George Boots
Encyclopedia
John George Boots was a Welsh
international rugby union
forward who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Monmouthshire
. He won 16 caps for Wales
.
Boots was seen as a consistent player with a superb positional sense who would tackle hard and smother the loose ball; his passing skill was strong as was his catching and dribbling. Boots was not a flair player but was a good 'spoiler' and could turn defence into attack, giving backs, such as Nicholls
and Lloyd
, a platform to run in tries. Boots had an exceptionally long rugby career, in spite of being on his death bed in 1908 with acute pleurisy
.
the tough Newport Docks
club that produced fellow Wales internationals Tommy Vile
and George Travers
. Boots had one of the longest careers in top-flight Welsh rugby, he joined Newport in 1895 and played his last match for them in 1922. This was his 365th Newport game and at the age of 47 he is the oldest player to have represented the club in an official game.
. In the first half of the game he provided excellent tackling to provide a solid ground for the backs to attack, even though he broke his collar bone during one of the exchanges. Through pain Boots continued tackling during the first half but retired in the interval, but by then the damage was done and Wales dominated Ireland to win 18-0.
International matches played England
1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904 Ireland
1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903 Scotland
1900, 1901, 1902, 1903
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 Newport and county rugby with Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire County RFC
Monmouthshire County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Monmouthshire that originally played rugby at county level...
. He won 16 caps 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...
.
Boots was seen as a consistent player with a superb positional sense who would tackle hard and smother the loose ball; his passing skill was strong as was his catching and dribbling. Boots was not a flair player but was a good 'spoiler' and could turn defence into attack, giving backs, such as Nicholls
Gwyn Nicholls
Erith Gwyn Nicholls was a Welsh rugby union player who gained 24 caps for Wales as a centre. Nicholls was known as the "Prince of Threequarters"....
and 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....
, a platform to run in tries. Boots had an exceptionally long rugby career, in spite of being on his death bed in 1908 with acute pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
.
Club career
Boots rugby career started with club side Pill HarriersPill Harriers RFC
Pill Harriers RFC are a Welsh rugby union club based in Newport in South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons..-Club origins:...
the tough Newport Docks
Newport Docks
Newport Docks is the collective name for a series of docks in the city of Newport, South Wales.-Background:Newport was a small fishing port and market town until the coming of the industrial age at the beginning of the 19th century...
club that produced fellow Wales internationals Tommy Vile
Tommy Vile
Major Thomas Henry "Tommy" Vile MBE was a Welsh international rugby union player. He played club rugby predominantly for Newport, captaining the side twice and played county rugby for Monmouthshire. He also represented the British Isles in Australia, and after retiring from playing became an...
and George Travers
George Travers
James Edward Travers , known as George Travers, was an English professional footballer who played as an inside forward or centre forward...
. Boots had one of the longest careers in top-flight Welsh rugby, he joined Newport in 1895 and played his last match for them in 1922. This was his 365th Newport game and at the age of 47 he is the oldest player to have represented the club in an official game.
International career
Boots made his international debut in a Welsh victory against Ireland on 19 March 1898 . In 16 matches he scored a single try for Wales in a game against Scotland in 1901. One of Boots' finest moments in a Welsh jersey was in the 1903 game against Ireland at the Cardiff Arms ParkCardiff Arms Park
Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...
. In the first half of the game he provided excellent tackling to provide a solid ground for the backs to attack, even though he broke his collar bone during one of the exchanges. Through pain Boots continued tackling during the first half but retired in the interval, but by then the damage was done and Wales dominated Ireland to win 18-0.
International matches played England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
1898, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904 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...
1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903 Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
1900, 1901, 1902, 1903