Jere Blake
Blake in Wales jersey
Personal information
Full name	John Blake
Place of birth	Cardiff, Wales
Place of death	Cardiff, Wales
Occupation(s)	Miner
Rugby league career
Position	Back
Professional clubs		Caps	(points)
1933-?	Salford RLFC
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Forward
Clubs
1895-1902	Cardiff RFC
National team(s)		Caps	(points)
1899-1901	Wales	9	(0)

John "Jere" Blake (1875 – 15 February 1933) was a Welsh rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales.^[1] He was part of the 1900 Wales Triple Crown winning team. In his later career, Blake 'Went North' joining professional rugby league side Salford.

Contents 1 Rugby career 1.1 International matches played for Wales 2 Bibliography 3 References

[edit] Rugby career

Blake was first capped for Wales during the 1899 Home Nations Championship in the opening game against England. The selectors made multiple changes to the team that finished the previous season, with only six players returning to the squad from that game. Blake was one of five new caps to be brought into the pack, while the the Swansea half-back pairing of Evan and David James returned into the team after their reinstatement to the rugby union code. The game was a massive loss for England, with Wales running in six tries, four by Willie Llewellyn. The selectors kept faith with Blake for the rest of the tournament, but Welsh fortunes dropped after the England game, with a loss to Scotland and Ireland.

Blake was back in the Wales team for the entirety of the 1900 Championship under the captaincy of Welsh sporting icon Billy Bancroft. Wales won all three matches and won the Triple Crown for the second time in the country's history. The next season the selectors tried to keep the nucleus of the Championship winning team together and hopes were high that the Welsh team could repeat the last season's feat and retake the Triple Crown. Blake retook his place in the pack, with the forwards being led by Dick Hellings, but they lacked cohesion in the tight and although beating England at the Cardiff Arms Park, looked ragged at times.^[2] The next game Scotland took advantage of the weaknesses in the forward positions, with Wales caving in towards the end of the match, with the Scottish winning 18-8. Blake played his final international game when Wales hosted Ireland at St. Helen's for the final game of the tournament. Wales were narrow victors, but the selectors chose a new wave of players at the start of 1902, as they had done in 1899, and Blake lost his place to Will Osborne.

[edit] International matches played for Wales

Wales^[3]

•  England 1899, 1900, 1901
• Ireland 1899, 1900, 1901
•  Scotland 1899, 1900, 1901

[edit] Bibliography

• Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883-1983. London: Willows Books. ISBN 000218060X. 
• Griffiths, John (1987). The Phoenix Book of International Rugby Records. London: Phoenix House. ISBN 0460070037. 
• Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-0766-3. 

[edit] References