Percy Frank Bush (23 June 1879 – 19 May 1955)[1] was a Welsh rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales on eight occasions. Playing at fly-half, Bush is regarded as one of the most talented Welsh players of the pre-First World War era.[2]
 Bush in his Cardiff jersey | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 23 June 1879 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 19 May 1955 (aged 75) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Cardiff, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University College, Cardiff | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation(s) | School teacher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby career
editBush played most of his career for Cardiff RFC making 171 appearances and scoring 66 tries between 1899 and 1913. He captained the club for three seasons. He won eight caps[3] for Wales (1905–1910), including for the famous Match of the Century, the 1905 victory over New Zealand. He also played in four tests for the 1904 British Isles on their tour to Australia and New Zealand. This was before he had been capped by Wales. He was the undoubted star of the tour, being dubbed 'Will o' the Wisp' by the Australian press for his devastating play.[4]
Cricket career
editBush also played county cricket for Glamorgan County Cricket Club and Marylebone Cricket Club.[5] He played in three Minor Counties Cricket Championship matches between 1900 and 1903, all for Glamorgan. His first Minor Counties match was at St Helens against Wiltshire in 1900. Bush scored just 5 runs in his first innings, but his Glamorgan team won the match before he was required in the second innings. Bush failed to improve in his second match, played against Berkshire at the Cardiff Arms Park in 1902; scoring a single run in his only innings. Despite this Glamorgan won by an innings and ten runs. His final encounter for Glamorgan, was against a Surrey Second XI in 1903. Glamorgan lost the match by 61 runs, and Bush failed to enhance his record with 6 runs over two innings.
References
edit- ^ "Percy Bush". ESPNscrum. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ "BUSH Percy Frank – Born Cardiff, 23 June 1879; died Cardiff 19 May 1955". rugbyrelics.com. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
- ^ Fields of Praise, The Official History of the Welsh Rugby Union 1881–1981, David Smith, Gareth Williams (1980) pp464 ISBN 0-7083-0766-3
- ^ 'Cardiff Sporting Greats', Andrew Hignell and Gwyn Prescott (2007) pp62-63 ISBN 978-0-7524-4286-0
- ^ Percy Bush cricket statistics cricketarchive.com
External links
edit- Williams, Gareth. "BUSH, PERCY FRANK". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
- Humbert, Frederic (1 June 2007). "Percy Bush, from Cardiff to Nantes..." rugby-pioneers.blogs.com. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
- "86th All Black Game". rugbymuseum.co.nz. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
- "WALES' GRAND SLAM HISTORY". wru.co.uk. 21 March 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
- "7th All Black Test: 83rd All Black Game". stats.allblacks.com. Retrieved 27 July 2007.
- "Percy Bush". Glamorgan Cricket Archive. Retrieved 28 December 2008.