Lives in Cricket No 11 - CP Lewis

that ‘Mr C.P.Lewis did the boys excellent service’, confirming that the Lewis in The Cambrian ’s report was indeed C.P. Three weeks later, he was in the Swansea side which entertained Glamorgan Football Club at St. Helen’s. The undergraduate was one of the forwards in the Swansea line-up which drew the game, despite according to The Cambrian, ‘some very good runs and excellent scrimmaging. … For Swansea, Meager, Richardson, Ingram, Lewis and Brown were perhaps the best. … The play seemed to be highly appreciated by a large concourse of spectators, including many of the fairer sex.’ Although most of the participants in these rugby matches were well-to-do youngsters, there was, at times, nothing gentlemanly about the games which were quite dour and violent struggles, with few running moves and many mauls, where players wrestled with each other in trying to win possession of the ball, with their struggles, either rolling around on the floor or standing up, often carrying on for many minutes. Given this physicality, there was also some skulduggery, with contemporary reports, and letters written to the newspapers, complaining of the use of foul play, with attempts by some players to incapacitate prominent members of the opposing teams. Whether C.P. revelled in this use of brute force is not known, but judging by the photographs that survive, he had plenty of upper-body strength and could probably look after himself if he was set upon or heavily tackled. He also was a quick runner, and it was these athletic skills, allied to his strength, that made C.P. a prominent figure as the game of rugby developed further in South Wales during the 1870s and 1880s. His athletic skills also received recognition whilst he was up at Oxford, and whereas little is known about his rugby-playing when in residence, his record as an undergraduate in events for both Jesus College, and for the University team, reveal that C.P. possessed a range of talents in a variety of athletic pursuits. His debut in college athletics came in November 1872, as he participated in a number of races and events during the College’s annual athletics day at the Marston Sports Ground. But it was the following year when his talents were rewarded as he finished second in the high jump, quarter-mile and mile races, besides winning the throwing the cricket ball event with a throw of 109 yards, 2 feet and 8 inches. Undergraduate Athlete and Rugby Player 35