 to Llanelli , before facing Wales on 22 December .   At the start of the match the home crowd were fairly hostile towards the Welsh team due to fans of both Swansea and Llanelli feeling slighted by the lack of selection of their players . Four teams dominated Welsh international selection at the time , and out of the 15 @-@ man team only William Towers and William Bowen of Swansea and Dan Griffiths of Llanelli had been selected . The match was played in Swansea , and the lack of local players may have contributed to a poor crowd , with gate receipts of only £ 120 recorded . The crowd 's hostility impacted on the players , and debutant Norman Biggs was " palpably nervous " at the start of the match . Biggs , aged 18 years and 49 days , became the youngest Welsh international player – a record he held until the debut of Tom Prydie in 2010 . Despite the heckles aimed primarily at Biggs , Charlie Arthur and George Thomas , the Welsh team produced an excellent effort , especially from the forwards .   Towers scored the first Welsh try , which was converted by Jim Webb . The Natives replied with a spirited run by Ellison , but he failed to break through the Welsh defence . The tourists trailed even further after George Thomas scored a breakaway try frrm the half @-@ way line , which went some way to silence the heckles from the crowd . Webb , playing in out of position at full @-@ back , missed the conversion and then failed at a long distance goal from a mark . The Natives continued to push , with Elliot coming within five @-@ yards of the try line , and when Ellison did manage to cross the line he was carried back into the 25 @-@ yard line before he could touch down . In the second half Wales continued to push their advantage when Alexander Bland dribbled the ball into the Natives ' 25 ; this was collected by Sydney Nicholls , who managed to get the ball across the try line , allowing Jim Hannan to score . Warbrick for the Natives and Stadden for Wales both subsequently came close to scoring tries , but there were no further scores in the game .   The match was also of historical importance because of the Welsh tactics employed . In the 1886 Home Nations Championship Wales had trialled the four three @-@ quarter system , wherein the team would play with eight forwards rather than nine , and instead employ an extra centre three @-@ quarter . The system was deemed a failure and was particularly unpopular with star Welsh player Arthur Gould , whose formidable ability as a back allowed his club team Newport to retain the additional forward . With Gould working in the West Indies , Wales again tried the four three @-@ quarter system against the Natives , and its success saw the team permanently adopt the system . Within six years the other three Home Countries had adopted four three @-@ quarter style of play .   Before they left Wales , the Natives played Swansea and two other local clubs , Newport , and Cardiff . They defeated Swansea for their first win in Wales , and followed this up with a victory over Newport in front of 8 @,@ 000 spectators . They finished their Welsh matches , and the year , with a 4 – 1 loss to Cardiff in front of a partisan crowd .   = = Return to England = =   The side entered 1889 having played 36 matches for 22 wins and three draws . The Natives ' play had improved throughout November and December following poorer form in their October matches ; positive press reports reflected this improvement . The team would go on to play a further 17 matches before their 16 February international against England . January started with a 4 – 1 loss to Bradford , during which 25 police officers were required to keep many of the 12 @,@ 000 spectators , many of them non @-@ paying , in order . This was followed by victories over Leeds Parish Church , Kirkstall , Brighouse Rangers , and Huddersfield . Following further matches against Stockport , Castleford , and Warrington , where the team drew , lost , then won , the side faced Yorkshire for a second time .   Yorkshire had been criticised in the press for fielding a weakened line @-@ up against the Natives when the sides first met in December . After the unexpected loss , Yorkshire were determined to make amends and a strong side was selected for the county , including Fred Bonsor , Richard Lockwood and John Willie Sutcliffe , all of whom would appear for England against the Natives later that season . Described as " knocked about " and " stale " , the Natives struggled to compete against such strong opposition , and Yorkshire scored three converted tries before a try to Ellison left the scores at 9 – 1 at half @-@ time . The second @-@ half was little better for the Natives ; they conceded a further two tries as well as a drop @-@ goal . The second of these tries was scored by Lockwood after he ran the ball from his own half . Ellison scored a converted try late in the
Ġto ĠL lan elli Ġ, Ġbefore Ġfacing ĠWales Ġon Ġ22 ĠDecember Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAt Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġthe Ġmatch Ġthe Ġhome Ġcrowd Ġwere Ġfairly Ġhostile Ġtowards Ġthe ĠWelsh Ġteam Ġdue Ġto Ġfans Ġof Ġboth ĠSwansea Ġand ĠL lan elli Ġfeeling Ġslight ed Ġby Ġthe Ġlack Ġof Ġselection Ġof Ġtheir Ġplayers Ġ. ĠFour Ġteams Ġdominated ĠWelsh Ġinternational Ġselection Ġat Ġthe Ġtime Ġ, Ġand Ġout Ġof Ġthe Ġ15 Ġ@ - @ Ġman Ġteam Ġonly ĠWilliam ĠTowers Ġand ĠWilliam ĠBowen Ġof ĠSwansea Ġand ĠDan ĠGriffith s Ġof ĠL lan elli Ġhad Ġbeen Ġselected Ġ. ĠThe Ġmatch Ġwas Ġplayed Ġin ĠSwansea Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġlack Ġof Ġlocal Ġplayers Ġmay Ġhave Ġcontributed Ġto Ġa Ġpoor Ġcrowd Ġ, Ġwith Ġgate Ġreceipts Ġof Ġonly ĠÂ£ Ġ120 Ġrecorded Ġ. ĠThe Ġcrowd Ġ' s Ġhostility Ġimpacted Ġon Ġthe Ġplayers Ġ, Ġand Ġdebut ant ĠNorman ĠBig gs Ġwas Ġ" Ġpalp ably Ġnervous Ġ" Ġat Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġthe Ġmatch Ġ. ĠBig gs Ġ, Ġaged Ġ18 Ġyears Ġand Ġ49 Ġdays Ġ, Ġbecame Ġthe Ġyoungest ĠWelsh Ġinternational Ġplayer ĠâĢĵ Ġa Ġrecord Ġhe Ġheld Ġuntil Ġthe Ġdebut Ġof ĠTom ĠPry die Ġin Ġ2010 Ġ. ĠDespite Ġthe Ġheck les Ġaimed Ġprimarily Ġat ĠBig gs Ġ, ĠCharlie ĠArthur Ġand ĠGeorge ĠThomas Ġ, Ġthe ĠWelsh Ġteam Ġproduced Ġan Ġexcellent Ġeffort Ġ, Ġespecially Ġfrom Ġthe Ġforwards Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTowers Ġscored Ġthe Ġfirst ĠWelsh Ġtry Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġconverted Ġby ĠJim ĠWebb Ġ. ĠThe ĠN atives Ġreplied Ġwith Ġa Ġspirited Ġrun Ġby ĠEllison Ġ, Ġbut Ġhe Ġfailed Ġto Ġbreak Ġthrough Ġthe ĠWelsh Ġdefence Ġ. ĠThe Ġtourists Ġtrailed Ġeven Ġfurther Ġafter ĠGeorge ĠThomas Ġscored Ġa Ġbreak away Ġtry Ġfr rm Ġthe Ġhalf Ġ@ - @ Ġway Ġline Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwent Ġsome Ġway Ġto Ġsilence Ġthe Ġheck les Ġfrom Ġthe Ġcrowd Ġ. ĠWebb Ġ, Ġplaying Ġin Ġout Ġof Ġposition Ġat Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġback Ġ, Ġmissed Ġthe Ġconversion Ġand Ġthen Ġfailed Ġat Ġa Ġlong Ġdistance Ġgoal Ġfrom Ġa Ġmark Ġ. ĠThe ĠN atives Ġcontinued Ġto Ġpush Ġ, Ġwith ĠElliot Ġcoming Ġwithin Ġfive Ġ@ - @ Ġyards Ġof Ġthe Ġtry Ġline Ġ, Ġand Ġwhen ĠEllison Ġdid Ġmanage Ġto Ġcross Ġthe Ġline Ġhe Ġwas Ġcarried Ġback Ġinto Ġthe Ġ25 Ġ@ - @ Ġyard Ġline Ġbefore Ġhe Ġcould Ġtouch Ġdown Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġsecond Ġhalf ĠWales Ġcontinued Ġto Ġpush Ġtheir Ġadvantage Ġwhen ĠAlexander ĠBland Ġdrib bled Ġthe Ġball Ġinto Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ' Ġ25 Ġ; Ġthis Ġwas Ġcollected Ġby ĠSydney ĠNich olls Ġ, Ġwho Ġmanaged Ġto Ġget Ġthe Ġball Ġacross Ġthe Ġtry Ġline Ġ, Ġallowing ĠJim ĠHann an Ġto Ġscore Ġ. ĠWar br ick Ġfor Ġthe ĠN atives Ġand ĠSt adden Ġfor ĠWales Ġboth Ġsubsequently Ġcame Ġclose Ġto Ġscoring Ġtries Ġ, Ġbut Ġthere Ġwere Ġno Ġfurther Ġscores Ġin Ġthe Ġgame Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġmatch Ġwas Ġalso Ġof Ġhistorical Ġimportance Ġbecause Ġof Ġthe ĠWelsh Ġtactics Ġemployed Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġ1886 ĠHome ĠNations ĠChampionship ĠWales Ġhad Ġtri alled Ġthe Ġfour Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġquarter Ġsystem Ġ, Ġwherein Ġthe Ġteam Ġwould Ġplay Ġwith Ġeight Ġforwards Ġrather Ġthan Ġnine Ġ, Ġand Ġinstead Ġemploy Ġan Ġextra Ġcentre Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġquarter Ġ. ĠThe Ġsystem Ġwas Ġdeemed Ġa Ġfailure Ġand Ġwas Ġparticularly Ġunpopular Ġwith Ġstar ĠWelsh Ġplayer ĠArthur ĠGould Ġ, Ġwhose Ġformidable Ġability Ġas Ġa Ġback Ġallowed Ġhis Ġclub Ġteam ĠNewport Ġto Ġretain Ġthe Ġadditional Ġforward Ġ. ĠWith ĠGould Ġworking Ġin Ġthe ĠWest ĠIndies Ġ, ĠWales Ġagain Ġtried Ġthe Ġfour Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġquarter Ġsystem Ġagainst Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ, Ġand Ġits Ġsuccess Ġsaw Ġthe Ġteam Ġpermanently Ġadopt Ġthe Ġsystem Ġ. ĠWithin Ġsix Ġyears Ġthe Ġother Ġthree ĠHome ĠCountries Ġhad Ġadopted Ġfour Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġquarter Ġstyle Ġof Ġplay Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBefore Ġthey Ġleft ĠWales Ġ, Ġthe ĠN atives Ġplayed ĠSwansea Ġand Ġtwo Ġother Ġlocal Ġclubs Ġ, ĠNewport Ġ, Ġand ĠCardiff Ġ. ĠThey Ġdefeated ĠSwansea Ġfor Ġtheir Ġfirst Ġwin Ġin ĠWales Ġ, Ġand Ġfollowed Ġthis Ġup Ġwith Ġa Ġvictory Ġover ĠNewport Ġin Ġfront Ġof Ġ8 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġspectators Ġ. ĠThey Ġfinished Ġtheir ĠWelsh Ġmatches Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġyear Ġ, Ġwith Ġa Ġ4 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1 Ġloss Ġto ĠCardiff Ġin Ġfront Ġof Ġa Ġpartisan Ġcrowd Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠReturn Ġto ĠEngland Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġside Ġentered Ġ1889 Ġhaving Ġplayed Ġ36 Ġmatches Ġfor Ġ22 Ġwins Ġand Ġthree Ġdraws Ġ. ĠThe ĠN atives Ġ' Ġplay Ġhad Ġimproved Ġthroughout ĠNovember Ġand ĠDecember Ġfollowing Ġpoorer Ġform Ġin Ġtheir ĠOctober Ġmatches Ġ; Ġpositive Ġpress Ġreports Ġreflected Ġthis Ġimprovement Ġ. ĠThe Ġteam Ġwould Ġgo Ġon Ġto Ġplay Ġa Ġfurther Ġ17 Ġmatches Ġbefore Ġtheir Ġ16 ĠFebruary Ġinternational Ġagainst ĠEngland Ġ. ĠJanuary Ġstarted Ġwith Ġa Ġ4 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1 Ġloss Ġto ĠBradford Ġ, Ġduring Ġwhich Ġ25 Ġpolice Ġofficers Ġwere Ġrequired Ġto Ġkeep Ġmany Ġof Ġthe Ġ12 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġspectators Ġ, Ġmany Ġof Ġthem Ġnon Ġ@ - @ Ġpaying Ġ, Ġin Ġorder Ġ. ĠThis Ġwas Ġfollowed Ġby Ġvictories Ġover ĠLeeds ĠParish ĠChurch Ġ, ĠKirk stall Ġ, ĠBr igh ouse ĠRangers Ġ, Ġand ĠH udd ers field Ġ. ĠFollowing Ġfurther Ġmatches Ġagainst ĠStock port Ġ, ĠCastle ford Ġ, Ġand ĠWar rington Ġ, Ġwhere Ġthe Ġteam Ġdrew Ġ, Ġlost Ġ, Ġthen Ġwon Ġ, Ġthe Ġside Ġfaced ĠYorkshire Ġfor Ġa Ġsecond Ġtime Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠYorkshire Ġhad Ġbeen Ġcriticised Ġin Ġthe Ġpress Ġfor Ġfielding Ġa Ġweakened Ġline Ġ@ - @ Ġup Ġagainst Ġthe ĠN atives Ġwhen Ġthe Ġsides Ġfirst Ġmet Ġin ĠDecember Ġ. ĠAfter Ġthe Ġunexpected Ġloss Ġ, ĠYorkshire Ġwere Ġdetermined Ġto Ġmake Ġam ends Ġand Ġa Ġstrong Ġside Ġwas Ġselected Ġfor Ġthe Ġcounty Ġ, Ġincluding ĠFred ĠB ons or Ġ, ĠRichard ĠLock wood Ġand ĠJohn ĠWillie ĠSut cliffe Ġ, Ġall Ġof Ġwhom Ġwould Ġappear Ġfor ĠEngland Ġagainst Ġthe ĠN atives Ġlater Ġthat Ġseason Ġ. ĠDes cribed Ġas Ġ" Ġknocked Ġabout Ġ" Ġand Ġ" Ġstale Ġ" Ġ, Ġthe ĠN atives Ġstruggled Ġto Ġcompete Ġagainst Ġsuch Ġstrong Ġopposition Ġ, Ġand ĠYorkshire Ġscored Ġthree Ġconverted Ġtries Ġbefore Ġa Ġtry Ġto ĠEllison Ġleft Ġthe Ġscores Ġat Ġ9 ĠâĢĵ Ġ1 Ġat Ġhalf Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġ. ĠThe Ġsecond Ġ@ - @ Ġhalf Ġwas Ġlittle Ġbetter Ġfor Ġthe ĠN atives Ġ; Ġthey Ġconceded Ġa Ġfurther Ġtwo Ġtries Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġa Ġdrop Ġ@ - @ Ġgoal Ġ. ĠThe Ġsecond Ġof Ġthese Ġtries Ġwas Ġscored Ġby ĠLock wood Ġafter Ġhe Ġran Ġthe Ġball Ġfrom Ġhis Ġown Ġhalf Ġ. ĠEllison Ġscored Ġa Ġconverted Ġtry Ġlate Ġin Ġthe