David John Duckham MBE (28 June 1946 – 9 January 2023) was an English

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. He played 36 games for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

(scoring 10 tries), in three tests on the

1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand In 1971 the Lions toured New Zealand, also playing two matches in Australia. Despite losing the first match to Queensland the tour was a great success, the Lions winning the Test series against the All Blacks. They are still the only Lions si ...

and for

Barbarians F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

in their 1973 defeat of New Zealand.

Early life and education

Born in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

on 28 June 1946, Duckham was educated at Coundon Infant and Junior School and

King Henry VIII Grammar School King Henry VIII Grammar School, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire was one of a series of schools founded during the Reformation in England and Wales in 1542 from property seized from monasteries and religious congregations. In this case, a school which ...

Rugby career

Early success

Duckham played his entire club career for his hometown club, Coventry R.F.C. playing at both centre and wing from 1967 to 1979. He made his international debut for

against

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 ...

in 1969, and quickly established himself as one of England's best centres. Duckham's early career saw him form a notable centre partnership with John Spencer. His game was marked by pace, swerves, sidesteps and an ability to wrong-foot his opponents, although this came at a time when the English team were struggling, especially against rivals

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 ...

"Dai Duckham"

Duckham is perhaps best remembered for his performances for the British and Irish Lions and Barbarians teams under the Welsh coach Carwyn James. James had admired Duckham's abilities (despite playing in an era when England struggled for consistency and results) and selected him as a winger for the

. Under James' tutelage, Duckham was given an attacking freedom that he had not experienced with England and this brought the best out of his remarkable talent. Duckham's six tries against West Coast-Buller set a record for a visiting player in a single match in New Zealand. Duckham would score 11 tries in his 16 games on the tour, featuring in three tests. In 1973, Duckham was reunited with James and many of his teammates from the 1971 Lions tour, when he was named as the only English back in the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less ...

side to play the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 198 ...

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 ...

. In the match, Duckham's counter-attacks broke the All Black's defence, even wrong-footing a cameraman with one outrageous dummy. The match is remembered as a classic, with the Barbarians winning 23–11. Duckham's transformation under James, together with his status as the lone Englishman in a backline dominated by Welsh players, would see him became a favourite among both Welsh players and supporters, with many regarding him as one of their own. This earned him the life long nickname '' Dai'' (an affectionate Welsh

hypocorism A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek: (), from (), 'to call by pet names', sometimes also ''hypocoristic'') or pet name is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as ''Izzy'' for I ...

of David). Duckham would even name his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English p ...

, ''Dai for England''.

Later career

Duckham took his attacking form into the

1973 Five Nations Championship The 1973 Five Nations Championship was the 44th Five Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the 79th since it began as the Home Nations Cham ...

, scoring a brace of tries for England in the 14-6 win over

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, Duckham made a memorable solo run which England failed to finish, often remembered as "the greatest try never scored at

Twickenham stadium Twickenham Stadium () in Twickenham, south-west London, England, is a rugby union stadium owned by the Rugby Football Union ( RFU), English rugby union governing body, which has its headquarters there. The England national rugby union team pl ...

". Despite England's poor results in the

1974 Five Nations Championship The 1974 Five Nations Championship was the forty-fifth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the eightieth series of the northern hemisphere rugby un ...

, Duckham continued to score some memorable tries for club and country, scoring the opening try in a rare win over

and touching down for Coventry RFC in the RFU Knockout Cup final agianst London Scottish RFC. Injury would prevent Duckham from taking part in the 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa, but he would continue to feature for England making his final appearance in 1976 against Scotland at

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...

Later years

Duckham was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(MBE) in the 1977 New Year Honours for services to rugby football.United Kingdom: After retirement, Duckham worked for building societies and banks, and was director of marketing for Bloxham School. Duckham was also Honorary President of the rugby charity Wooden Spoon improving the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in Britain and Ireland. Duckham died from a heart condition on 9 January 2023, at the age of 76.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duckham, David 1946 births 2023 deaths English rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England England international rugby union players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union players from Coventry Rugby union wings Rugby union centres People educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry Members of the Order of the British Empire Coventry R.F.C. players England international rugby sevens players Male rugby sevens players English autobiographers