Mel Rosser
Encyclopedia
Melvin "Mel" Aaron Rosser sometimes recorded as Melville and Melvyn (18 April 1901 - 8 September 1988) was a Welsh
international rugby
centre who played rugby union
for Penarth
and Cardiff
and later turned to professional rugby league
joining first Leeds
, and then York
. Rosser played international rugby for Wales under both union and league codes, and toured Australia with the Great Britain
rugby league team in 1928.
, before moving to first class team Cardiff. He played two seasons for Cardiff, scoring four tries
during his period with the club. During the 1923-24 season, Rosser switched from Cardiff to local rival club Penarth. It was as a Penarth player that he was first selected for international duty, selected for Wales
to face Scotland
as part of the 1924 Five Nations Championship
. Rosser was brought in at centre, partnered with Jack Elwyn Evans
of Llanelli
. The game was a sporting disaster, with Scotland inflicting their heaviest defeat of Wales, and running up a record breaking score in a 35-10 win.
Although Rosser was dropped after the Scotland game, missing the encounter with Ireland, he was reselected for the final game of the Championship, away to France
. Rosser was originally intended to play at centre, but on the train trip to Paris the Welsh selectors
suspended Ossie Male as he had broken a rule preventing any player from representing Wales if they had played club rugby within the week leading up to the international match. With no other fullback aboard the train, Rosser was switched to an emergency fullback with reserve player Joe Jones drafted into the backs. It was a narrow win for Wales, with the victory coming thanks to a Vince Griffiths
dropped goal.
During his rugby union career, Griffiths also represented Glamorgan County
and as a serving police officer, he also played for Glamorgan Police.
, making him a dual-code international. The game was held at Pontypridd against England, and the Welsh lost narrowly despite scoring six tries and two goals. Rosser scoring one of the tries. He had to wait almost four years to record his second and Wales league cap, when he was selected to face Australia at Wembley in early 1930. Although Wales lost again, Rosser was again on the score sheet with another try. In between his two Wales caps for Leeds, Rosser also represented Great Britain
on the team's 1928 tour of Australia. One of six Welsh players who went on the tour, he played in nine matches though none of the six Tests.
In the 1930/31 season, Rosser switched rugby clubs from Leeds to York Football Club. While at York he represented Wales another three times, two games against England and another encounter with Australia. The Australian game was his last, played on 30 December 1930.
Wales
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...
international rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
centre who played 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...
for Penarth
Penarth RFC
Penarth Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based since 1924 at The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road, in Penarth, in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales.-Origins and early history:...
and 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 later turned to professional rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
joining first Leeds
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
, and then York
York City Knights
York City Knights Rugby League Club is a British professional rugby league club hailing from York. They play at the Huntington Stadium, situated to the north of York city centre...
. Rosser played international rugby for Wales under both union and league codes, and toured Australia with the Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
rugby league team in 1928.
Rugby union career
Mel Rosser began his rugby career with his local rugby club Machen RFCMachen RFC
Machen Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Machen near the city of Newport. Machen RFC is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons....
, before moving to first class team Cardiff. He played two seasons for Cardiff, 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...
during his period with the club. During the 1923-24 season, Rosser switched from Cardiff to local rival club Penarth. It was as a Penarth player that he was first selected for international duty, selected 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...
to face Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
as part of the 1924 Five Nations Championship
1924 Five Nations Championship
The 1924 Five Nations Championship was the tenth 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 thirty-seventh series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby...
. Rosser was brought in at centre, partnered with Jack Elwyn Evans
Jack Elwyn Evans
John "Jack" Elwyn Evans was born in Brynamman, and was a Welsh rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s. At representative level he played rugby union for Wales, and at club level for Brynamman RFC, Amman United RFC, Swansea RFC and Llanelli RFC, playing at Centre, i.e...
of Llanelli
Llanelli RFC
Llanelli Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club founded in 1875 and its senior team is one of the leading club sides in Wales. The club began the 2008-09 season at their historic home ground of Stradey Park in Llanelli, but moved in November 2008 to the new Parc y Scarlets in adjacent...
. The game was a sporting disaster, with Scotland inflicting their heaviest defeat of Wales, and running up a record breaking score in a 35-10 win.
Although Rosser was dropped after the Scotland game, missing the encounter with Ireland, he was reselected for the final game of the Championship, away to France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
. Rosser was originally intended to play at centre, but on the train trip to Paris the Welsh selectors
Welsh Rugby Union
The Welsh Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Wales, recognised by the International Rugby Board.The union's patron is Queen Elizabeth II, and her grandson Prince William of Wales became the Vice Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union as of February 2007.-History:The roots of the...
suspended Ossie Male as he had broken a rule preventing any player from representing Wales if they had played club rugby within the week leading up to the international match. With no other fullback aboard the train, Rosser was switched to an emergency fullback with reserve player Joe Jones drafted into the backs. It was a narrow win for Wales, with the victory coming thanks to a Vince Griffiths
Vince Griffiths
Vince Griffiths was a Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales and the British Lions. Griffiths played club rugby for Newport and captained the team in the 1928/29 season....
dropped goal.
During his rugby union career, Griffiths also represented Glamorgan County
Glamorgan County RFC
Glamorgan County RFC is a Welsh rugby union club that manages an invitational team, known as Glamorgan that originally played rugby at county level...
and as a serving police officer, he also played for Glamorgan Police.
Rugby league career
At the start of the 1924/1925 season, Rosser turned his back on rugby union by joining professional rugby league side Leeds. Ath the same time he left the police force and became a licensee. He played his first game for Leeds on 6 September 1924, and on 12 April 1926 he was selcted to play for the Wales national rugby league teamWales national rugby league team
The Wales national rugby league team represent Wales in international rugby league football matches. Currently the team is seventh in the RLIF World Rankings. The team were run under the auspices of the Rugby Football League, but an independent body, Wales Rugby League, now runs the team from...
, making him a dual-code international. The game was held at Pontypridd against England, and the Welsh lost narrowly despite scoring six tries and two goals. Rosser scoring one of the tries. He had to wait almost four years to record his second and Wales league cap, when he was selected to face Australia at Wembley in early 1930. Although Wales lost again, Rosser was again on the score sheet with another try. In between his two Wales caps for Leeds, Rosser also represented Great Britain
Great Britain national rugby league team
The Great Britain national rugby league team represents the United Kingdom in rugby league football. Administered by the Rugby Football League , the team is nicknamed "The Lions" or "Great Britain Lions"....
on the team's 1928 tour of Australia. One of six Welsh players who went on the tour, he played in nine matches though none of the six Tests.
In the 1930/31 season, Rosser switched rugby clubs from Leeds to York Football Club. While at York he represented Wales another three times, two games against England and another encounter with Australia. The Australian game was his last, played on 30 December 1930.