Fred Miller was a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 international rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

 forward who played club rugby for Mountain Ash

Mountain Ash RFC

Mountain Ash RFC is a Welsh rugby union team from the town of Mountain Ash, in the Cynon Valley, South Wales. Mountain Ash RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Cardiff Blues.-Early history:...

; and was the first player to represent an international team whilst at the club when he was selected for Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

 in 1896. Miller later 'Went North', joining professional rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 team Hull

Miller was a collier by trade, working at Nixon's Navigation Colliery in Mountain Ash, and was described as a stalwart specimen of the Welsh collier.

Rugby career

Miller was first selected to play for Wales while representing Mountain Ash at club level. He was chosen for the final game of the 1896 Home Nations Championship

1896 Home Nations Championship

The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...

, against Ireland; one of only two new caps to be brought into the Welsh team along with Llewellyn Lloyd

Llewellyn Lloyd

George Llewellyn Lloyd was a Welsh international half-back who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Kent. He won 12 caps for Wales and captained the team on one occasion against Scotland....

. Wales lost the game due to the Irish overcoming the Welsh kick-and-rush tactics employed by the forwards, and the next game Miller was replaced by Jack Rhapps

Jack Rhapps

John "Jack" Rhapps was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Penygraig and international rugby for Wales...

.

Miller found himself out of favour with the Welsh selectors until he was recalled four years later for the 1900 Championship

1900 Home Nations Championship

The 1900 Home Nations Championship was the eighteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 6 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...

 replacing Llanelli's

Llanelli RFC

Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...

 David Daniel

David Daniel

David John Daniel was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Llanelli and international rugby for Wales.-Personal history:...

. This was the beginning of the First Golden Age of Welsh rugby, and Miller was part of the team that won all three of the 1900 Championship games to lift the Triple Crown

Triple Crown (Rugby Union)

In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...

. Miller played in all three matches, and did enough to secure his reselection for the entire 1901 Home Nations Championship

1901 Home Nations Championship

The 1901 Home Nations Championship was the nineteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March...

. Wales won the opener against England and the final game to Ireland, but were outclassed against Scotland at Inverleith. Miller was replaced in the 1902 tournament by Arthur Harding

Arthur Harding

Arthur Flowers Harding was an English-born international rugby union player who played for and captained the Wales national team. Often called 'Boxer' Harding, he was a member of the winning Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in a game considered one of the greatest in the history of...

.

International matches played

Wales 1900, 1901 1900, 1901

• Ireland
  Ireland national rugby union team
  The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
  
  1896, 1900, 1901