THE late Victorian era was a golden age for Newtown Football Club whose conveyor belt of talent made the town famous across Wales.

George Woosnam became Newtown’s first international player in 1879.

The former Kerry player helped Newtown White Star to the Welsh Cup final in the same season and earned a call for Wales’ fifth ever international match against Scotland in Wrexham on April 9.

Woosnam lined up alongside Aberystwyth Town star John Hughes in a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Scots in the Newtown forward’s only international appearance.

A year later Newtown Football Club’s first international Harold Hibbott made his international bow in goal in a 3-2 defeat against England.

Hibbott earned his second cap in alongside Presteigne’s Tom Britten in a 5-1 defeat in Scotland in the same month.

Remarkably Hibbott made one further international appearance in 1885 when deployed as a forward in an 8-1 thrashing at the hands of Scotland in Wrexham.

The late 1880s saw Newtown Football Club produce a golden generation who would go on to represent Wales

Birmingham born defender Alfred Townsend was next to made his international debut in a 4-1 defeat to Ireland in Belfast in 1887.

In the same year William Pryce-Jones also made his international debut while on the books of Cambridge University Football Club.

Pryce-Jones scored three goals in five Welsh appearances between 1887 and 1890.

In his final appearance for Wales Pryce-Jones was joined by Newtown born Albert Wilcock who made his only Welsh appearance in a 5-2 victory over Ireland in Shrewsbury in 1890.

Wilcock would go on to join Small Heath, the forebears of the modern day Manchester United.

Meanwhile Townsend earned his second cap and joined by Newtown team-mate Oliver Taylor in the Welsh side which lost 4-3 in Ireland in April, 1893.

While the match represented the end of Townsend’s international career, Taylor would become one the most successful Newtown players of his era.

The other was Thomas Chapman with both featuring for Wales in a 4-1 win over Ireland in Swansea in 1894.

A year later Taylor captained a Welsh team including Chapman and fellow Newtown player Tom Worthington in a 5-2 defeat to Scotland in Kilmarnock.

The match represented the end of Taylor and Worthington’s international careers while the start of Chapman’s.

Meanwhile Newtown continued to produce international players.

Albert Westhead Pryce-Jones earned his only Welsh cap in a 1-1 draw against England in March 1895 and the following month Chapman was joined by clubmate William Parry in representing Wales in a 2-2 draw against Ireland in Belfast.

Chapman’s performances for club and country earned him a transfer to Newton Heath soon after and the foward underlined his class with a goal in Wales’ 2-2 draw against Scotland in Wrexham in March.

Such had become Newtown’s renown the club completed one of the transfer coups of the day in 1896 with the signing of former Everton defender Charlie Parry.

Parry would earn the last of his 13 caps as a Newtown player and in 1897 was joined by clubmate William Nock in a 4-3 defeat against Ireland in Belfast.