Piercy Morrison
Encyclopedia
Piercy Henderson "Dolly" Morrison (30 July 1868 – 12 July 1936) was an English
rugby union
three-quarter who played club rugby for Northern
and Cambridge University
and played international rugby for England
.
, North Yorkshire in 1868 to Robert Morrison, a mine owner from Newcastle upon Tyne. He was educated at St. George's School in Harrogate and Loretto School
before matriculating to Caius College
, Cambridge in 1887.
. Cambridge won the 1887 Varsity Match
, and repeated the feat the next season, this time Morrison was joined by Thomas Todd and Alderson. In the 1889 Varsity Match, Morrison was given the captaincy of the Cambridge team, but Cambridge lost by two tries
to nil in a hard fought match. Morrsion played one more season with Cambridge, including the 1890 Varsity game, which ended in a no-score draw.
While still representing Cambridge, Morrison was first selected to represent the English national team. He was brought in at wing to face Wales
in the opening match of the 1890 Home Nations Championship
. Despite losing the Welsh encounter, the English selectors kept faith with Morrison and he experienced his first international victory in a 6-0 win. The final game of the tournament was against Ireland
, and Morrison completed the season by scoring his first and only international try. The English scored two tries in the first half of the game, and Morrison managed to score a try of his own when a passage of good English passing and some poor Irish tackling allowed him to touchdown between the posts.
In 1890, Morrison was approached by William Percy Carpmael
to join his newly formed invitational toring team, the Barbarians
. Morrison accepted and became one of the original members of the team.
Morrison's final international was in the match against Ireland in the 1891 Championship
. Joined at three-quarters with old Cambridge team-mate Alderson, Morrison finished his international career with a 9-0 win.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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 Northern
Northern Football Club
Northern Football Club are a rugby union club that was founded in 1875, and are based in Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne. Their strip is coloured navy Blue, Red and White...
and 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...
and played international rugby for 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...
.
Personal history
Morrison was born in BrottonBrotton
Brotton is a village in the parish of Skelton and Brotton, in the unitary authority of Redcar and Cleveland and ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately 2.5 miles southeast of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, 16.7 miles east of Middlesbrough and 16.6 miles northwest of Whitby...
, North Yorkshire in 1868 to Robert Morrison, a mine owner from Newcastle upon Tyne. He was educated at St. George's School in Harrogate and Loretto School
Loretto 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,...
before matriculating to Caius College
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college is often referred to simply as "Caius" , after its second founder, John Keys, who fashionably latinised the spelling of his name after studying in Italy.- Outline :Gonville and...
, Cambridge in 1887.
Rugby career
Morrison came to note as a rugby player when he played for Cambridge University. He won four sporting 'Blues', his first was in 1887, when he played at three-quarter along with Macbeth Duncan and Frederic AldersonFrederic Alderson
Frederic Hodgson Rudd Alderson was an English international rugby union threequarter who played club rugby for Cambridge University and Hartlepool Rovers...
. Cambridge won the 1887 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...
, and repeated the feat the next season, this time Morrison was joined by Thomas Todd and Alderson. In the 1889 Varsity Match, Morrison was given the captaincy of the Cambridge team, but Cambridge lost by 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...
to nil in a hard fought match. Morrsion played one more season with Cambridge, including the 1890 Varsity game, which ended in a no-score draw.
While still representing Cambridge, Morrison was first selected to represent the English national team. He was brought in at wing to face 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 the opening match of the 1890 Home Nations Championship
1890 Home Nations Championship
The 1890 Home Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 1 February and 15 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...
. Despite losing the Welsh encounter, the English selectors kept faith with Morrison and he experienced his first international victory in a 6-0 win. The final game of the tournament was against 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...
, and Morrison completed the season by scoring his first and only international try. The English scored two tries in the first half of the game, and Morrison managed to score a try of his own when a passage of good English passing and some poor Irish tackling allowed him to touchdown between the posts.
In 1890, Morrison 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:...
to join his newly formed invitational toring team, 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...
. Morrison accepted and became one of the original members of the team.
Morrison's final international was in the match against Ireland in the 1891 Championship
1891 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...
. Joined at three-quarters with old Cambridge team-mate Alderson, Morrison finished his international career with a 9-0 win.