From the Battle of Wrexham to wunderkind Woodburn’s audacious entrance: a brief history of Wales v Austria (part one)

When Wales welcome Austria to the Cardiff City Stadium tomorrow evening for a vital World Cup play-off semi-final, it will be the eleventh instalment in an intermittent rivalry that has produced some memorable moments dating back to the first meeting in 1954.

Bordering on a bloodbath: The Battle of Wrexham

Differences in the interpretation of certain laws were a problem for Wales during their early forays to the continent. 

They had only played two internationals outside the United Kingdom before the second world war – both times against France in Paris, in 1933 and 1939 – but these ventures became more frequent from 1949 onwards.

The main bone of contention was the tendency of players such as Welsh firebrand Trevor Ford to shoulder-charge goalkeepers. The practice was allowed in the Football League, but invariably incurred the wrath of referees and opponents on the continent.

This culture clash culminated in the Battle of Wrexham in November 1955, the second of two encounters between Wales and Austria in as many years.

‘There had been a lot of bad blood simmering from a meeting between the two countries in Vienna, and it all spilled over 18 months later in north Wales, when the return game degenerated into a dreadful kicking match,’ wrote Mel Charles in his autobiography, In the Shadow of a Giant.

His brother, John Charles, the greatest Welsh footballer of the twentieth century, concurred in his own autobiography, King John, that the trouble had begun in Vienna when Austria had won 2–0 but had been incensed by the challenges made on their goalkeeper. ‘They retaliated and the game became something of a roughhouse,’ he explained.

Charles would later be christened Il Gigante Buono (The Gentle Giant) by the Italian press for his exemplary conduct during his celebrated stint with Juventus from 1957 to 1962. 

However, the visit of Austria to Wrexham would provide the sternest test of his phlegmatic temperament.

Wales featured two sets of brothers, Ivor and Len Allchurch joining John and Mel Charles, as well as Jack Kelsey, Alf Sherwood, Roy Paul, Derek Tapscott, Cliff Jones and Ford in a star-studded line-up. 

They had recently beaten England 2–1 in Cardiff before succumbing 2–0 to Scotland at Hampden Park.

Austria were captained by a legend of their own, Ernst Ocwirk, who had led them to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Switzerland the previous year. 

They had been thrashed 6–1 by West Germany, the eventual champions, but still had enough quality to surge into a 2–0 advantage within 20 minutes at the Racecourse through goals by Theodor Wagner and Gerhard Hanappi.

‘They were strong and quick, proving themselves a real handful in Wrexham,’ recalled Mel Charles, ‘and it wasn’t long before we found ourselves two goals behind.’

Wagner was soon stretchered off with a broken leg after an incident described as an ‘unhappy fluke’ by John Charles, who insisted that it did not provoke ‘the mayhem that followed’. Instead, it resulted from Ford and Tapscott ‘continually challenging their goalkeeper’.

Mel Charles claimed that the refusal of the referee from France, Louis Fauquemberghe, to penalise the home side for this tactic ‘tipped the excitable Austrians over the edge and they started trying to dish out their own justice, with a lot of off-the-ball incidents and wild tackles setting the tone for the rest of the match’.

Amidst the general rancour, Mel Charles was another injury victim and had to be stretchered off in the closing stages. 

The sight of his brother in agony prompted John Charles to lose his temper for the only time in his illustrious career. He grabbed the Austrian responsible and lifted him off the ground before regaining his composure.

He later expressed regret for his actions and insisted that Mel had been hurt in ‘what was a perfectly fair and legitimate challenge’.

Wales had pulled a goal back through Tapscott before half-time but were unable to force an equaliser.

‘We lost the game 2–1 and there was a nasty taste in the mouth afterwards, which had nothing to do with Mel’s injury,’ added John Charles. 

‘The Welsh were bitter about the Austrians, complaining of their underhand tactics while the Austrians were describing us as “Welsh Assassins”.’

With typical equanimity, the Gentle Giant accepted that both sides had been at fault and that the officials had also failed in their duty to keep the game under control.

He reserved his harshest judgement for football’s governing body. ‘The main fault, however, lay at the feet of the international governing body FIFA for not laying down precise laws about challenging the goalkeeper,’ he opined in King John. 

‘Every country had their own interpretation with the Continentals solidly against it while we were all for a good, honest, shoulder-to-shoulder charge.’

No further fixtures were organised between Wales and Austria until the countries were drawn together in the same qualifying group for the 1976 European Championship, by which time the tactic of shoulder-charging the goalkeeper had been consigned to history.

Meanwhile, the Battle of Wrexham was still sending ‘a shudder down the spine’ of Mel Charles, one of its main protagonists, when he published his autobiography in 2009. 

He exclaimed: ‘It has also generated a lot of debate in the years since as to just how dirty it actually was, but I would like to set the record straight – it was bordering on a bloodbath!’