William Cleaver (15 September 1921 – 29 September 2003) was a Welsh international Rugby Union fly-half who played club rugby for

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. He won 14 caps for Wales and was selected to play for the British Lions on the 1950 tour of Australia and New Zealand. He was in the Welsh team that won the 1950

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

. Born in 1921 in

Treorchy Treorchy ( cy, Treorci; ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 ...

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fa ...

, Cleaver was an exciting attacking player with a shrewd change of pace. After one terrible game, under heavy weather conditions against Scotland, Cleaver gained the nickname 'Billy Kick'; though this was a harsh moniker considering his normal style of play. Cleaver was a

coal miner Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

by trade and spent most of his life within the industry, though in a managerial role for much of his later career. He was a keen patron of the arts: he was secretary of the Contemporary Arts Society for Wales (1972–91) and vice chairman of the

Welsh Arts Council The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...

(1980–83).

International career

Cleaver was first selected for Wales during the 1947 Five Nations Championship, the first official game for the Welsh team after World War II. His first game was against England at the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British ...

and he lined up alongside fellow Cardiff players Matthews, Williams, Evans and captain

Haydn Tanner Haydn Tanner (9 January 1917 – 5 June 2009) was a Welsh international rugby union player who represented both Wales and the British and Irish Lions. At club level he played for several top-flight teams, including Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Lond ...

. Unsurprisingly, both Wales and their first opponents, England, were heavy with new caps, and although Wales lost, Cleaver played in all four games during the tournament. He scored his first

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

for Wales in the 1947 game against Scotland, a match which Wales won 22-8. In the 1950 campaign, in which Wales won the Grand Slam, Cleaver played in all four games, and scored a drop goal against Scotland.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 471. * 1947 * 1947, 1948, 1950 * 1947, 1948, 1950 *

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 * 1947, 1948, 1950

British Lions

During the 1950 Lions tour, Cleaver played ten provincial matches and in three test games against the All Blacks. For some unknown reason Cleaver was chosen as one of the two full-backs on the tour, this was not his normal position. The other full back, Norton of Ireland, broke his arm early on and Cleaver was forced to play in every match in that position until Lewis Jones arrived as Norton's replacement. Cleaver never played a game on the tour as fly-half, but did play in three of the test matches against New Zealand showing good quality play opposite the All Blacks' Bob Scott. On the return trip the team stopped to play the national team of Ceylon, and Cleaver took his part as one of the two touch judges. * 1950, 1950, 1950

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleaver, Billy 1921 births 2003 deaths Barbarian F.C. players Bridgend RFC players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff RFC players Newbridge RFC players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union players from Treorchy Treorchy RFC players Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players