About: George Boots

John George Boots (1874–1928) was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Newport and county rugby with Monmouthshire. He won 16 caps for Wales. Boots was seen as a consistent player with a superb positional sense who would tackle hard and smother the loose ball; his passing skill was strong as was his catching and dribbling. Boots was not a flair player but was a good 'spoiler' and could turn defence into attack, giving backs, such as Nicholls and Lloyd, a platform to run in tries. Boots had an exceptionally long rugby career, in spite of being on his death bed in 1908 with acute pleurisy.