William Norton (rugby player)
William Barron Norton (28 April 1862 – 17 December 1898) was a Welsh international rugby union three-quarter who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. He was awarded six caps for Wales.
Birth name | William Barron Norton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 28 April 1862 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Carmarthen, Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | 17 December 1898 36) | (aged||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Old Calabar, Niger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Carmarthen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Rugby career
Norton was one of the earliest Welsh internationals and first represented his country in 1882, in the team's first ever encounter with Ireland. Captained by Charles Lewis, Norton entered a team containing ten new caps, after the Welsh team were humiliated in their inaugural game against England. Wales won the game making it the very first international victory for the team. Norton was reselected for the next five matches, completing the entirety of the 1883 and 1884 Home Nations Championships. Wales lost both games of the 1883 Championship, and the opening two games of the 1884 tournament, but were successful for the final game of the series against Ireland. The 1884 Irish game saw the Ireland team arrive two players short and were forced to borrow two Welsh players to complete their team. Although the last game of Norton's international career, he ended by scoring his only try for his country.
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
- Welsh Rugby Union player profiles
- Smith (1980), pg 470.