Tom Day (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
Tom Day was a Wales
international rugby union
player who played club rugby for Swansea
. He was awarded 13 caps for Wales and was part of the Welsh side that won the 1931 Five Nations Championship
.
Day first came to notice while playing for the Wales Secondary Schools, moving to Gorseinon
after leaving school. In 1928 he moved teams to Swansea, at the same time as Claude Davey
. He stayed with Swansea for the entirety of his international career and captained them during the 1933/34 season. On October 10, 1931 he was part of the Swansea team that faced the touring South Africans
, and although losing the game, Day had an outstanding game at the front of the pack, closing the game down whenever he could.
. He missed the 1933 tournament, which famously included the end of the Twickenham curse, but was back in 1934. His last game was on the losing side against Ireland at Ravenhill on 9 March 1935.
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...
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 Swansea
Swansea RFC
Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premier Division. Its home ground is St Helens Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea. The team is sometimes known as The Whites because of the primary colour of the team strip...
. He was awarded 13 caps for Wales and was part of the Welsh side that won the 1931 Five Nations Championship
1931 Five Nations Championship
The 1931 Five Nations Championship was the seventeenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty-fourth series of the annual northern hemisphere...
.
Day first came to notice while playing for the Wales Secondary Schools, moving to Gorseinon
Gorseinon RFC
Gorseinon RFC is a Welsh rugby union club representing the town of Gorseinon, Swansea, South Wales. Gorseinon RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys.-History:...
after leaving school. In 1928 he moved teams to Swansea, at the same time as Claude Davey
Claude Davey
Claude Davey was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times...
. He stayed with Swansea for the entirety of his international career and captained them during the 1933/34 season. On October 10, 1931 he was part of the Swansea team that faced the touring South Africans
1931-32 South Africa rugby union tour
The 1931-32 South Africa tour of Britain and Ireland was a collection of friendly rugby union games undertaken by the South Africa national rugby union team against the four British Home Nation teams. The tour also took in several matches against British and Irish club, county and invitational teams...
, and although losing the game, Day had an outstanding game at the front of the pack, closing the game down whenever he could.
International rugby
Day was first selected for Wales in the 1931 Five Nations tournament and was the only new cap in the Welsh squad. The match ended in a draw, though there was confusion in the match regarding a conversion form England's Don Burland; when at half-time the referee overturned the touch judges decision that he had missed the kick. Day was selected for the next three matches of the championship, with Wales winning all three games and winning the tournament. Day was selected to face the touring South Africans towards the end on 1931, as he had done so for Swansea, and was part of the 1932 Home Nations Championship1932 Home Nations Championship
The 1932 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-eighth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-fifth series of the northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Six...
. He missed the 1933 tournament, which famously included the end of the Twickenham curse, but was back in 1934. His last game was on the losing side against Ireland at Ravenhill on 9 March 1935.