Rowland Griffiths (4 March 1886 – 4 May 1914) was a 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 ...

player. He was selected for the

1908 British Lions tour to New Zealand and Australia The 1908 British Isles tour to New Zealand and Australia was the seventh tour by a British Isles team and the fourth to New Zealand and Australia. The tour is often referred to as the ''Anglo-Welsh Tour'' as only English and Welsh players we ...

. Griffiths played club rugby for

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club () is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, Wales. They presently play in the Super Rygbi Cymru. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on the east bank of the River Usk. Ever ...

Rugby career

Griffiths first came to note as a rugby player when he represented first-class Welsh team Newport. He joined the club in 1902 as a threequarter and continued to represent the club until 1908. As a Newport player Griffiths faced the touring

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 ...

at least once in his career; when in the 1905 Winter tour he scored with a conversion in

Charlie Pritchard Charles Meyrick Pritchard (30 September 1882 – 14 August 1916) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks. He played club rugby for Newport RFC and county rugby ...

's win over the Baa-Baas.Starmer-Smith, Nigel ''The Barbarians'' Macdonald & Jane's Publishers (1977) pg. 110 In 1906 he was selected as part of the Newport team to face

The Original All Blacks The Original All Blacks (also known simply as "The Originals") were the first New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United State ...

in their first tour of Britain. Again under the captaincy of Pritchard, Griffiths was put into the fullback position by his club. Griffiths did not have a good game; in the first half

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

wing Eric Harper easily beat Griffiths to score a try.Thomas (1979), pg 37. The tourists furthered their lead with a penalty goal, before Griffiths gave Newport hope with a penalty goal of his own, but despite heroic efforts by scrum-half Tommy Vile, the tourists won the game. Despite becoming the first Newport player to score against the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

, Vile stated after the match that he believed that Newport lost because Griffiths had been positioned at fullback, and Griffiths "was never a fullback".Rowland Griffiths Player profile
Blackandambers.co.uk Although Griffiths was never selected for the

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 ...

team; in 1908 Griffiths was part of

Arthur Harding Arthur Flowers Harding (8 August 1878 – 15 May 1947) was an English-born international rugby union player who played for and captained the Welsh national rugby union team, Wales national team. Often called 'Boxer' Harding, he was a member of ...

's Anglo-Welsh team that toured Australia and New Zealand. Griffiths played a part in the games against the regional sides but was never selected for the Test Matches, and thus never capped. Griffiths later moved to France, where he played for Stade Nantais Université Club (Nantes) with Percy Bush (1910–11) and for Racing Club de France (Paris) where he played on the losing side of the final of the 1912 French Championship. In 1912–13, he coached US Perpignanaise (Perpignan, later called "USAP") before settling in Marseilles where he died of

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

on 4 May 1914 at the age of 29.

References

Biography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Rowland 1886 births 1914 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Deaths from typhoid fever in France Newport RFC players Racing 92 players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Monmouthshire Rugby union wings Welsh rugby union players Welsh expatriate rugby union players in France