HAT-TRICK HEROES

In the long and proud history of the Cymru national team, fifteen players have scored international hat-tricks, with all-time leading goalscorer Gareth Bale the most recent player to achieve this milestone.

In the long and proud history of the Cymru national team, fifteen players have scored international hat-tricks, with all-time leading goalscorer Gareth Bale the most recent player to achieve this milestone. Bale scored three in Ryan Giggs' first match as manager in the 6-0 win over China back in March 2018, and in the process, Bale eclipsed the previous goalscoring record held by Ian Rush. The Liverpool legend also had one international hat-trick to his name, as he achieved the milestone himself in the 6-0 win over the Faroe Islands in September 1992.

The first Cymru hat-trick was recorded in February 1882 when John Price scored four goals in the 7-1 win over Ireland at the Racecourse. Jack Doughty repeated the four-goal feat in 1888 as Ireland were defeated 11-0 at the same location, while Herbert Sisson registered a hat-trick as Cymru defeated Ireland 8-2 in April 1885. The problems continued for Ireland in 1889 and again in 1906 as Richard Jarrett and William Green scored three goals respectively in those early fixtures.

The next Cymru hat-trick was claimed by Trevor Ford in November 1949 as Belgium were defeated 5-1 at Ninian Park. Des Palmer was next in September 1957 with his treble against East Germany in Cardiff, while John Charles scored all three goals in a 3-2 win over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park in 1955. His brother Mel scored four against the same opposition in 1962, and Cliff Jones scored three again against Ireland the following year with a 4-1 win in Belfast.

The last player to score four goals for Cymru in a single match was Ian Edwards in the 7-0 win over Malta in 1978, and they would be the only goals of his international career. John Toshack claimed the match ball with all three goals in the 3-0 win over Scotland in May 1979, while Robert Earnshaw also scored three against Scotland in February 2004 in a 4-0 victory. It was a significant treble for Earnshaw as he is the only player to score hat-tricks in the Premier League, the Championship, League 1, League 2, the FA Cup, the League Cup and for his country.