In the build up to the game we mark the occasion by remembering Welsh and South African rugby players who lost their lives fighting for their country.
PHILLIP DUDLEY WALLER
Born in Bath, but brought up in Carmarthen, he went on to play 79 games for Newport over four seasons and was capped by both Wales and the British Lions.
He played three times against the 1908 Wallabies, for Somerset, Newport and Wales in his debut Test, and was still a teenager when he made his international bow.
He helped Wales to win the 1909 Grand Slam and ended with a perfect six wins from six Test outings.
He was one of seven Newport players who toured South Africa with the 1910 Lions and he played in 23 of the 24 matches, including all three Tests. He remained in South Africa after the tour, living in Johannesburg and playing for the Wanderers club
At the outbreak of war he enlisted in the South African Artillery. He served in WW1 in the 71st (Transvaal) Siege Battery, South African Heavy Artillery, and rose to rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
In March, 1916, he played in a South African Heavy Artillery team against a New Zealand Army team at the Queen’s Club London. The SA team won 7-0 thanks to a dropped goal and try by former England International Reginald Hands, their captain.
Waller was killed by shellfire at Arras, on the Somme, on 14 December, 1917, aged 28. He is buried at Red Cross Corner, near Arras.
• Waller played against three of the South African casualties from WW1 on the 1910 Lions tour – Toby Moll, Tommy Thompson and Sep Ledger.
• Johnnie Williams and Dick Thomas both made their Welsh debuts against the Springboks in 1906.
• Billy Geen and Fred Perrett played against Jack Morkel and Tommy Thompson in the Wales v SA game in Cardiff in 1912.
• Geen had earlier helped Newport beat the Springboks. He won four Oxford Blues and three Welsh caps, the first against South Africa. He volunteered at 22 and joined 9th Battalion of The Kings’ Royal Rifle Corps. He went to the Western Front in May, 1915 and died at Ypres on 31 July. He was one of 350 men from B Company 9th King’s Royal Rifle Corps killed that day at Hooge, Flanders. At 24, he was the youngest of the 16 Welsh internationals to lose his life in the two wars.
• Jacky Morkel was 25 and one of 21 brothers and cousins from the Morkel family who played top flight rugby in South Africa. He died of dysentery in what is now known as Tanzania and is buried in Dar-es-Salaam – close to where Tommy Thompson was laid to rest just over a month later.
• Adam Burdett toured with the 1906 Springboks and would have come to Wales with the party.
• Sep Ledger played in four Tests on the 1912 tour, although not against Wales, and featured in15 matches all tolled.
• In July, 1916, Wales and South Africa lost four internationals .
LEST WE FORGET
WELSH INTERNATIONALS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WARS
WW1
Billy Geen (3 caps) died 31 July, 1915, aged 24
Bryn Lewis (2 caps) died 2 April, 1917, aged 26
Fred Perrett (5 caps) died 1 December, 1918, aged 27
Lou Phillips (4 caps) died 14 March, 1916, aged 38
Charlie Pritchard (14 caps) died 14 August 1916, aged 34
Charles Taylor (9 caps) died 24 January 1915, aged 51
Dick Thomas (4 caps) died 7 July 1916, aged 35
Horace Thomas (2 caps) died on 3 September 1916, aged 26
Phil Waller (6 caps) died 14 December, 1917, aged 28
David Watts (4 caps) died 14 July, 1916, aged 30
Dai Westacott (1 cap) died 27 August, 1917, aged 35
Johnnie Williams (17 caps) died 12 July, 1916, aged 34
Richard Williams (1 cap) died 28 September, 1915, aged 59
WW2
Cecil Davies (1 cap) died 25 December, 1941, aged 32
John Evans (1 cap) died 8 March, 1943, aged 29
Maurice Turnbull (2 caps) died 5 August, 1944, aged 38
SOUTH AFRICAN INTERNATIONALS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WARS
WW1
Adam Burdett (2 caps) died 4 November, 1918, aged 36
Sep Ledger (4 caps) died 13 April, 1917 aged 26
Toby Moll (1 cap) died 14 July, 1916, aged 26
Jacky Morkel (5 caps) died 15 May, 1916, aged 25
Tommy Thompson (3 caps) died 20 June, 1916, aged 29
THE FALLEN WELSH RUGBY INTERNATIONALS
The two Great Wars took a terrible toll on life and hundreds of Welsh rugby players were lost to the game. Of Wales’ international cast, 16 capped players fell during World War I and II.
WORLD WAR I
Charles Taylor was the first Welsh international to be killed in action. An Engineer/Captain of the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron, he was killed on HMS Tiger at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January, 1915, aged 51.
Billy Geen helped Newport beat the Springboks in 1912 and won three Welsh caps before volunteering, at 22, to join 9th Battalion of The Kings’ Royal Rifle Corps. He died at Ypres on 31 July, 1915, aged 24.
Richard Williams won his only cap in the first Welsh team against England in 1881. A soldier before World War 1, he rose to the rank of Major in the 1st Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. He retired at 34 before rejoining at 58 in 1914. He became a Lieutenant Colonel in the 12th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers and was killed in action at Loos on 27 September, 1915, aged 59.
Lou Phillips helped Wales win the Triple Crown in 1900. When war broke out he refused a commission and enlisted in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He became a sergeant and was killed in action at Cambrai on 14 March, 1916, aged 38.
Dick Thomas, Johnnie Williams, David Watts and Charlie Pritchard all lost their lives in the space of 39 days on the Somme. Thomas and Williams made their Welsh debuts against the 1906 Springboks in a game in which Pritchard also played.
Thomas became a Company Sergeant Major in the Welch Regiment and was killed leading a bayonet charge with the 16th Battalion at Mametz Wood on 7 July, 1916, aged 32.
Williams scored17 tries in a 17 cap career that saw him help Wales win three Grand Slams. A Captain in the Welch Regiment, he was fatally wounded at Mametz Wood and died on 12 July, 1916, aged 34.
Watts was the first player to be capped from Maesteg, playing five times for his country. He became a Corporal in 7th Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry and fell fighting on the Somme on 14 July, 1916, aged 30
Pritchard was one of the heroes of the Welsh pack when they beat New Zealand in 1905. He was a Captain in the 12th Battalion South Wales Borderers when he died on the Western Front on 14 August, 1916, aged 33. He was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery under fire as he led his men on a daring raid in enemy territory.
Horace Thomas made his Wales debut in the 3-0 defeat by the Springboks in Cardiff in 1912. He served in the Calcutta Harbour Defence Force while working in India prior to World War I and was a Temporary 2nd Lieutenant with the 11th Battalion, Rifle Brigade on the Somme when he was killed in action on 3 September, 1916, aged 26.
Brin Lewis played for Swansea and won his two caps from there. He was a member of the Glamorgan Yeomanry who rose to the rank of Major in the Royal Field Artillery before he was killed in action at Ypres on 2 April, 1917, aged 26.
Dai Westacott won his only cap against Ireland in 1906. A private in the Gloucestershire Regiment, he was killed in action in France on 28 August,1917, aged 35.
Phil Waller won six Welsh caps and three for the 1910 British Lions in South Africa. After the Lions tour he settled in South Africa and enlisted in the South African Heavy Artillery Regiment. He rose to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and was killed by shellfire in Arras on 14 December, 1917, aged 28.
Fred Perrett won five Welsh caps before joining Leeds RLFC in 1913. At the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was a 2nd Lieutenant in 17th Battalion when he was badly injured in France. He died of his wounds after Armistice Day, on 1 December, 1918, aged 27.
WORLD WAR II
Cecil Davies won one cap against England in 1934 while playing for the RAF and London Welsh. He was killed in action on Christmas Day, 1941, aged 32.
John Evans won his only cap as captain of Wales against England in Cardiff in 1934. A Lieutenant in 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, he was killed in action in North Africa on 8 March, 1943, aged 31.
Maurice Turnbull was one of Wales’ greatest all-round sportsmen. He played cricket for England and rugby hockey for Wales. A Major in 1st Battalion Welch Guards, he was killed in action on 5 August,1944, aged 38.
