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

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 ...

player. He played 36 games for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(scoring 10 tries), in three tests on the 1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand and for Barbarians F.C. in their 1973 defeat of New Zealand.

Early life and education

Born in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

on 28 June 1946, Duckham was educated at Coundon Infant and Junior School and King Henry VIII Grammar School,

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 (, ; ; 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 ...

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 ( ) 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 ...

"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 1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand. 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 would score 11 tries in his 16 games on the tour, featuring in three tests. Duckham's six tries in the match against West Coast-Buller set a record for a visiting player in a single match in New Zealand. 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 side to play the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

. 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 ; 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 Isabel or ''Bob (given name), Bob'' fo ...

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, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Dai for England''.

Later career

Duckham took his attacking form into the 1973 Five Nations Championship, scoring a brace of tries for England in the 14-6 win over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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

Twickenham stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

". Despite England's poor results in the 1974 Five Nations Championship, 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 The RFU Knockout Cup was an English rugby union competition open to any member of the Rugby Football Union. First contested in 1971, it was the premier competition in English club rugby before the establishment of the English league structure in 1 ...

final against 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 area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen, Saughtonhall and Roseburn. The A8 road (Scotland), A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murra ...

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 valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(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 Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private co-educational day and boarding school of the Public school (United Kingdom), British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham ...

. Duckham was also Honorary President of the rugby charity

Wooden Spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

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 Warwickshire County RFU players 20th-century English sportsmen