Dai Lewis

For the rugby league footballer of the 1900s for Other Nationalities, and Oldham, see David Lewis (rugby league). For the rugby union footballer for Gloucester, see Dave Lewis (rugby union). For the Welsh footballer, see Dai Lewis (footballer).

Dai Lewis

Birth name	David Henry Lewis
Date of birth	(1866-12-04)4 December 1866
Place of birth	Radyr, Wales
Date of death	8 September 1943(1943-09-08) (aged 76)
Place of death	Buffalo, New York, United States
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1882–1885 1886-? Canton RFC Cardiff RFC () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1886 Wales 2 (0)

David 'Dai' Henry Lewis (4 December 1866 - 8 September 1943) was a Welsh rugby union forward who played club rugby for Canton RFC and Cardiff and international rugby for Wales. After his career as a football player he was active as a racing cyclist in the United States.

Rugby career

Lewis was first capped for Wales whilst playing for Cardiff. He was selected for Charlie Newman's Wales team to face England in the opening match of the 1886 Home Nations Championship. Lewis was one of four new caps brought into the Welsh pack, alongside fellow Cardiff team-mate George Young, Llanelli's Evan Roberts and Swansea's William Bowen. Wales lost the match narrowly, but the selectors kept faith with Lewis for the next game against Scotland. The Scotland game, played at the Cardiff Arms Park, is noted for being the first international game to see a team use the four threequarter system. With Newman unavailable, the captaincy was passed to Frank Hancock, the Cardiff centre known for introducing the new back formation at club level. With six Cardiff players in the team, including Lewis, it was seen as a good time to experiment the system at international level. The experiment was seen as a failure and was abandoned with disastrous effect halfway through the match. Wales lost the match and Lewis was not selected for his country again.

International games played

Wales

• England 1886
• Scotland 1886

Bibliography

• Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883-1983. Grafton Street, London: Willow Books. ISBN 0-00-218060-X.
• Griffiths, Terry (1987). The Phoenix Book of International Rugby Records. London: Phoenix House. ISBN 0-460-07003-7.
• Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3.
• Budd, Terry (2017). That Great Little Team On The Other Side Of The Bridge:The 140 Year History of Canton RFC (Cardiff) Season 1876-77 to 2016-17. Penarth, Glamorgan: Beacon Printers Ltd.