The two captains will lay wreaths on the pitch as a mark of respect to the 16 Welsh internationals who lost their lives in the two Great Wars and the five Springboks who were killed in World War 1. Among those 21 who will be remembered, one player will bind the two nations together.
Phil Waller may have been born in Bath, but he was raised in Llanelli and attended the Carmarthen Intermediate School. He showed early promise as a forward and made his first-class debut for Newport against London Welsh on 30 March, 1907 two months after he had turned 18.
His debut came in a Newport pack containing legendary internationals such as Charlie Pritchard, George Boots and Jehoida Hodges and the home side won 25-3. That was his only game for the club that season, but he went on to make a further 78 appearances in black and amber over the next three years.
He played in 27 of the 34 games the club played in the 1907/08 season and then 17 the following campaign. In the 1908/09 season he played against the first Australian tourists three times in the space of four weeks.
He played for Somerset against the Wallabies in Taunton in an 8-0 defeat on 28 November, 1908, made his Wales debut against the tourists at Cardiff Arms Park on 12 December, helping the home side to win 9-6, and then played for Newport against them at Rodney Parade on 19 December, losing 5-3.
His Wales debut came a month before his 20th birthday and he went on to play in six consecutive internationals, ending up on the winning side every time in the middle of Wales’ record run of 11 straight victories. He helped Wales secure their second Grand Slam in 1909, beating England 8-0 in Cardiff, the Scots 5-3 in Edinburgh, the French by a record 47-5 in Paris and then the Irish 18-5 in Swansea, and made his final outing in a Welsh jersey at St Helen’s, Swansea, on New Year’s Day, 1910, when France were beaten 49-14.
But while his Welsh international career came to an abrupt halt before he was 21, he won a place on the 1910 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa and faced the Springboks in all three Tests. He was one of seven Newport players on that tour, a reflection of the superb season the club had just enjoyed.
Waller figured in 34 of the 39 matches during the season, only two of which were lost, both by a single point, and made his final appearance for the club in the defeat to Neath on the last day of the season. His club form earned Waller a call-u for the Lions and he was joined by clubmates Tom Smyth, Stan Williams, Jack Jones, Mel Baker, Harry Jarman and Reg Plummer on the trek around South Africa.
He played in 23 of the 24 games and was praised as one of the most consistent forwards on the tour. The Lions lost the first Test 14-10 at the Wanderers Ground, Johannesburg, but hit back to level the series in Port Elizabeth 8-3. The final Test was lost 21-5 in Cape Town to give the series to the Springboks 2-1.
Waller obviously enjoyed South Africa because he decided to stay on there. He joined the Wanderers club in Johannesburg and then enlisted in the South African Heavy Artillery Regiment.
He served in 71st (Transvaal) Siege Battery and rose to rank of 2nd Lieutenant. He fitted in some more ‘international’ rugby in March, 1916, when he was in the South African Heavy Artillery team that beat a New Zealand Army team 7-0 at the Queen’s Club, London. A drop goal by the former England international Reg Hands clinched the win, giving Waller a victory over Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in his career.
Back on the front line at the Western Front in France he became the 12th of the 13 Welsh international players to lose their lives in World War 1 on 14 December, 1917. It was a day of double tragedy for the 71st (SA) Siege Battery at Beaumetz-lès-Cambrai (20 kilometres south west of Cambrai).
The exceedingly popular battery commander Major Percy Fitzpatrick and Lieutenant Wallerwere struck by a stray German shell at while making travel arrangements for Lieutenant Waller’s imminent period of leave to England. Major Fitzpatrick was due to follow within the fortnight.
Major Fitzpatrick was killed instantly and Lieutenant Waller was mortally wounded and died shortly afterwards. He was 28. The two comrades were buried next to each other in the Red Cross Corner Cemetery at Beugny.
LEST WE FORGET
WELSH INTERNATIONALS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WARS
WW1
Billy Geen (3 caps) died 31 July, 1915, aged 24
Bryn Lewis (2 caps) died 2 April, 1917, aged 26
Fred Perrett (5 caps) died 1 December, 1918, aged 27
Lou Phillips (4 caps) died 14 March, 1916, aged 38
Charlie Pritchard (14 caps) died 14 August 1916, aged 34
Charles Taylor (9 caps) died 24 January 1915, aged 51
Dick Thomas (4 caps) died 7 July 1916, aged 35
Horace Thomas (2 caps) died on 3 September 1916, aged 26
Phil Waller (6 caps) died 14 December, 1917, aged 28
David Watts (4 caps) died 14 July, 1916, aged 30
Dai Westacott (1 cap) died 27 August, 1917, aged 35
Johnnie Williams (17 caps) died 12 July, 1916, aged 34
Richard Williams (1 cap) died 28 September, 1915, aged 59
WW2
Cecil Davies (1 cap) died 25 December, 1941, aged 32
John Evans (1 cap) died 8 March, 1943, aged 29
Maurice Turnbull (2 caps) died 5 August, 1944, aged 38
SOUTH AFRICAN INTERNATIONALS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN THE WORLD WARS
WW1
Adam Burdett (2 caps) died 4 November, 1918, aged 36
Sep Ledger (4 caps) died 13 April, 1917 aged 26
Toby Moll (1 cap) died 14 July, 1916, aged 26
Jacky Morkel (5 caps) died 15 May, 1916, aged 25
Tommy Thompson (3 caps) died 20 June, 1916, aged 29
THE FALLEN WELSH RUGBY INTERNATIONALS
The two Great Wars took a terrible toll on life and hundreds of Welsh rugby players were lost to the game. Of Wales’ international cast, 16 capped players fell during World War I and II.
WORLD WAR I
Charles Taylor was the first Welsh international to be killed in action. An Engineer/Captain of the 1st Battle Cruiser Squadron, he was killed on HMS Tiger at the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January, 1915, aged 51.
Billy Geen helped Newport beat the Springboks in 1912 and won three Welsh caps before volunteering, at 22, to join 9th Battalion of The Kings’ Royal Rifle Corps. He died at Ypres on 31 July, 1915, aged 24.
Richard Williams won his only cap in the first Welsh team against England in 1881. A soldier before World War 1, he rose to the rank of Major in the 1st Battalion, Royal Fusiliers. He retired at 34 before rejoining at 58 in 1914. He became a Lieutenant Colonel in the 12th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers and was killed in action at Loos on 27 September, 1915, aged 59.
Lou Phillips helped Wales win the Triple Crown in 1900. When war broke out he refused a commission and enlisted in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. He became a sergeant and was killed in action at Cambrai on 14 March, 1916, aged 38.
Dick Thomas, Johnnie Williams, David Watts and Charlie Pritchard all lost their lives in the space of 39 days on the Somme. Thomas and Williams made their Welsh debuts against the 1906 Springboks in a game in which Pritchard also played.
Thomas became a Company Sergeant Major in the Welch Regiment and was killed leading a bayonet charge with the 16th Battalion at Mametz Wood on 7 July, 1916, aged 32.
Williams scored 17 tries in a 17 cap career that saw him help Wales win three Grand Slams. A Captain in the Welch Regiment, he was fatally wounded at Mametz Wood and died on 12 July, 1916, aged 34.
Watts was the first player to be capped from Maesteg, playing five times for his country. He became a Corporal in 7th Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry and fell fighting on the Somme on 14 July, 1916, aged 30
Pritchard was one of the heroes of the Welsh pack when they beat New Zealand in 1905. He was a Captain in the 12th Battalion South Wales Borderers when he died on the Western Front on 14 August, 1916, aged 33. He was mentioned in dispatches for his bravery under fire as he led his men on a daring raid in enemy territory.
Horace Thomas made his Wales debut in the 3-0 defeat by the Springboks in Cardiff in 1912. He served in the Calcutta Harbour Defence Force while working in India prior to World War I and was a Temporary 2nd Lieutenant with the 11th Battalion, Rifle Brigade on the Somme when he was killed in action on 3 September, 1916, aged 26.
Brin Lewis played for Swansea and won his two caps from there. He was a member of the Glamorgan Yeomanry who rose to the rank of Major in the Royal Field Artillery before he was killed in action at Ypres on 2 April, 1917, aged 26.
Dai Westacott won his only cap against Ireland in 1906. A private in the Gloucestershire Regiment, he was killed in action in France on 28 August,1917, aged 35.
Phil Waller won six Welsh caps and three for the 1910 British Lions in South Africa. After the Lions tour he settled in South Africa and enlisted in the South African Heavy Artillery Regiment. He rose to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and was killed by shellfire in Arras on 14 December, 1917, aged 28.
Fred Perrett won five Welsh caps before joining Leeds RLFC in 1913. At the outbreak of war he joined the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was a 2nd Lieutenant in 17th Battalion when he was badly injured in France. He died of his wounds after Armistice Day, on 1 December, 1918, aged 27.
WORLD WAR II
Cecil Davies won one cap against England in 1934 while playing for the RAF and London Welsh. He was killed in action on Christmas Day, 1941, aged 32.
John Evans won his only cap as captain of Wales against England in Cardiff in 1934. A Lieutenant in 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, he was killed in action in North Africa on 8 March, 1943, aged 31.
Maurice Turnbull was one of Wales’ greatest all-round sportsmen. He played cricket for England and rugby hockey for Wales. A Major in 1st Battalion Welch Guards, he was killed in action on 5 August,1944, aged 38.
