Frank Hancock
| Notable relative(s) | Froude Hancock (brother) William Hancock, brother | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Francis 'Frank' Hancock (7 February, 1859 – 29 October, 1943) was an English-born rugby union centre who played club rugby for Somerset and Cardiff and international rugby for Wales. Hancock is best known as being the sport's first fourth threequarter player, which changed the formation of rugby union play that lasts to the present day.
Rugby career
Hancock first played rugby in Somerset, and captained his local club and represented the Somerset county team. He moved to Cardiff to become involved in his family's brewing company, which had a brewery in Cardiff. He joined the Cardiff team in 1884 and was placed at centre as a replacement for the injured Tom Williams.[2] Hancock had an inspiring game and scored two tries, which left the Cardiff committee with a problem as they wanted to keep their original back players but also wished to play Hancock. The club decided to instead change the balance of the team, from three three quarters to four three quarters. It was a successful tactic and Cardiff stuck with it for the remainder of the 1883/1884 season.[3]
Within two months of moving to Wales, Hancock was playing for Cardiff, changed the future formation of rugby and was then selected to play for Wales. He played his first international game under the captaincy of Joe Simpson against Ireland as part of the 1884 Home Nations Championship. Wales won the game with tries from William Norton and Tom Clapp, and Hancock was reselected for the very next Welsh game against England in the next years tournament. Hancock played two games in the 1885 Championship, a loss to England at St Helens and a scoreless draw in Scotland.
In 1885 Hancock was elected as captain of Cardiff, and he revolutionised the way the team played. He discouraged kicking and made the team focus mainly on try scoring through the forwards gaining the ball for individual play from the backs. Solid passing was primary in Hancock’s vision of winning through scoring tries. In the 1885/86 season Cardiff scored a remarkable 131 tries but not a single penalty or drop goal. It is said that Hancock aggressively shouted down one of this team who attempted a drop goal during a game. Hancock was single minded and dictatorial in his approach as a captain, but his tactics were extremely successful, losing all bar one game and seeing just four tries scored against them.[3]
Hancock’s final international match was against Scotland in the 1886 Home Nations Championship. Hancock was given the captaincy of Wales and tried out his four three-quarter system, the first time this had been done in an international. Hancock was paired up with Welsh rugby superstar Arthur Gould, but the poor selection of the team resulted in Hancock scrapping the system during the game and switched Gould to full-back but the damage was already done and Wales lost the match. The trial was judged a failure and the four three-quarter system was dropped for several years.[4]
Hancock retired from rugby at the end of the 1885/86 season at the age of 26.
International matches played
Wales[5]
Bibliography
- Jones, Stephen (1985). Dragon in Exile, The Centenary History of London Welsh R.F.C. London: Springwood Books. ISBN 0862541255.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Smith, David (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0708307663.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Thomas, Wayne (1979). A Century of Welsh Rugby Players. Ansells Ltd.
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