Bland was first selected for Wales in a match against Scotland as part of the
1887 Home Nations Championship. Replacing Cardiff team mate
George Avery Young, Bland was chosen to face England in the opening match of the tournament, under the captaincy of
Newport's Charlie Newman. Although the match was to be played at
Stradey Park in
Llanelli, the game was moved to a nearby cricket ground as the English felt the original pitch was still frozen-over. The game ended in a nil-nil draw, the best the Welsh had so far achieved over the English. Bland kept his place for the next two games of the Championship, a loss away to Scotland; where Wales unsuccessfully trialed the four three-quarter system for the first time, and a win over Ireland, played at the neutral ground of
Birkenhead Park in England. The
1888 Championship was played without England, after the team withdrew when their
union fell out with their
Scottish counterpart. Bland played in both games, which saw Wales win their first match over Scotland thanks to a
Thomas Pryce-Jenkins try, but in a reversal of fortunes the very next match saw the Welsh lose to Ireland; the first victory for the Irish over Wales. Towards the end of 1888, Bland was selected for the Welsh game to face the touring
New Zealand Natives played at
St. Helen's Ground,
Swansea. The Welsh players experienced a hostile home crowd during the match due to the lack of
Swansea players in the squad; but after trialing the four three-quarter system again, were able to beat the Māori opposition by a goal and two tries to nil. Bland played against the same touring Māori team, just seven days later, when his club team, Cardiff, hosted the New Zealanders at the
Cardiff Arms Park. A goal from
Norman Biggs and a rare joint try from
Sydney Nicholls and W.T. Morgan was enough to give Cardiff the win. Bland failed to play in either of the two games of the
1889 Home Nations Championship, but was re-selected for the first game of the
1890 tournament. The opening game to Scotland was the last match for captain
Frank Hill, and after losing the game, Welsh hopes were not high for the next encounter against the returning England team. Played at
Crown Flatt in Dewsbury, Wales managed to beat the English for the first time in the national team's history, thanks to a clever try from
William Stadden. Bland's final game was played on
St. David's Day, 1890 away to Ireland. The game ended in a draw, though it is unknown if Bland was one of the nine players who found themselves in Dublin Court the next day after 'riotous behaviour' following the after match-dinner.
International matches played Wales • 1887, 1890 • 1887, 1888, 1890 • 1888 • 1887, 1888, 1890 ==References==