Rugby Shorts
Wales and Australia meet for the first time on this day in rugby history in 1908 with the home side grabbing a 9-5 victory. The match was part of Australia’s first tour of the northern hemisphere.
The touring side became known as the ‘first Wallabies’ and provided better than expected results with the visitors winning 25 of 31 matches.
30,000 people came to see the match at Cardiff Park and they were rewarded with an excellent match.
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Wear your Passion for Wales. The Welsh side has always been a top team in international rugby.
Ivor Moran, who was a late addition to the Wales side, was a key to the win and when the final whistle blew he was carried off the ground by Welsh supporters. The forward said of the match, "It was a very gruelling game; in fact, I think it was one of the hardest games I had ever played in."
Wales 9-6 Australia, Cardiff Arms Park, 12-12-1908
Scorers - Wales: Tries: Phil Hopkins, George Travers; Pen: Bert Winfield
Australia: Tries: Tom Richards, Charles Russell
Teams - Wales: HB Winfield (Cardiff), P Hopkins (Swansea), WJ Trew (Swansea, capt), JP Jones (Newport), JL Williams (Cardiff), RH Jones (Swansea), RM Owen (Swansea), AJ Webb (Abertillery), G Travers (Pill Harriers), PD Waller (Newport), TH Evans (Llanelli), J Watts (Llanelli), G Hayward (Swansea), DJ Thomas (Swansea), WI Morgan (Swansea)
Australia: P Carmichael, C Russell, J Hickey, E Mandible, DB Carroll, W Prentice, CH McKivatt, HM Morgan (capt), TJ Richards, RR Craig, PA McCue, AB Burge, CA Hammand, TS Griffen, JET Barnett
Referee: Gil Evans (England)
Rugby Birthdays
1965 – Will Carling, English rugby union footballer
