William Elsey (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
William Elsey was an English
-born rugby union
forward who played club rugby for Cardiff
and won a single international cap for Wales
in 1895.
team Cardiff
. Despite being English born there was a two year residency rule that allowed non-Welsh born players representing the Wales national team, and in 1895 he was selected to represent Wales as part of the Home Nations Championship
. Elsey was brought into the Welsh pack for the Championship opener against England. The Welsh team had changed much since the previous match of the lase season, with only six of the original fifteen reselected, though only Elsey and Swansea's
Tom Jackson
were new caps amongst the forwards. The match was played at St. Helen's, Swansea
with Wales led out by Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, in a team that contained over 100 caps from just seven players, against an English team fielding 10 new caps. Despite being in a far more experienced team, Elsey found himself on the losing side as the English won 14-6, scoring four tries
. The Welsh points game from two tries, one of which was scored by Elsey. Even with a score on his international debut, Elsey was replaced for the next match of the Championship by Ernie George
and never represented Wales again.
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...
-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...
forward who played club rugby for Cardiff
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
and won a single international cap 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...
in 1895.
Rugby career
Elsey came to note as a rugby player while playing for first class WelshWales
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...
team Cardiff
Cardiff RFC
Cardiff Rugby Football Club is a rugby union football club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, but soon relocated to Cardiff Arms Park where they have been based ever since...
. Despite being English born there was a two year residency rule that allowed non-Welsh born players representing the Wales national team, and in 1895 he was selected to represent Wales as part of the Home Nations 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...
. Elsey was brought into the Welsh pack for the Championship opener against England. The Welsh team had changed much since the previous match of the lase season, with only six of the original fifteen reselected, though only Elsey and Swansea's
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...
Tom Jackson
Tom Jackson (rugby player)
Thomas Henry "Tom" Jackson was a Welsh rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea and international rugby for Wales.-Rugby career:...
were new caps amongst the forwards. The match was played at St. Helen's, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
with Wales led out by Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, in a team that contained over 100 caps from just seven players, against an English team fielding 10 new caps. Despite being in a far more experienced team, Elsey found himself on the losing side as the English won 14-6, scoring four 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...
. The Welsh points game from two tries, one of which was scored by Elsey. Even with a score on his international debut, Elsey was replaced for the next match of the Championship by Ernie George
Ernie George
Ernest "Ernie" Edward George was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for a variety of teams, but is most associated with Pontypridd and Cardiff...
and never represented Wales again.