Jerry Shea - Rugby Union Career

Rugby Union Career

Born in Newport in 1892, Shea initially played rugby union with Pill Harriers, a notoriously tough team from Newport Docks. It was with Pill that Shea gained his first cap for Wales, against the post-war touring New Zealand Army. in 1919, like many Pill players, he switched to Newport RFC, the Harriers first-class rivals. The next year he was selected to play for Wales against England at St Helens in the Five Nations Championship. Unsurprisingly for teams meeting for the first time since the end of the First World War, both teams contained many new caps. It was in this match that Shea would make history by scoring a try, conversion, drop goal, and penalty goal, the first player to do so at an international level. In a rain swept match, Shea opened the scoring in the first half with a penalty goal against the wind. England responded with a try and conversion, both from Harold Day, to take the first half 5-3. Within five minutes of the restart, Shea had drop kicked Wales back into the lead. With twenty minutes remaining, and the Welsh forwards in command, Shea broke through the English defense to score a try under the posts which he easily converted. Wick Powell then scored a second try for Wales, before Shea finished the match with another drop goal, for a convincing Welsh win.

The feat of achieving all four rugby union scores was held by Shea alone until Lewis Jones emulated him thirty years later when on tour with the British Lions against Australia.

Shea would play two more matches for Wales, both on the losing side. Shea found himself at the centre of a controversy before the start of the 1920 game against Scotland, when the Scottish Rugby Union threatened to pull out of the game against Wales as Shea was a professional boxer. A negative response from national newspapers towards the Scottish complaints ensured that the game went ahead. After the game, in which Scotland won 9-5; Shea was criticised in some sections of the press, for attempting to play the match against Scotland single-handed. Shea's final game was played against England on 15 January 1921. Whether or not Shea would have achieved more caps for Wales is unknown as in 1921 he turned professional by joining rugby league side Wigan Wasps in December of that year for a then record fee of £700.