Herbert Benjamin Winfield (5 May 1878 – 21 September 1919) was an English rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales. He was a member of the victorious Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous Match of the Century and would go on to captain Wales against Ireland in 1908. He played club rugby for Cardiff.
Winfield is not one of the most well known of the players from the first Welsh Golden Era, which was probably due to his solid but unspectacular style of play. He was a strong kicker of the ball and in the fifteen matches he played for his country he scored 14 conversions and 6 penalty goals.[1]
As Winfield was Nottingham born, he initially attended trials, at Exeter, for the England rugby team towards the end of 1901. The Western Mail's rugby correspondent reported that Winfield made "disastrous and uncharacteristic errors",[2] and the England selectors chose Devonport's H.T. Gamlin in his position. On his arrival back in Wales Winfield told reporters that he now intended to represent Wales.
1905 Wales squad, Winfield, middle row, third from right
Winfield made his debut for Wales against Ireland in March 1903, after 4+1⁄2 seasons playing for Cardiff. Winfield may well have played earlier for Wales, but the full-back position before him was first held by the legendary Billy Bancroft and then the dependable Strand-Jones.
Although chosen to represent his country on 15 occasions Winfield converted only 20 tries which is seen as a poor return. Though many commentators argue that the matches in which Winfield played were in terrible weather conditions, such as gales or fog,[3] and the fact that the selectors kept faith in him lends credence to the argument.
Winfield's accurate kicking was highlighted in two international matches. The first was the 1904 game against England when with only a few minutes to spare, Winfield kicked a goal from the halfway line to draw the game. The second was during the historic Match of the Century in 1905 against the All Blacks. Although Winfield missed the difficult conversion after Teddy Morgan's try[4] it was his tight kicking game that was key, when Wales switched their on-field strategy to a defensive style of play. Whereas the New Zealand Full Back kicked to the open side, tiring his own forwards, Winfield chose extremely long and accurate kicking to touch to slow the game down for his pack.[5] The All Blacks regarded Winfield as the best full back they had faced on the tour.
Winfield was not always celebrated for his style of play. Against Ireland in 1904 he allowed the ball to bounce before attempting to collect it, a common habit in his play, allowing the Irish winger to steal the ball from him, score a try and win the game.[3]
In 1901 Winfield set up a laundry business in Newport with Gwyn Nicholls,[7] his brother-in-law and fellow Welsh international.[8] As the Winfield family had a history of working in the laundry business, Nicholls was more of a sleeping partner, but this changed in 1914 when Winfield joined the British Army.[9] Joining the 16th Battalion (City of Cardiff) of the Welsh Regiment, Winfield was posted to France.[9] Winfield returned from the Front but died in 1919 from injuries he received in a motorcycle accident.[10]
Bibliographyedit
Parry-Jones, David (1999). Prince Gwyn, Gwyn Nicholls and the First Golden Era of Welsh Rugby. Bridgend: seren. ISBN1-85411-262-7.
Thomas, Wayne (1979). A Century of Welsh Rugby Players. Ansells Ltd.
Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN0-7083-0766-3.
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Herbert Benjamin Winfield 5 May 1878 21 September 1919 was an English rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales He was a member of the victorious Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous Match of the Century and would go on to captain Wales against Ireland in 1908 He played club rugby for Cardiff Bert WinfieldBirth nameHerbert Benjamin WinfieldDate of birth5 May 1878Place of birthNottingham 1 EnglandDate of death21 September 1919 1919 09 21 aged 41 Place of deathCardiff WalesRugby union careerPosition s Full BackAmateur team s YearsTeamApps Points 1896 1909Cardiff RFCGlamorgan County RFC International careerYearsTeamApps Points 1903 1908Wales15 46 Winfield is not one of the most well known of the players from the first Welsh Golden Era which was probably due to his solid but unspectacular style of play He was a strong kicker of the ball and in the fifteen matches he played for his country he scored 14 conversions and 6 penalty goals 1 Contents 1 International career 1 1 Wales 1 2 International games played 2 Later career and death 3 Bibliography 4 ReferencesInternational career editWales edit As Winfield was Nottingham born he initially attended trials at Exeter for the England rugby team towards the end of 1901 The Western Mail s rugby correspondent reported that Winfield made disastrous and uncharacteristic errors 2 and the England selectors chose Devonport s H T Gamlin in his position On his arrival back in Wales Winfield told reporters that he now intended to represent Wales nbsp 1905 Wales squad Winfield middle row third from right Winfield made his debut for Wales against Ireland in March 1903 after 4 1 2 seasons playing for Cardiff Winfield may well have played earlier for Wales but the full back position before him was first held by the legendary Billy Bancroft and then the dependable Strand Jones Although chosen to represent his country on 15 occasions Winfield converted only 20 tries which is seen as a poor return Though many commentators argue that the matches in which Winfield played were in terrible weather conditions such as gales or fog 3 and the fact that the selectors kept faith in him lends credence to the argument Winfield s accurate kicking was highlighted in two international matches The first was the 1904 game against England when with only a few minutes to spare Winfield kicked a goal from the halfway line to draw the game The second was during the historic Match of the Century in 1905 against the All Blacks Although Winfield missed the difficult conversion after Teddy Morgan s try 4 it was his tight kicking game that was key when Wales switched their on field strategy to a defensive style of play Whereas the New Zealand Full Back kicked to the open side tiring his own forwards Winfield chose extremely long and accurate kicking to touch to slow the game down for his pack 5 The All Blacks regarded Winfield as the best full back they had faced on the tour Winfield was not always celebrated for his style of play Against Ireland in 1904 he allowed the ball to bounce before attempting to collect it a common habit in his play allowing the Irish winger to steal the ball from him score a try and win the game 3 International games played edit Wales 6 nbsp Australia 1908 nbsp England 1904 1906 1908 nbsp France 1908 nbsp Ireland 1903 1904 1906 1907 1908 nbsp New Zealand 1905 nbsp Scotland 1904 1906 1907 1908 Later career and death editIn 1901 Winfield set up a laundry business in Newport with Gwyn Nicholls 7 his brother in law and fellow Welsh international 8 As the Winfield family had a history of working in the laundry business Nicholls was more of a sleeping partner but this changed in 1914 when Winfield joined the British Army 9 Joining the 16th Battalion City of Cardiff of the Welsh Regiment Winfield was posted to France 9 Winfield returned from the Front but died in 1919 from injuries he received in a motorcycle accident 10 Bibliography editParry Jones David 1999 Prince Gwyn Gwyn Nicholls and the First Golden Era of Welsh Rugby Bridgend seren ISBN 1 85411 262 7 Thomas Wayne 1979 A Century of Welsh Rugby Players Ansells Ltd 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 edit a b WRU player profile permanent dead link Parry Jones 1999 p 92 a b Thomas 1979 p 41 Smith 1980 p 161 Thomas 1979 p 42 Smith 1980 p 474 Parry Jones 1999 p 88 Smith 1980 p 128 a b Parry Jones 1999 p 199 Brendan Gallagher 29 January 2008 A century since Wales first won Grand Slam The Telegraph Retrieved 18 July 2008 dead link Rugby Union Captain Preceded byGwyn Nicholls Cardiff RFC Captain1901 1903 Succeeded byGwyn Nicholls Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bert Winfield amp oldid 1209792473, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
