Charles "Tal" Harris (4 February 1903 - 1 October 1963) was a Welsh 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 ...

scrum-half who 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 ...

and played club rugby for

Aberavon Aberavon () is a town and community in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales. The town derived its name from being near the mouth of the river Afan, which also gave its name to a medieval lordship. Today it is essentially a district of Por ...

Rugby career

Harris played for Aberavon during their 'golden era' which saw the team crowned Welsh Club Champions four consecutive years from the 1923/24 to the 1926/27 season. While playing for Aberavon, Harris was awarded his one and only Welsh cap against the touring Australian Waratahs. The match took place on 26 November 1927 at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

, and although the Welsh forwards showed strength and commitment, were out-classed by the tourist back play. In 1931, while still with Aberavon, Harris was part of the joint

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

/ Aberavon team that narrowly lost to the 1931 touring South Africans. Harris was challenged to the position by Neath's Cliff Evans, but Harris was considered more experienced and tougher.Billot (1974), pg 166. The match was a close contest, and with three minuted left on the clock the score line was 3-3 after the Welsh side had taken an early lead; but the tourist fought back and scored a try with the last move of the game. During the match, Harris and his Aberavon team mate Wilf Selby were considered the better pairing than the South African duo of

Danie Craven Daniël Hartman Craven (11 October 1910 – 4 January 1993) was a South African rugby union player (1931–1938), national coach, national and international rugby administrator, academic, and author. Popularly known as Danie, Doc, or Mr R ...

and

Bennie Osler Benjamin Louwrens Osler (23 November 1901 – 28 April 1962) was a rugby union footballer who played internationally for South Africa. Osler played mainly at fly-half for both South Africa, and his provincial team of Western Province. Osler wa ...

, but the Welsh team's threequarter line was believed to have let them down with slow distribution.Billot (1974), pg 169.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 466. *

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

The Tal Harris Appreciation Society

The Tal Harris Appreciation Society was formed in 1994, dedicated to the memory of Tal Harris. They journey to Dublin every two years on the occasion of the Ireland v Wales rugby union match.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Tal Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves 1903 births 1963 deaths Rugby union players from Cardiff Neath RFC players Aberavon RFC players Maesteg RFC players