Arthur Joseph Gould
(1864-1919)

Died aged 54

Arthur Joseph "Monkey" Gould (10 October 1864 – 2 January 1919) was a Welsh international rugby union centre and fullback who was most associated as a club player with Newport Rugby Football Club. He won 27 caps for Wales, 18 as captain, and critics consider him the first superstar of Welsh rugby. A talented all-round player and champion sprinter, Gould could side-step and kick expertly with either foot. He never ceased practising to develop his fitness and skills, and on his death was described as "the most accomplished player of his generation". Following the withdrawal of their regular fullback, Newport RFC first selected Gould in 1882, when he was 18. He was never dropped from the side thereafter and played regularly until he retired in 1898. Gould played for Newport during their "invincible" season of 1891–92, when they did not lose a match, and scored a record 37 tries in Newport's 24-game 1893–94 season, a club record that still stands. Gould frequently travelled due to his job as a public contractor, and consequently turned out for a number of other sides during his career, including the clubs Richmond and London Welsh, and the county side Middlesex. Gould was first selected for Wales in 1885 when he played at fullback against England. He was awarded the captaincy in 1889, by which time he was playing at centre, and led Wales to their first Home Nations Championship and Triple Crown titles in 1893; that tournament's match against England established Gould as a great player and captain. By the time Gould retired he was the most capped Welsh centre, a record he held until 1980, with 25 caps in the position. He ended his international career against England on 9 January 1897. The game, played in front of 17,000 supporters at Rodney Parade, was Gould's 18th as Wales captain – a record eventually broken by Ieuan Evans in 1994. Towards the end of his career, Gould was at the centre of a controversy known as the "Gould affair" that saw Wales withdraw from international rugby for a year. The controversy centred on the support of the Welsh Football Union (WFU) for a testimonial for Gould on his retirement. The English Rugby Football Union and International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) argued that the testimonial constituted professionalism – which they claimed breached the sport's by-laws. The WFU withdrew from the IRFB in protest, rejoining a year later under the IRFB-imposed condition that Gould would not represent Wales again. He worked as a brewery representative after retiring from rugby, and died of an internal haemorrhage in 1919 at the age of 54.

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