Will Parker
William James Parker (1873 – 10 November 1955)[3] was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea. 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.
| Birth name | William James Parker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Swansea, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Penmaen, Swansea, Wales[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby career
Parker was selected on two occasions to represent Wales, both in the 1899 Home Nations 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. 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.
Bibliography
- Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.
References
- Swansea RFC player profile
- Welsh Rugby Union player profile
- Will Parker player profile Scrum.com
- Smith (1980), pg 470.
| Rugby Union Captain | ||
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| Preceded by Frank Gordon |
Swansea RFC Captain 1903-1904 |
Succeeded by Frank Gordon |