John Graham Willcox (born 16 February 1937 in Sutton Coldfield) is a rugby union international who represented

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 ...

from 1961 to 1964, and the British Lions in 1962.John Willcox Profile on scrum.com
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Early life

John Willcox was born on 16 February 1937 at

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield ( ), is a town and civil parish in the city of Birmingham, West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south of L ...

to confectioner's agent Arthur Willcox (1891-1967) and Helen Patience (1905-1971), née Davies; he had a wealthy upbringing. His sister was the eventer Sheila Willcox. He played rugby as a full-back.

Rugby union career

His club team was Harlequins. Willcox made his international debut on 11 February 1961 at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

in the

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 ...

match. Of the 19 matches he played for his national side he was on the winning side on 6 occasions. He played his final match for England on 21 March 1964 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 ...

in the

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 ...

match. He took part in the 1962 British Lions tour to South Africa, playing in three test matches. After he retired from playing, he was for many years the rugby coach and a teacher at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding and day school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition. It opened in 1803 as a boys' school. It is near the villa ...

References

1937 births Living people English rugby union players England international rugby union players Harlequin F.C. players Rugby union fullbacks British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Lancashire County RFU players Rugby union players from Sutton Coldfield 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-rugbyunion-bio-1930s-stub