Graham Rees (18 April 1936 – July 1987) 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 1960s and 1970s. He played club level rugby union (RU) for

Maesteg RFC Maesteg Rugby Football Club is a rugby union team from the town of Maesteg, South Wales. The club currently play in the Division 3B west Central Welsh Rugby Union and is a feeder club for the Ospreys. Club history Maesteg RFC was formed in 18 ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

(two spells) Swinton and St. Helens as a , or .

Background

Graham Rees was born in

Maesteg Maesteg (; ) is a town and community in Bridgend County Borough, Wales. Maesteg lies at the northernmost end of the Llynfi Valley, close to the border with Neath Port Talbot. In 2011, Maesteg had a population of 20,612. The English translatio ...

, Wales, and he died aged 51 in

Prestwich Prestwich ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Greater Manchester, England, north of Manchester, north of Salford and south of Bury. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, Prestwich was the seat of the ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England.

Playing career

International honours

Graham Rees 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 St. Helens 1968-70 - 4-caps.

Challenge Cup Final appearances

Graham Rees played at in St Helens' 16-13 victory over

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in the 1972 Challenge Cup Final during the 1971-72 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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 13 May 1972. He scored the first try of the game after just 35 seconds; the fastest try in

Challenge Cup The Rugby Football League Challenge Cup, commonly known just as the Challenge Cup is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, it is the world's old ...

Final history.

County Cup Final appearances

Graham Rees played at in Swinton's 4-12 defeat by St. Helens in the 1964 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1964–65 season at

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

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 ...

on Saturday 24 October 1964, played at , and scored a try in St. Helens' 30-2 victory over

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

in the 1968 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1968–69 season at

on Friday 25 October 1968, and played at in the 4-7 defeat by

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

in the 1970 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1970–71 season at

Station Road, Swinton Station Road was a stadium in Pendlebury, near Manchester, England. It was the home of Swinton Rugby League Club between 1929 and 1992 and was widely recognised as one of the finest grounds in the Rugby League. Swinton moved to Station Road w ...

on Saturday 28 November 1970.

BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final appearances

Graham Rees played at in Swinton's 2-7 defeat by

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

in the 1966 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1966–67 season at Wheldon Road,

on Tuesday 20 December 1966, played at in St. Helens' 5-9 defeat by

in the 1970 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1966–67 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

on Tuesday 15 December 1970, and played at in the 8-2 victory over

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the League 1, the third tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs tha ...

in the 1971 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Final during the 1971–72 season at

Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...

, St. Helens on Tuesday 14 December 1971.

Death

On 1 August 1987, it was reported that Rees had died following a collapse shortly after playing squash at a club in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Graham 1936 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Welsh sportsmen Maesteg RFC players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Maesteg Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Rugby union players from Maesteg Salford Red Devils players St Helens R.F.C. players Swinton Lions players Wales national rugby league team players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players