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

. 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. Born in 1921 in Treorchy, Rhondda, 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 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 (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 and he lined up alongside fellow Cardiff players Matthews, Williams, Evans and captain Haydn Tanner. 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 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 (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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 Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, 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