David "Dai" Royston "Roy" Bevan (2 January 1928 – 12 April 2008) was a Welsh

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 ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1950s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Oldham RUFC Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan B ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

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 ...

, and at club level for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, and Halifax, as a .

Playing career

International honours

Bevan won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

(RL) while at Wigan 1953 2-caps, and won a

for

(RL) while at Wigan in 1952 against Australia. Bevan also represented

while at Wigan/Halifax between 1952 and 1956 against France (1 non-

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

match).

Championship final appearances

Bevan played for

during the 1951–52 season, but not in

's 13–6 victory over

Dewsbury Dewsbury is a market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder and on an arm of the Calder and Hebble Navigation waterway. It is to the west of Wakefield, ...

in the

Rugby Football League Championship The Rugby Football League Championship First Division was the top division of rugby league in Great Britain between 1895 and 1996, when it was replaced by the Super League. History 1895–1904: Foundations The first season of rugby leagu ...

Final during the 1951–52 season at

Leeds Road Leeds Road was a association football, football stadium in Huddersfield, England. It operated from its construction in 1908 until the Kirklees Stadium was opened nearby for the 1994–95 in English football, 1994–95 season. It was the home ...

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

on Saturday 10 May 1952.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Bevan played on the in Halifax's 4–4 draw with

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

in the

1954 Challenge Cup Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

Final during the 1953–54 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

, London on Saturday 24 April 1954, in front of a crowd of 81,841, and played on the in the 4–8 defeat by

in the

Final replay during the 1953–54 season at

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium (known as Bartercard Odsal Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a multi-purpose stadium, multipurpose stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium is currently the home of Bradford Bulls rugby league football club and ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

on Wednesday 5 May 1954, in front of a record crowd of 102,575 or more.

Club career

Bevan made his début for

on Wednesday 2 April 1952, he played his last game for Wigan on Saturday 10 October 1953, he was transferred from Wigan to Halifax, and he played his last game for Halifax during 1956.

Personal life

Following his retirement from rugby league, Dai Bevan lived in Middleton near

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

, and became a teacher at Moorclose School (now named Middleton Technical School), he died on 12 April 2008, aged 80, in Heywood near

. The funeral was on Monday 21 April 2008 at Rochdale Crematorium.

References

External links

Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, David 1928 births 2008 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Footballers who switched code Great Britain national rugby league team players Halifax Panthers players Sportspeople from Heywood, Greater Manchester Rugby league players from Pontypridd Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Pontypridd Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Welsh schoolteachers Wigan Warriors players