Alfred "Jim" Webb 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...

 player who played club rugby for Abertillery

Abertillery RFC

Abertillery Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Abertillery. According to their web site, they were founded in 1883, though other sources state 1884. Their team colours are green and white and their home ground is Abertillery Park in Abertillery. The club is a member of the...

 and county rugby for Monmouthshire. He won 20 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...

 and was part of the 1910 touring British Isles team to South Africa

South Africa national rugby union team

The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...

.

Webb was a strong forward player who was part of three 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...

 Wales teams, and won 19 consecutive caps, all while playing for a 'second class' team, normally unpopular with selectors. On 22 December 1908, Webb while captain of Abertillery, lead his team against the first touring Australian team. The resulting 3-3 draw is one of the greatest days in the club's history.

Webb is remembered as a powerful scrummager, strong at line-outs and mauls. He was a modest, proud and defiantly loyal man.

International career

After a strong performance against the touring South Africans with county team Monmouthshire, Webb was capped for Wales against Scotland on February, 1907. He would play for Wales a further 19 times. His final game was against Scotland in 1912 in which he led the pack in a rousing victory. The selectors though felt Webb was too old and too slow and he was dropped. Webb would later argue with the Welsh Rugby Union

Welsh Rugby Union

The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...

 selectors and leave the game of rugby union. He joined St. Helens but would only play five matches for the team.

International matches played

Wales 1908, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912

British Isles 1910 (x3)

External links

• Profile at saints.org.uk