[2] Not long after his inclusion into the Swansea team, Howell was called up by the Welsh selectors to represent Wales as part of the 1888 Home Nations Championship.
Howell was one of five new caps brought into the nine man pack for the first game against Scotland, along with Dick Kedzlie, Richard Powell and Swansea team-mates T. Williams and John Meredith.
The game finished in an historic victory for Wales, when they beat the Scottish for the first time, winning by a solitary try.
Howell was reselected for the second and last match of the Championship when he was called up to face Ireland at Lansdowne Road on 3 March 1888.
The Irish beat the Welsh for the first time, which ended the Championship careers of eight of the Wales team.