Reggie Gibbs was a talented rugby player who won sixteen caps on the wing for the Welsh rugby side, besides playing in 33 matches for Glamorgan between 1902 and 1914, as well as acting as one of the Club’s advisors as they prepared for first-class cricket during the Spring of 1921.
Educated at Queen’s College, Taunton, Reggie made his debut for Glamorgan against Wiltshire at Trowbridge in 1902. It proved to be his only appearance of the summer for the son of a Cardiff shipowner, but during the course of the next dozen summers, Reggie proved himself to be a capable batsmen when called upon by the county’s selectors, besides winning honours on the rugby field and in 1905 scoring a try in the historic Welsh victory over the New Zealanders at the Arms Park.
Reggie also scored a try for Cardiff against the 1907 South Africans and during 1908 he scored six tries in four matches whilst wearing the red shirt of Wales. His swift running, and avoidance of the tackle, made him a popular figure with the supporters and it came as no surprise that during 1908 he was the top scorer for the Anglo-Welsh team in New Zealand with 28 points in ten appearances.
As far as his cricket-playing was concerned, Reggie played three times for Glamorgan during 1906 before being taken ill with appendicitis in the match against Wiltshire at Trowbridge. He duly recovered and posted a pair of forties against Dorset at the Arms Park later that summer.
Reggie appeared on a regular basis for Glamorgan during 1910, making 80 against Carmarthenshire at Swansea, plus an unbeaten 53 against Monmouthshire at Neath. A resident of Penarth, he had previously led the town’s rugby club in 1903/04 before being elevated to the captaincy of Cardiff RFC during 1910/11. It was a summer which also saw Reggie make his final appearance for the Welsh rugby team during the following Spring with his record of seventeen tries remaining as a Welsh record until surpassed by legendary scrum-half Gareth Edwards during 1976.
1913 saw Reggie play his finest innings for Glamorgan, as he posted a career-best 95 against Monmouthshire at Rodney Parade, before in 1914 making an unbeaten 59 against Wiltshire at the Arms Park. By this time, his rugby days were well and truly over, over having toured Australia and New Zealand with the Anglo-Welsh team in 1908. His devotion to cricket saw Reggie serve on the Glamorgan committee between 1910 and 1926, whilst in the Spring of 1921 Reggie, together with Sam Brain and JTD Llewelyn formed a sub-group to advise Tom Whittington as he made arrangements for the Club’s first-class fixtures, as well as the suitability of various professionals.
His daughter Shelagh was a Welsh international golfer whilst his son Patrick was a decorated pilot with the RAF and was noted for specialised torpedo attacks against Nazi shipping during the Second World War.
GIBBS, Reginald Arthur.
Born – Cardiff, 7 May 1882.
Died – Penylan, Cardiff, 28 November 1938.
Batting and Fielding Record
| M | I | NO | RUNS | AV | 100 | 50 | CT | ST | |
| MC Championship | 31 | 50 | 6 | 936 | 21.30 | – | 3 | 12 | – |
| MC Friendly | 2 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 5.00 | – | – | – | – |
Career-best performances
Minor County Championship – 95 v Monmouthshire at Rodney Parade, Newport, 1913.
Minor County Friendlies – 12 v Sir Harry Webb’s XI at Cardiff Arms Park, 1913.