John Idwal Rees (25 July 1910 – 31 August 1991) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

international

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 ...

centre who played club rugby for

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

and

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He was capped 14 times 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 ...

captaining the team on two occasions.

Personal history

Rees was born in Swansea, south Wales in 1910. He was educated at Swansea Grammar School before matriculating to

Swansea University Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

at the age of 17.Thomas (1979), pg 91. In October 1931 he gained a place at Cambridge University, and from there obtained a job teaching at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational private boarding and day school in Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in ...

. In 1938 he returned to Wales becoming headmaster of

Cowbridge Grammar School Cowbridge Grammar School was one of the best-known schools in Wales until its closure in 1974. It was replaced by Cowbridge Comprehensive School. Founded in the 17th century by Sir John Stradling, 1st Baronet, Sir John Stradling and refounde ...

, a role he held until his retirement in 1971. Rees also released a book, ''Rugger Practice and Tactics'', co-authored with H. F. Macdonald.

Rugby career

Rees first played rugby for Swansea Grammar School, but when he graduated to Swansea University at the age of 17, he gave up rugby as he believed he was too light to play. In 1928/29 season he joined Swansea University RFC, playing alongside future Welsh internationals,

Watcyn Thomas Watcyn Thomas (16 January 1906 – 10 August 1977) was a Welsh rugby union player who captained Wales in the early 1930s. Thomas was born in Llanelli and educated at Llanelli County School and at University College, Swansea. While still at schoo ...

and

Claude Davey Claude Davey (14 December 1908 – 18 February 2001) was a Wales international rugby union player who played club rugby for several teams, most notably Sale and Swansea. He was awarded 23 caps for Wales and captained his country eight times. Dave ...

. Rees played for Swansea in the 1929/30 season, moving from scrum-half to full-back to centre; but in October 1931 he went to Cambridge where he achieved his rugby 'blue' in 1931 and 1932. When Rees obtained a job at

he played for

Edinburgh Wanderers Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club, founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union, playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfi ...

, but during the school holidays he returned to Wales, playing for Swansea.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 463. * 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938 * 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938 * 1935 * 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Idwal 1910 births 1991 deaths Welsh rugby union players Wales international rugby union players Wales rugby union captains Rugby union players from Swansea Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Barbarian F.C. players Swansea RFC players London Welsh RFC players People educated at Bishop Gore School Rugby union centres