Will Parker

William James Parker (1873 – 10 November 1955)[3] was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea. Parker first joined Swansea in 1893 and spent most of his sporting career with the club. During the 1903/04 season he was given the captaincy of Swansea, and the club won the championship under his leadership. He was chosen in 1905 as a member of the Swansea team to face the original touring All Blacks.

Will Parker

Birth name	William James Parker
Place of birth	Swansea, Wales
Place of death	Penmaen, Swansea, Wales[1]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1893-? Swansea RFC () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1899 Wales[2] 2 (0)

Rugby career

Parker was selected on two occasions to represent Wales, both in the 1899 Home Nations Championship. His debut match was against England at St Helens when a then record crowd of 20,000 saw Wales overturn England 26-3, including four tries for Willie Llewellyn. Parker was chosen for the very next match against Scotland at Inverleith, but this time Wales were beaten and Parker was never re-selected.

After his retirement from rugby, Parker continued his links with the club by becoming a committee member.

International matches played

Wales[4]

•  England 1899
•  Scotland 1899,

Bibliography

• 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.

References

1. Swansea RFC player profile
2. Welsh Rugby Union player profile
3. Will Parker player profile Scrum.com
4. Smith (1980), pg 470.