William James Parker (1873 – 10 November 1955)
Scrum.com was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

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 ...

forward who played club rugby for

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 ...

. Parker first joined Swansea in 1893 and spent most of his sporting career with the club. During the 1903/04 season he was given the captaincy of Swansea, and the club won the championship under his leadership. He was chosen in 1905 as a member of the Swansea team to face the original touring

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 ...

Rugby career

Parker was selected on two occasions to represent

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 ...

, both in the

1899 Home Nations Championship The 1899 Home Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 18 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The 1899 Championship ...

. His debut match was against England at St Helens when a then record crowd of 20,000 saw Wales overturn England 26–3, including four tries for

Willie Llewellyn William Morris Llewellyn (1 January 1878 – 12 March 1973) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He captained Wales in 1905 and London Welsh in 1902. He was a member of the winning Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the ...

. Parker was chosen for the very next match against Scotland at Inverleith, but this time Wales were beaten and Parker was never re-selected. After his retirement from rugby, Parker continued his links with the club by becoming a committee member.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 470. * 1899 * 1899,

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Will 1873 births 1955 deaths Rugby union players from Swansea Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union forwards