Glyn Davies (24 August 1927 – 7 November 1976) was a Welsh international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

fly-half who played club rugby for a large selection of clubs but most notably for

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He won eleven international caps for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

including a win over the touring 1947 Australia team. Described as a mercurial outside half, Davies was notable for his sidestep and ability to change pace and direction with ease.Glyn Davies
Clifton Rugby Football Club HistorySmith (1980), p. 308. He was the brother-in-law of Welsh opera singer Sir Geraint Evans.

Rugby career

Davies first played rugby as a schoolboy for Pontypridd Grammar School. After the end of the Second World War, while still a schoolboy he represented a Welsh team in two Victory internationals. Davies played his early club rugby for local team

Cilfynydd RFC Cilfynydd Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based in Cilfynydd near Pontypridd, Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union. Club badge The Cilfynydd RFC badge consists of a yellow and black shield split into quarters. Th ...

and sporadically he played for other more notable teams, playing his first game of four for

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

in the 1945/46 season. He joined Pontypridd where his natural ability was polished by endless training sessions under the tutorship of groundsman Dick Coates. It was while with Pontypridd that Davies was first called to the Wales national squad. His first cap was against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in the

1947 Five Nations Championship The 1947 Five Nations Championship was the eighteenth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-third series of the ...

, partnered at fly half with Haydn Tanner. Wales were comfortable winners, but the next game Davies was replaced by Billy Cleaver and Davies failed to be reselected for the rest of the campaign. In December 1947 Davies was chosen for his second Welsh international game, a 6–0 victory over the touring Australian team, this time partnered with

Handel Greville Handel Greville (13 September 1921 – 20 June 2014) was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for a large selection of clubs but most notably for Llanelli. He won just a single international cap for Wales against the ...

. When Davies matriculated at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

he gained a place in the Cambridge University rugby team, and won three 'Blues' by playing in the Varsity matches between 1948 and 1950. 1948 also saw Davies play the entirety of the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament contes ...

, linking again with Tanner in all four matches. During the 1948/49 season Davies was selected to play for touring invitational team the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

. 1949 saw Davies play in three of the

matches, yet again in partnership with Tanner. The 1949 encounter against England is recognisied as one of his finest displays. During the match, he took advantage of Tanner's trade mark long passes to cut through the English defence to set up two tries for Les Williams. Davies was replaced by Cleaver in the Ireland encounter of 1949, and the next

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the Welsh selectors decided to adopt Cleaver and Rex Willis at the half back positions. Although not selected for Wales in 1950, Davies was made captain of the Cambridge University team that season, and led the team to a win over

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

at that year's Varsity Match. Neither team showed much quality in their play, though it is reported that Davies' 'erratic brilliance' was seldom offered full scope by his partner or his forwards. In 1951, Davies played eleven games for Newport, entering the team as a short-term replacement for regular Newport fly-half Roy Burnett, who was forced to withdraw from the team after an injury. 1951 was also the final year of Davies' international career. Called into the Wales squad for the two opening matches of the

1951 Five Nations Championship The 1951 Five Nations Championship was the twenty-second series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the fifty-seventh series of the northern hemisphere r ...

, and partnered by Willis, he was replaced by

Cliff Morgan Clifford Isaac Morgan, (7 April 1930 – 29 August 2013) was a Welsh rugby union player who played for Cardiff RFC and earned 29 caps for Wales between 1951 and 1958. After his playing career ended, Morgan made a successful career in broadca ...

and never represented Wales again. In the 1950s Davies turned out for Clifton and

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and played county rugby for Gloucestershire.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 464. * 1947 * 1948, 1949, 1951 * 1948 * 1948, 1949 * 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Glyn 1927 births 1976 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players Bristol Bears players Cardiff RFC players Cilfynydd RFC players Glamorgan Wanderers RFC players Newport RFC players People educated at Pontypridd High School Rugby union players from Cilfynydd Pontypridd RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players