Dobson was born in the small fishing village of Keiss in Caithness, Scotland, but by 1873 his family was living in the Pontypridd area of Wales.
Although the back positions were full of Cardiff players, Dobson was only supported by one teammate in the pack, Fred Cornish, who was only collecting his second cap that match.
The game was played away against Ireland, and without Arthur Gould, Wales were now captained by experienced fullback Billy Bancroft.
Dobson was back in the Wales squad the next year in the 1899 Championship, joined in the pack only by David Daniel and Willie Alexander from the previous season, the other five players all being new caps.
The first game of the Championship was against England, and Dobson was part of the team that secured a record win over the English, with Welsh wing Willie Llewellyn scoring four tries.