R.F.C. players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Wigan Warriors players