Willie Davies - Centre
Wales RLHeritage No | 57 |
Date Of Birth | 27/12/1890 |
Place Of Birth | Aberavon |
Education | Aberavon Council School, Port Talbot County School |
Clubs | Leeds Rhinos, Aberavon, Swansea, Plymouth |
Regions | Glamorgan, Devon |
Honours | Wales RL, Other Nationalities, Great Britain, Wales |
William "Avon" Davies became Wales' 11th dual code international in 1914, winning two caps in each code of rugby. He also won two caps for Great Britain, both on the 1914 tour of Australia and New Zealand, where he was one of nine Welshmen in the touring squad. Willie began playing rugby union as a schoolboy playing for both Aberavon Council School and Port Talbot County School. The first notable club that he represented was Aberavon, and it was when playing there that was first selected to represent Wales, playing twice in the 1912 Five Nations. By the end of 1912, he had moved to Swansea RFC, and in October he was selected to play for county team Glamorgan when they faced the second touring South Africans. Moving to Exeter to attend university to train to be a schoolteacher, he played for Exeter University, Plymouth Albion, and county rugby for Devon. However in 1913 he was suspended by both Wales and Devon for alleged professionalism, and in March he decided to sever links with the union game by going north and joining Leeds, winning Yorkshire Cup honours with them in 1921. He returned to Exeter on retirement to resume his teaching career and he died in the city on 18 September 1967, aged 76.
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