Pill Harriers RFC
Encyclopedia
Pill Harriers RFC are a Welsh
rugby union
club based in Newport
in South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union
and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons
..
. The local Pill boys played many games on ‘The ballast’ as it was then called. They played baseball, football and their own brand of rugby.
Eventually a team was formed to play general sports called ‘The Curb Stone Dashers’. The jerseys were black or navy seaman’s jerseys. They played for about three years and then in 1879-80 Liverpool House opened, an establishment that employed a lot of young people with the intention of keeping them out of trouble. With the influx of the Curb Stone Dashers they turned to rugby.
In about 1881-82 Lord Tredegar
gave the people of Pill a ground on built up swampland on the 'Mendalgief
'.
At this time Liverpool House went to the Pill ground, and with the dockers and coaltrimmers formed Pill Harriers RFC.
Although the Pill Harriers Athletic Club provided facilities for all sports, it was rugby that had pride of place. After the turn of the century Pill became one of the strongest sides in the area becoming Monmouthshire League Champions five times and runners up three times between 1902 and 1912. During this period Pill Harriers provided a stream of intelligent, strong players who would first move to first class team Newport before playing for Wales. George "Twyber" Travers, rugby’s first specialist hooker, gained 25 caps between 1903 and 1911, George Boots
gained 16 caps between 1908 and 1904, Tommy Vile
who would become president of the WRU and Gus Merry
who gained 2 caps in 1912.
On 12 April 1919, Pill Harriers played host to the touring New Zealand Army team. 10,000 people turned up at Mendalgief Road to watch George Boots lead out the Harriers to a respectable 0-0 draw.
After the first World War
came the Harriers' most successful season ever, playing 32 games, winning 30, drawing 2 and scoring a total of 737 points. In the course of the ‘invincible season’ the club fielded at least 8 players who were to gain international honours when later playing for other clubs. Two players were capped from the Harriers at this time – Jerry Shea
and Jack Whitfield
. Both players went on to gain further caps whilst playing for Newport.
The Harriers continued to grow until the outbreak of war in 1939, when the ground was taken over for vital industrial purposes. The club was closed down for the duration of hostilities. A new pitch in Pill was unavailable at the end of the war and no alternative was found. Therefore, on the 3rd June 1947 one of the most famous clubs in South Wales was wound up.
The first season was successful with the club involved in four finals whilst reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Brewers Cup. During this early period, Pill gained success in all competitions proving their versatility in both 15 and 7-a-side games. Honours for many individual players followed with many representing the club at Newport and district level whilst Gerald Palmer and Tommy Corten gained caps at Welsh District level.
The success on the pitch was soon to result in the Harriers opening their new pitch Pill Grounds followed by the building of a clubhouse and changing rooms.
In 1986, Pill Harriers gained Welsh Rugby Union membership, and they entered the Monmouthshire league. Pill continued the success of previous years winning the third and second divisions in consecutive years. In 1987 Pill registered its most famous victory when defeating Newport RFC at Rodney Parade
12-4.
Once again individual honours were gained in the form of Monmouthshire caps by Matthew Clarke, Stan Henshaw, Keiran O’Connell and Jeff Harris.
(3 caps) George Boots
William "Bill" Aaron Everson
Trevor J. F. Foster
Thomas Jones
Gus Merry
Jerry Shea
(4 caps) Albert Stock
George Travers
(25 caps) William 'Bunner' Travers
Len Trump
Harry Wetter
Jack Wetter
Jack Whitfield
(12 caps)
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...
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...
club based in Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
in South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union
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...
and is a feeder club for the Newport Gwent Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons
Newport Gwent Dragons are one of the four professional Rugby Union regional teams in Wales. They are jointly owned by Newport RFC and the Welsh Rugby Union and play all their home games at Rodney Parade, Newport. They play in the RaboDirect Pro12, the Anglo-Welsh Cup and the Heineken Cup...
..
Club origins
At the end of Jeddo Street, Baldwin Street and Marion Street in Pill was an area of bogland which was filled with ballast from ships calling at the Old Town Dock, North Dock and Alexandra DockNewport Docks
Newport Docks is the collective name for a series of docks in the city of Newport, South Wales.-Background:Newport was a small fishing port and market town until the coming of the industrial age at the beginning of the 19th century...
. The local Pill boys played many games on ‘The ballast’ as it was then called. They played baseball, football and their own brand of rugby.
Eventually a team was formed to play general sports called ‘The Curb Stone Dashers’. The jerseys were black or navy seaman’s jerseys. They played for about three years and then in 1879-80 Liverpool House opened, an establishment that employed a lot of young people with the intention of keeping them out of trouble. With the influx of the Curb Stone Dashers they turned to rugby.
In about 1881-82 Lord Tredegar
Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar
Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar was a British Army officer and British politician.Tredegar was born on 28 April 1831 in Ruperra Castle, Glamorganshire...
gave the people of Pill a ground on built up swampland on the 'Mendalgief
Level of Mendalgief
The Level of Mendalgief is a small area to the south west of the city centre of the city of Newport in the Pill ward. The level is bounded by Cardiff Road to the north, Mendalgief Road to the east, Docks Way to the south and the Great Western Main Line to the west...
'.
At this time Liverpool House went to the Pill ground, and with the dockers and coaltrimmers formed Pill Harriers RFC.
Early years
The first season was successful and saw the club reaching the semi-finals of the Newport Challenge cup.Although the Pill Harriers Athletic Club provided facilities for all sports, it was rugby that had pride of place. After the turn of the century Pill became one of the strongest sides in the area becoming Monmouthshire League Champions five times and runners up three times between 1902 and 1912. During this period Pill Harriers provided a stream of intelligent, strong players who would first move to first class team Newport before playing for Wales. George "Twyber" Travers, rugby’s first specialist hooker, gained 25 caps between 1903 and 1911, George Boots
George Boots
John George Boots was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Monmouthshire. He won 16 caps for Wales....
gained 16 caps between 1908 and 1904, Tommy Vile
Tommy Vile
Major Thomas Henry "Tommy" Vile MBE was a Welsh international rugby union player. He played club rugby predominantly for Newport, captaining the side twice and played county rugby for Monmouthshire. He also represented the British Isles in Australia, and after retiring from playing became an...
who would become president of the WRU and Gus Merry
Gus Merry
James Augustus "Gus" Merry was a Welsh international rugby hooker who played rugby union for Pill Harriers and rugby league with Hull. He won two caps for Wales at rugby union and later represented the Wales rugby league team in 1913.-Rugby career:Merry was born circa 1888, in Newport, Wales...
who gained 2 caps in 1912.
On 12 April 1919, Pill Harriers played host to the touring New Zealand Army team. 10,000 people turned up at Mendalgief Road to watch George Boots lead out the Harriers to a respectable 0-0 draw.
After the first World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
came the Harriers' most successful season ever, playing 32 games, winning 30, drawing 2 and scoring a total of 737 points. In the course of the ‘invincible season’ the club fielded at least 8 players who were to gain international honours when later playing for other clubs. Two players were capped from the Harriers at this time – Jerry Shea
Jerry Shea
Jeremiah "Jerry" Shea was a Welsh international dual-code rugby centre who played club rugby for Newport and Pill Harriers under the rugby union code and later represented Wigan Wasps as a rugby league player. Shea was an all round athlete, and was an accomplished swimmer and professional boxer...
and Jack Whitfield
Jack Whitfield
Jack Whitfield was a Welsh international rugby union hooker who played club rugby for Newport and club rugby for Monmouthshire...
. Both players went on to gain further caps whilst playing for Newport.
The Harriers continued to grow until the outbreak of war in 1939, when the ground was taken over for vital industrial purposes. The club was closed down for the duration of hostilities. A new pitch in Pill was unavailable at the end of the war and no alternative was found. Therefore, on the 3rd June 1947 one of the most famous clubs in South Wales was wound up.
Modern history
In 1978, the Pill Harriers was reformed by the amalgamation of two local clubs, Newport Hibernians and Pill Labour.The first season was successful with the club involved in four finals whilst reaching the semi-finals of the Welsh Brewers Cup. During this early period, Pill gained success in all competitions proving their versatility in both 15 and 7-a-side games. Honours for many individual players followed with many representing the club at Newport and district level whilst Gerald Palmer and Tommy Corten gained caps at Welsh District level.
The success on the pitch was soon to result in the Harriers opening their new pitch Pill Grounds followed by the building of a clubhouse and changing rooms.
In 1986, Pill Harriers gained Welsh Rugby Union membership, and they entered the Monmouthshire league. Pill continued the success of previous years winning the third and second divisions in consecutive years. In 1987 Pill registered its most famous victory when defeating Newport RFC at Rodney Parade
Rodney Parade
Rodney Parade is a stadium in the city of Newport, south Wales. Located on the east bank of the River Usk in Newport city centre it is primarily used for rugby matches and is the home ground of Newport RFC and the Newport Gwent Dragons regional team.-History:...
12-4.
Once again individual honours were gained in the form of Monmouthshire caps by Matthew Clarke, Stan Henshaw, Keiran O’Connell and Jeff Harris.
Notable former players
See also :Category:Pill Harriers RFC players Len AttewellLen Attewell
Len Attewell was a Welsh international rugby union prop who played club rugby for Newport.-Rugby career:...
(3 caps) George Boots
George Boots
John George Boots was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Monmouthshire. He won 16 caps for Wales....
William "Bill" Aaron Everson
Bill Everson
William Aaron "Bill" Everson was a Welsh international rugby union fullback who played club rugby for Newport and was capped for Wales in 1926...
Trevor J. F. Foster
Trevor Foster
Trevor J. F. Foster MBE , was a Welsh rugby footballer and coach. He played rugby union for Newport and rugby league for Bradford Northern...
Thomas Jones
Thomas Jones (rugby player)
Thomas 'Tom' Jones was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby union for Newport. Jones was capped six times for Wales and was part of the 1922 Five Nations Championship winning side.-Rugby career:...
Gus Merry
Gus Merry
James Augustus "Gus" Merry was a Welsh international rugby hooker who played rugby union for Pill Harriers and rugby league with Hull. He won two caps for Wales at rugby union and later represented the Wales rugby league team in 1913.-Rugby career:Merry was born circa 1888, in Newport, Wales...
Jerry Shea
Jerry Shea
Jeremiah "Jerry" Shea was a Welsh international dual-code rugby centre who played club rugby for Newport and Pill Harriers under the rugby union code and later represented Wigan Wasps as a rugby league player. Shea was an all round athlete, and was an accomplished swimmer and professional boxer...
(4 caps) Albert Stock
Albert Stock
Albert Stock was a Welsh international rugby union centre who played club rugby for Newport. While with Newport, Stock faced three international touring teams and scored over a hundred tries for the club.-Rugby career:...
George Travers
George Travers (rugby player)
George "Twyber" Travers was a Welsh international hooker who played club rugby for Pill Harriers and Newport Rugby Football Club. He won 25 caps for Wales between 1903 and 1911....
(25 caps) William 'Bunner' Travers
Bunner Travers
William 'Bunner' Travers was a international rugby union player. He was selected for the 1938 British Lions tour to South Africa. Travers played club rugby for Newport RFC and was the son of George Travers, also a Wales international.-References:...
Len Trump
Len Trump
Leonard "Len" Charles Trump was a Welsh international rugby union player, who later switched to professional rugby league...
Harry Wetter
Harry Wetter
Harry Wetter was an English-born international, rugby union centre who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. He won just two caps for Wales but is most notable for being a member of the Newport team that beat the 1912 touring South African team...
Jack Wetter
Jack Wetter
Jack Wetter DCM was a Welsh international rugby union player who played club rugby predominantly for Newport. He was captain for both his club and country and earned 10 caps for Wales....
Jack Whitfield
Jack Whitfield
Jack Whitfield was a Welsh international rugby union hooker who played club rugby for Newport and club rugby for Monmouthshire...
(12 caps)