Percy Phillips (rugby player)
| Full name | Henry Percy Phillips | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Machen, Monmouthshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Newport, Monmouthshire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | under 9 st (57 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Clytha School, Newport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position(s) | Fly-half | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Amateur team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1889-1894 | Newport RFC | () | |
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Points) |
| 1892-1894 | Wales | 6 | (0) |
Henry Percy Phillips OBE (1869 – 26 February 1947) was a Welsh rugby union international fly-half who played club rugby for Newport. He won six caps for Wales and played in all three games of the 1893 Home Nations Championship which saw Wales lift the Triple Crown for the first time in the country's history.
Outside rugby, Phillips was a Vice Consul to Belgium, and one season he managed 26 appearances for Newport despite working much of that time in Switzerland.
Nicknamed 'Sparrow', due to his very light frame, Phillips was a fly-half noted for his excellent attacking play, but was weak defensively and was a poor kicker. Phillips is also recognised as one of the first specialised rugby players in Welsh rugby. Under the captaincy of Arthur 'Monkey' Gould, Newport utilised team-mate Fred Parfitt's expert passing to secure the scrum-half berth which linked up with Phillips as a specialised runner. Phillips was also used as a running partner with Gould, for Newport and later Wales, breaking shoulder to shoulder with his captain, and using fast inter-passing to confuse defenders.
Phillips was first chosen to represent Wales during the opening game of the 1892 Home Nations Championship, partnered with Penarth's George Rowles. The game was played away at Blackheath against England, and Rowles and Phillips had been brought in as replacements for the Swansea half-backs brothers Evan and David James. Wales lost 17–0 and the next match saw the reintroduction of the James brothers. The James brothers played out the rest of the Championship for Wales, but then both switched codes to play for professional league team Broughton Rangers. This made the Swansea pair ineligible to play for the Wales team, and created an opening at both halfback positions for the next season.
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