Bleddyn Bowen (born 16 July 1961) is a former international

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

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player. Bleddyn Bowen played club rugby for

South Wales Police South Wales Police ( cy, Heddlu De Cymru) is one of the four territorial police forces in Wales. It is headquartered in Bridgend. The force was formed as South Wales Constabulary on 1 June 1969, by the amalgamation of the former Glamorgan Cons ...

and

Swansea RFC Swansea Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team which plays in the Welsh Premiership. The club play at St Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground in Swansea and are also known as ''The Whites,'' in reference to their home kit colours. History ...

. His first international game was in 1983, along with five other first caps, against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

; a game that Wales lost heavily, 24–6. Bowen retained his place and was called to represent Wales in the

1984 Five Nations Championship The 1984 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-fifth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninetieth series of the northern hemisphere rugby un ...

. Bowen played in the first

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

and was then given the honour of captaining his country in the 1988 Five Nations, a tournament in which Wales would win the Triple Crown.Sporting Heroes Profile
/ref> Bowen would be the last Welsh captain to lift the Triple Crown for 17 years. Bleddyn Bowen made his Wales debut in the 1983, 24–6 defeat to Romania. He gained 24 caps for his country and scored five tries, five penalties and one conversion in his international career. Bowen also represented the Wales XV in a non-capped game against Japan in 1983; he scored a try in the 29–24 victory. Bowen represented Wales in the 1987 Rugby World Cup. He scored a try against Canada in the Pool stage game. Bowen was made the captain for the following Five Nations Championship, and consequently the 1988 Welsh Triple Crown winning side. Bowen was also chosen to captain the side against New Zealand on the summer tour but a wrist injury prevented his involvement. Domestically Bowen played rugby for the

South Wales Police RFC South Wales Police Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team based in Bridgend, South Wales. The club is a member of the Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys. In 2012, they withdrew from the Welsh league system due to ...

from where he won all his caps. He is currently a regional office manager for Konica Minolta in Swansea.

References

1961 births category:South Wales Police officers Living people People educated at Cwmtawe Community School Rugby union players from Neath Port Talbot South Wales Police RFC players Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Welsh police officers Welsh rugby union players Rugby union centres {{wales-rugbyunion-bio-stub