Richard Summers

For the British RAF officer, see Richard Summers (RAF officer).
Richard Summers
Full name Richard Henry Bowlas Summers
Date of birth (1860-07-30)30 July 1860
Place of birth Haverfordwest, Wales
Date of death 22 December 1941(1941-12-22) (aged 81)
Place of death Haverfordwest, Wales
School Cowbridge Grammar School
Cheltenham College
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position Forward
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
Haverfordwest RFC
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
1881 Wales 1 (0)

Richard Henry Bowlas Summers (30 July 1860 22 December 1941) was a Welsh rugby union fullback who played club rugby for Haverfordwest and international rugby for Wales. Summers was a member of the very first Wales international team, that faced England in 1881.

Rugby career

Summers first played rugby for Cowbridge Grammar School as a schoolboy, but in May 1879 he left Cowbridge for a place at Cheltenham College, which he also represented.[1] In July 1880 he left Cheltenham and returned to his home town of Haverfordwest where he turned out for local club Haverfordwest RFC.[1] When Richard Mullock began looking for players to represent the first Wales international rugby team, Summers fitted the profile of an educated gentleman from a club representing one of the outer reaches of the Welsh rugby map. It is believed that Summers came to the attention of Mullock as both Cowbridge Grammar and Cheltenham College were on the same fixture list as Cardiff, whose players Mullock was in contact with.[1]

The first Welsh team, Summers is sat in the front row, furthest right, February 1881

Summers was played at fullback along with Newport's Charlie Newman, while the team was captained by Australian James Bevan. The international game was a disaster for Wales; the team had never played together before, and many were out of position; but even with these problems the match was far too easy a victory for the English. After losing by eight goals and six tries to nil the national press was angry at what was seen as a humiliation to the country. Summers was never chosen to represent his country again,[2] and not long afterwards he emigrated to India.[3]

Although Summers gave Haverfordwest their first international player in Wales' first game, it took the club almost one hundred years to produce another Welsh cap, when Peter Morgan was selected in 1980.[4]

International matches played

Wales (rugby union)[5]

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Smith (1980), pg 38.
  2. Richard Summers player profile Scrum.com
  3. Smith (1980), pg 57.
  4. Smith (1980), pg 459.
  5. Smith (1980), pg 472.
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