Paul Robert Clauss
Encyclopedia
Paul Robert Clauss was a German
-born rugby union
three-quarter who played club rugby for Oxford
and Birkenhead Park. Clauss was a member of the first official British Isles
tour in 1891 and also represented Scotland
on six occasions. He was part of two Triple Crown
winning teams for Scotland, and made an impressive international start in the 1891 Championship, scoring in all three Scotland games.
in Scotland
. From Loretto he matriculated to Keble College, Oxford
and in 1899 he joined the Oxford University team. His most notable game with Oxford was played on the 21 February 1889 against the New Zealand Native football team, Oxford winning 6-0. He first faced Cambridge University
in the 1899 Varsity Match
. Clauss gained three sporting 'Blues' in total playing in the 1889, 1890 and 1891 matches. In the 1891 match, Clauss was Oxford captain, but adopted the wrong tactics to give Cambridge the game. Despite excellent work form the Clauss and the rest of the Oxford three-quarters, the forwards had exhausted themselves through too much tight scrimmaging in the first half of the match, and the Cambridge team won by two tries to nil.
In 1890, Clauss was approached by William Percy Carpmael
, an ex-Cambridge player, to join his newly formed touring side the Barbarians
. Clauss accepted, and became one of the original members of the team.
. It was an impressive start for Clauss' international career, scoring two tries
in a massive 15-0 win over the Welsh. Clauss kept his place for the remaining two games of the tournament, and continued his scoring streak with another try in the second game of the campaign, this time against Ireland. In the final game of the Championship, Clauss scored a dropped goal eight minutes from the start, and Scotland never gave away the lead for the rest of the match. With the victory over England, Clauss became a Triple Crown
winning player in his first international season.
Between the 1891 and 1892 seasons, Clauss was invited to join the British Isles team on their tour of South Africa
. This was the first official overseas tour for the British Isles team, and took in three Test Matches against the South Africa national team
. Clauss played in the first five matches of the tour, scoring tries in the first four games. Although Clauss was not in the team for the games against Port Elizabeth and Eastern Province he was brought in at his preferred three-quarters position along with tour captain Bill Maclagan
and Randolph Aston
. The British Isles team won the game 4-0, but Clauss missed the next five games of the tour, only returning three weeks later for the matches against Johannesburg, Transvaal and Cape Colony. Clauss finished his tour with the wins against South Africa in the Second and Third Tests, and scored a try in the encounter with Cape Colony between the final Tests.
Clauss made a journal of the South Africa tour, making notes on the style of play, grounds and his general thoughts on the direction of South African rugby. He enjoyed the tour and summed it all up as "champagne and travel".
On his return to Britain Clauss retained his place in the Scotland team for the 1892 Championship
, and made two appearances. Clauss was on the winning side, in the encounter with Wales, but then missed the following game when he was replaced by J.C. Woodburn. With a win over the Irish secured, Clauss regained his position for the Championship decider against England. Both teams had defeated both Wales and Ireland, and the pressure of losing the title made for a poor game. Protracted mauling and fighting between the forwards slowed the fluency of the game, and England won by a single converted try. Clauss had a chance to level the game, but narrowly missed with an attempted dropped goal.
Clauss played one final international game, when he was recalled three years later for the second game of the 1895 Championship
. Clauss was brought in at the unfamiliar position of half back, after the retirement of William Wotherspoon
left a gap that the Scottish selectors had difficulty filling. Although Scotland won the game 6-0, Clauss lost his place to the more experienced half back William Donaldson. Despite this, Scotland won the Championship and Clauss ended his career as part of a Triple Crown team for the second time in his career.
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born 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...
three-quarter who played club rugby for Oxford
Oxford University RFC
The Oxford University Rugby Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham.-History:...
and Birkenhead Park. Clauss was a member of the first official British Isles
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
tour in 1891 and also represented 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...
on six occasions. He was part of two 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...
winning teams for Scotland, and made an impressive international start in the 1891 Championship, scoring in all three Scotland games.
University career
Clauss was born in Munich, but was educated at Loretto SchoolLoretto School
Loretto School is an independent school in Scotland, founded in 1827. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, near Edinburgh.-History:Loretto was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. Langhorne came from Crosby Ravensworth, near Kirkby Stephen. The school was later taken over by his son,...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. From Loretto he matriculated to Keble College, Oxford
Keble College, Oxford
Keble College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to the south by Museum Road, and to the west by Blackhall...
and in 1899 he joined the Oxford University team. His most notable game with Oxford was played on the 21 February 1889 against the New Zealand Native football team, Oxford winning 6-0. He first faced Cambridge University
Cambridge University R.U.F.C.
The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, or CURUFC, is the rugby union club of Cambridge University, and plays Oxford University in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham stadium every December. CURUFC players wear light blue and white hooped jerseys with a red lion crest...
in the 1899 Varsity Match
The Varsity Match
The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. By tradition, the match is held on the second Tuesday of December. In 2005, however, this changed, and the match was on Tuesday 6 December. In 2007, it was held on a Thursday for...
. Clauss gained three sporting 'Blues' in total playing in the 1889, 1890 and 1891 matches. In the 1891 match, Clauss was Oxford captain, but adopted the wrong tactics to give Cambridge the game. Despite excellent work form the Clauss and the rest of the Oxford three-quarters, the forwards had exhausted themselves through too much tight scrimmaging in the first half of the match, and the Cambridge team won by two tries to nil.
In 1890, Clauss was approached by William Percy Carpmael
William Percy Carpmael
William Percy Carpmael was the founder and first president of the rugby union Barbarian Football Club. Carpmael was born the eldest of eight in Briscobel, Stretham in England.-Education and early career:...
, an ex-Cambridge player, to join his newly formed touring side the Barbarians
Barbarian F.C.
The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...
. Clauss accepted, and became one of the original members of the team.
International career
While still at Oxford, Clauss was selected to represent the Scotland national team, and made his first appearance in the opening game, against Wales, in the 1891 Home Nations Championship1891 Home Nations Championship
The 1891 Home Nations Championship was the ninth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 3 January and 7 March...
. It was an impressive start for Clauss' international career, scoring two tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
in a massive 15-0 win over the Welsh. Clauss kept his place for the remaining two games of the tournament, and continued his scoring streak with another try in the second game of the campaign, this time against Ireland. In the final game of the Championship, Clauss scored a dropped goal eight minutes from the start, and Scotland never gave away the lead for the rest of the match. With the victory over England, Clauss became a 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...
winning player in his first international season.
Between the 1891 and 1892 seasons, Clauss was invited to join the British Isles team on their tour of South Africa
1891 British Lions tour to South Africa
The 1891 British Isles tour to South Africa was the first British Isles rugby union tour of South Africa and only the second overseas tour conducted by a joint British team. Between 9 July and 7 September, the team played 20 games, including three tests against the South Africa national rugby union...
. This was the first official overseas tour for the British Isles team, and took in three Test Matches against the South Africa national team
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...
. Clauss played in the first five matches of the tour, scoring tries in the first four games. Although Clauss was not in the team for the games against Port Elizabeth and Eastern Province he was brought in at his preferred three-quarters position along with tour captain Bill Maclagan
Bill Maclagan
William Edward "Bill" Maclagan was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for London Scottish F.C....
and Randolph Aston
Randolph Aston
Randolph Littleton Aston was an English rugby union centre who played club rugby for Blackheath and Cambridge University and was a member of the first official British Isles tour in 1891.-Personal history:...
. The British Isles team won the game 4-0, but Clauss missed the next five games of the tour, only returning three weeks later for the matches against Johannesburg, Transvaal and Cape Colony. Clauss finished his tour with the wins against South Africa in the Second and Third Tests, and scored a try in the encounter with Cape Colony between the final Tests.
Clauss made a journal of the South Africa tour, making notes on the style of play, grounds and his general thoughts on the direction of South African rugby. He enjoyed the tour and summed it all up as "champagne and travel".
On his return to Britain Clauss retained his place in the Scotland team for the 1892 Championship
1892 Home Nations Championship
The 1892 Home Nations Championship was the tenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 2 January and 5 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....
, and made two appearances. Clauss was on the winning side, in the encounter with Wales, but then missed the following game when he was replaced by J.C. Woodburn. With a win over the Irish secured, Clauss regained his position for the Championship decider against England. Both teams had defeated both Wales and Ireland, and the pressure of losing the title made for a poor game. Protracted mauling and fighting between the forwards slowed the fluency of the game, and England won by a single converted try. Clauss had a chance to level the game, but narrowly missed with an attempted dropped goal.
Clauss played one final international game, when he was recalled three years later for the second game of the 1895 Championship
1895 Home Nations Championship
The 1895 Home Nations Championship was the thirteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 5 January and 16 March...
. Clauss was brought in at the unfamiliar position of half back, after the retirement of William Wotherspoon
William Wotherspoon (rugby player)
William Wotherspoon was a Scottish rugby union half-back who was a member of the first official British Isles tour and was also capped for the Scotland team...
left a gap that the Scottish selectors had difficulty filling. Although Scotland won the game 6-0, Clauss lost his place to the more experienced half back William Donaldson. Despite this, Scotland won the Championship and Clauss ended his career as part of a Triple Crown team for the second time in his career.
Cricket career
While at School, Clauss also played cricket, representing Loretto and then at University representing Keble against WorcestershireWorcestershire County Cricket Club
Worcestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Worcestershire...
.